I want to take the piece of lumber shown he
http://www.astutesolutions.net/images/workbench3.jpg , (it's a
5.5x11.5 piece) and split it into two 2.75x11.5 (probably only 2.5
after sawing) and gluing them together to make a 23 inch wide board to
hold a TV. I don't have a massive bandsaw so I was considering making
two passes with the tablesaw and making the final cut with a sawzall.
I can use my surface planer to finish the two pieces up. My questions
a

1) Is there a better way to split this sucker
2) If one is not blessed with a jointer, any suggestions as to getting
true edges?

For #2, I was thinking about attaching a small strip of wood to it as a
guide through the TS and then sand down the saw marks.

FWIW, the tools I do have that might help are a surface planer, large
router, TS, sawzall, belt sander. Also, its white pine. I have
another piece just like this one.

Thanks.
Jeff

wrote:

I want to take the piece of lumber shown he
http://www.astutesolutions.net/images/workbench3.jpg , (it's a
5.5x11.5 piece) and split it into two 2.75x11.5 (probably only 2.5
after sawing) and gluing them together to make a 23 inch wide board to
hold a TV. I don't have a massive bandsaw so I was considering making
two passes with the tablesaw and making the final cut with a sawzall.
I can use my surface planer to finish the two pieces up. My questions
a

1) Is there a better way to split this sucker
2) If one is not blessed with a jointer, any suggestions as to getting
true edges?

For #2, I was thinking about attaching a small strip of wood to it as a
guide through the TS and then sand down the saw marks.

FWIW, the tools I do have that might help are a surface planer, large
router, TS, sawzall, belt sander. Also, its white pine. I have
another piece just like this one.

What you need is a plane. W/ pine, you can surface this puppy just fine
w/ a hand plane and a sharp blade.

Jeff:

1) Is there a better way to split this sucker
2) If one is not blessed with a jointer, any suggestions as to getting
true edges?

For #2, I was thinking about attaching a small strip of wood to it as a
guide through the TS and then sand down the saw marks.


You can join edges with a router. See woodshop demos -

http://www.woodshopdemos.com/menu2.htm

There's a couple of pages on how to do that. Also check out
Pat Warner's pages, there might be something there as well -

http://www.patwarner.com/

Other then that - using a joiner plane. Split the piece in two
(TS probably the best way here), then take the two edges of
the cut, turn them up and plane across both of them at the
same time. Any variations on the edges will be mirrored in
the other piece. Should work well. Google the solution I
described and you should find a number of hits.

MJ Wallace

wrote:
I want to take the piece of lumber shown he
http://www.astutesolutions.net/images/workbench3.jpg , (it's a
5.5x11.5 piece) and split it into two 2.75x11.5 (probably only 2.5
after sawing) and gluing them together to make a 23 inch wide board to
hold a TV. I don't have a massive bandsaw so I was considering making
two passes with the tablesaw and making the final cut with a sawzall.
I can use my surface planer to finish the two pieces up. My questions
a

1) Is there a better way to split this sucker
2) If one is not blessed with a jointer, any suggestions as to getting
true edges?

For #2, I was thinking about attaching a small strip of wood to it as a
guide through the TS and then sand down the saw marks.

FWIW, the tools I do have that might help are a surface planer, large
router, TS, sawzall, belt sander. Also, its white pine. I have
another piece just like this one.

Thanks.
Jeff


I don't see anything wrong with your proposed approach. To answer question
#2, check out the January/February 2005 issue of Fine Woodworking (#175)
where they detail how to build a planer sled. They used to have a video up
on their site, but it looks like it recently got taken down. Perhaps google
cache will be kind to you:

http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:U175PEaGE5wJ:www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/wvt095.asp+fine+woodworking+planer+sled&hl=en

If you can't get the video any longer, perhaps we can figure out a way that
I can get it to you, as I've saved the QT version.

-John

A word of warning on splitting this puppy on your tablesaw. Be VERY
careful as you're passing it over the blade. I did this one time on my
2HP (real, not crapsman "rated") tablesaw and the wood pinched my blade
and before I could tell what had happened white smoke was coming out of
the back of my tablesaw. Now it ended up being a burned out belt (link
belt, it melted and spewed plastic crap all over my motor, and inside
of the tablesaw as well, it was a PAIN to clean up!). A good splitting
knife might help (I didn't have one low enough to fit in the kerf of
the wood left by the blade (mine sits higher than the blade)).

Go easy and listen for any problems and be prepared to hit the off
button quickly. And stay back from the piece so you don't get kickback
either (though it would take a lot of umph to get that monster thrown,
but if it managed to get thrown it would be a death stick at that
point).

Good luck,
Mike

wrote in message
oups.com...
I want to take the piece of lumber shown he
http://www.astutesolutions.net/images/workbench3.jpg , (it's a
5.5x11.5 piece) and split it into two 2.75x11.5 (probably only 2.5
after sawing) and gluing them together to make a 23 inch wide board to
hold a TV. I don't have a massive bandsaw so I was considering making
two passes with the tablesaw and making the final cut with a sawzall.
I can use my surface planer to finish the two pieces up. My questions
a

1) Is there a better way to split this sucker

All of the answers have focused on jointing and planing the resultant
pieces. Personally, I think your biggest problem is splitting the sucker.
The way I read your description, you are basically trying to resaw an 11.5
inch wide board along the 11.5 inch width into two boards. I think
attacking this with a table saw is really dicey. Even at that, aren't you
going to need a cutting stroke length of 8.5" after butchering it with the
table saw (11.5 inchdes minus 3")? Does your sawzall have that capability?
This is a job for a decent sized bandsaw. I think you are trying to go to
an awful lot of work just to have two pieces to glue together. Why not cut
it the other way (5.5") and glue five pieces together? For that matter,
just go buy some 3/4" S2S stock from the lumberyard and glue it together.

Bob

BillyBob wrote:

wrote in message
oups.com...
I want to take the piece of lumber shown he
http://www.astutesolutions.net/images/workbench3.jpg , (it's a
5.5x11.5 piece) and split it into two 2.75x11.5 (probably only 2.5
after sawing) and gluing them together to make a 23 inch wide board to
hold a TV. I don't have a massive bandsaw so I was considering making
two passes with the tablesaw and making the final cut with a sawzall.
I can use my surface planer to finish the two pieces up. My questions
a

1) Is there a better way to split this sucker

All of the answers have focused on jointing and planing the resultant
pieces. Personally, I think your biggest problem is splitting the sucker.
The way I read your description, you are basically trying to resaw an 11.5
inch wide board along the 11.5 inch width into two boards. I think
attacking this with a table saw is really dicey. Even at that, aren't you
going to need a cutting stroke length of 8.5" after butchering it with the
table saw (11.5 inchdes minus 3")? Does your sawzall have that capability?
This is a job for a decent sized bandsaw. I think you are trying to go to
an awful lot of work just to have two pieces to glue together. Why not cut
it the other way (5.5") and glue five pieces together? For that matter,
just go buy some 3/4" S2S stock from the lumberyard and glue it together.

Oh, come now, BillyBob--what you goin' and gettin' practical on us now
for?

Tage Frid would just get out the bow saw. A sharp rip handsaw would
also make quick work of a piece of pine.

"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...

Tage Frid would just get out the bow saw. A sharp rip handsaw would
also make quick work of a piece of pine.

I've got this relic handsaw hanging on my pegboard that I thought about
suggesting. I declined because I could picture me trying it and sweating
like a horse, only ending up with two mirrored pieces that were 2 1/2" thick
at one end and 1 1/2" at the other. If one doesn't have a good handsaw, its
going to cost a lot more money than a few board feet of S2S pine. :-)

Bob

Bob, thats a good point. I do have a long sawzall blade, but I'm not
sure if it extends past 8.5" or not. I think its between 7 and 9
inches. Wonder if I can buy one that long. Otherwise, I could always
use a handsaw as your earlier post suggested.

The multiple piece approach would work, but its more work than I'd
like. If I had a jointer it wouldn't be as much work, but truing the
edges up will be my biggest headache I fear.

Thanks to all who posted responses.

MJ's post reminded me that I have a bosch power plane. Its about 3"
wide so, it may work well for this application. Not as good as a
jointer, but decent enough I hope.

Jeff

I would cut through from both sides with the table saw and just use a
hand saw to cut out the center. If the piece is only 11.5 inches long
it really doesn't even matter if it already has a straight edge to run
against the fence or not. It should be be in contact with the fence for
the whole cut so the cut edge will be straight enough to work with.
Use a hand plane to plane down the thicker section where it was cut
with the hand saw, and do any finish jointed of that edge should it be
necessary. Then glue up, and trim to finshed size afterwards.


--

Larry Wasserman Baltimore, Maryland

Carefully cut from one side using the Table Saw.

Make the through cut with a sharp hand saw using the groove as a guide.


Alternatively,

Buy one of those

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/prod...=19&l=en&s=dhs

That should fit on the 11.5 piece

Hi,

I have split lots of 12" material using your proposed method. You did not
say how long it was. If it is easy to handle then use the table saw to cut
a 3" kerf in each edge. The sawsall will work but use a new very course
blade. I would stand the piece of end to let gravity help. I sometimes
hung 20lbs on the sawsall to help.- much easier on the arms. Watch the far
side for to blade wander.

What I found easier and faster was to kerf it with a skill saw(if to large
to table saw) and then rent a 16-1/2" Makita circular timber saw (big skill
saw) from home depot to cut the remainder. The large blade sounds hard to
handle but it is not. Take a few passes cutting under 2" each time.

Glen
wrote in message
oups.com...
I want to take the piece of lumber shown he
http://www.astutesolutions.net/images/workbench3.jpg , (it's a
5.5x11.5 piece) and split it into two 2.75x11.5 (probably only 2.5
after sawing) and gluing them together to make a 23 inch wide board to
hold a TV. I don't have a massive bandsaw so I was considering making
two passes with the tablesaw and making the final cut with a sawzall.
I can use my surface planer to finish the two pieces up. My questions
a

1) Is there a better way to split this sucker
2) If one is not blessed with a jointer, any suggestions as to getting
true edges?

For #2, I was thinking about attaching a small strip of wood to it as a
guide through the TS and then sand down the saw marks.

FWIW, the tools I do have that might help are a surface planer, large
router, TS, sawzall, belt sander. Also, its white pine. I have
another piece just like this one.

Thanks.
Jeff

Good to know its been done that way. Its about 4 feet long (you can
see it in the link at the top).

Thanks to eveyone who responded.

I'll try to post results once I take a shot at it.

I have done what you are thinking about; cutting on a table and and cleaning
the web out with a sawsall. It is much harder than it looks. Getting the
the sawsall to to go straight down the middle without gouging the sides is a
problem.
I will not be doing it again...

As others have said, you can joint with a router, or with a hand plane for
that matter; but neither is easy. Since the wood obviously will not bend to
conform to inperfections, you had better do a great job or you will see it
as gaps in the glue joint. Perhaps that will not matter to your project.

I guess if it were me, I would save that piece of wood and buy the right
stuff. (or borrow some time on the right equipment.)

Luigi Zanasi wrote:


....
Let's not forget the hand rip saw for ripping the wood instead of a
sawzall which is likely wander all over the place (or a lot more than
a handsaw anyway).

See my other response...

On Wed, 19 Oct 2005 09:51:33 -0500, Duane Bozarth
scribbled:

wrote:

I want to take the piece of lumber shown he
http://www.astutesolutions.net/images/workbench3.jpg , (it's a
5.5x11.5 piece) and split it into two 2.75x11.5 (probably only 2.5
after sawing) and gluing them together to make a 23 inch wide board to
hold a TV. I don't have a massive bandsaw so I was considering making
two passes with the tablesaw and making the final cut with a sawzall.
I can use my surface planer to finish the two pieces up. My questions
a

1) Is there a better way to split this sucker
2) If one is not blessed with a jointer, any suggestions as to getting
true edges?

For #2, I was thinking about attaching a small strip of wood to it as a
guide through the TS and then sand down the saw marks.

FWIW, the tools I do have that might help are a surface planer, large
router, TS, sawzall, belt sander. Also, its white pine. I have
another piece just like this one.

What you need is a plane. W/ pine, you can surface this puppy just fine
w/ a hand plane and a sharp blade.

Let's not forget the hand rip saw for ripping the wood instead of a
sawzall which is likely wander all over the place (or a lot more than
a handsaw anyway).

Luigi
Replace "nonet" with "yukonomics" for real email address
www.yukonomics.ca/wooddorking/humour.html
www.yukonomics.ca/wooddorking/antifaq.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...ct_Woodworking

Bob, thats a good point. I do have a long sawzall blade, but I'm not
sure if it extends past 8.5" or not. I think its between 7 and 9
inches. Wonder if I can buy one that long. Otherwise, I could always
use a handsaw as your earlier post suggested.

The multiple piece approach would work, but its more work than I'd
like. If I had a jointer it wouldn't be as much work, but truing the
edges up will be my biggest headache I fear.

Thanks to all who posted responses.

MJ's post reminded me that I have a bosch power plane. Its about 3"
wide so, it may work well for this application. Not as good as a
jointer, but decent enough I hope.

Jeff

I've seen Sawzall blades up to 12" long...demo blades, but what the hell, a
fine finish isn't what you're looking for here.

Mike

On Wed, 19 Oct 2005 23:26:29 GMT, "Toller" wrote:

I have done what you are thinking about; cutting on a table and and cleaning
the web out with a sawsall. It is much harder than it looks. Getting the
the sawsall to to go straight down the middle without gouging the sides is a
problem.
I will not be doing it again...

here's how:

go get a way longer sawzall blade than you need. they make them,
you'll just have to look. kerf the timber both sides with skilsaw as
described.get the sawblade started in the cut and have your assistant
guide the backside with a block of hardwood with a sawkerf in it.
think bottom guides on a bandsaw.

On Wed, 19 Oct 2005 19:38:01 -0500, "The Davenport's"
wrote:

Bob, thats a good point. I do have a long sawzall blade, but I'm not
sure if it extends past 8.5" or not. I think its between 7 and 9
inches. Wonder if I can buy one that long. Otherwise, I could always
use a handsaw as your earlier post suggested.

The multiple piece approach would work, but its more work than I'd
like. If I had a jointer it wouldn't be as much work, but truing the
edges up will be my biggest headache I fear.

Thanks to all who posted responses.

MJ's post reminded me that I have a bosch power plane. Its about 3"
wide so, it may work well for this application. Not as good as a
jointer, but decent enough I hope.

Jeff

I've seen Sawzall blades up to 12" long...demo blades, but what the hell, a
fine finish isn't what you're looking for here.

Mike



they're available quite a bit longer than that.

"glensmith" wrote in message
news:Sdx5f.240936$tl2.14570@pd7tw3no...
Hi,

I have split lots of 12" material using your proposed method. You did not
say how long it was. If it is easy to handle then use the table saw to
cut
a 3" kerf in each edge. The sawsall will work but use a new very course
blade. I would stand the piece of end to let gravity help. I sometimes
hung 20lbs on the sawsall to help.- much easier on the arms. Watch the
far
side for to blade wander.

What I found easier and faster was to kerf it with a skill saw(if to
large
to table saw) and then rent a 16-1/2" Makita circular timber saw (big
skill
saw) from home depot to cut the remainder. The large blade sounds hard to
handle but it is not. Take a few passes cutting under 2" each time.


All of this for a piece of pine????

Bob

Its for a TV stand for a log home made out of white pine. It would
fit. Yeah, it may look a little rustic, but thats what I'm shooting
for. The timber stairs that are in the house (this piece is leftover
from the stringers) looks very nice and I'd like something similar.

Anything like fine mahogany in this house would look like earrings on a
goat, not that the house looks like a goat :-). There's no chrome or
gold brass in the house either. Can't stand the stuff (in this setting
anyway).

wrote in message
oups.com...
Its for a TV stand for a log home made out of white pine. It would
fit. Yeah, it may look a little rustic, but thats what I'm shooting
for. The timber stairs that are in the house (this piece is leftover
from the stringers) looks very nice and I'd like something similar.

Anything like fine mahogany in this house would look like earrings on a
goat, not that the house looks like a goat :-). There's no chrome or
gold brass in the house either. Can't stand the stuff (in this setting
anyway).


Well, heck, you should've educated us sooner! We get all caught up in our
incra fences with 1/1000th hairline adjustments and paper thin shavings from
our razor sharp Japanese gizmos. I think you should grab that bowsaw like
someone suggested and put some history behind that to-be TV stand. :-)

Bob

Yeah, sorry bout dat! I'd be in trouble if I had to make it "cabinet
grade" quality. Nice thing about log homes, imprefections are
appreciated. I guess that would make my wife a victorian, and me an
old shed.