Resawing Small Parts

[BadBob]

Some time ago, I discovered that I could save a lot of wood by cutting out parts from thick stock and then resawing them to the desired thickness. I began doing this on my scroll saw using a zero clearance insert. I later moved this to my band saw. I was making a dragon figurine that had very small parts, and the wood I had on hand was just a little too short for the planer. Additionally, my bandsaw was experiencing issues, so I decided to try this method on the table saw. I attached the small part to a larger piece of wood using two-sided tape and ran it through the saw very slowly. It worked like a charm. I got a very smooth cut with only a little nub where the blade exited. I cut smaller and thinner pieces, but didn't think about photos until they were done. The wings, horns, and arms were all resawn this way.

 

[kmmcrafts]

Much braver than I, LOL.. Of coarse I don't even like to use my table saw if I don't have to.. If I can do the job on my bandsaw or other tool even if it takes longer I do it.. Guess I'm a little scared of the table saw and probably for good reason as a school mate had a kickback in shop class in high school that scared the crap out of me because the board just missed me and almost made me get hurt while I had my back to him using a router.. never got over that I guess.. luckily nobody was hurt or anything other than just scared.

[Dave Monk]

I do it all the time on my band saw. I don't think I would try it on my table saw.

[Sycamore67]

I use my table saw a lot but would not try this.  I applaud the effort but think it js too dangerous for me.

 

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

If you are going to do this why not cut the stock down to thickness before you scroll the pieces. Having a larger piece of wood may help prevent kickback. Such small pieces can be launched quickly. 

[NC Scroller]

Hate to say it but it is an accident waiting to happen. Be very careful.

[Juan Rodriguez]

You are brave man!

 

[Hawk]

No Table Saw for me either, waaaaaay to dangerous for me! What thinning parts I always use my scrollsaw, I don't have a bandsaw any more, really never used it. Be careful using the table saw for that!!!

Chris

[JimNC]

I have done this a few times when I need a part to be thinner and I have only a thicker stock but I cut it in my band saw.

[barb.j.enders]

My table saw is somewhere in the crevices of my garage.  I don't remember the last time I used it.  I use my scroll saw to rip the small pieces.  I have also taped them to a larger/longer piece of wood to have a firmer grip on the piece. 

[BadBob]

16 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

If you are going to do this why not cut the stock down to thickness before you scroll the pieces. Having a larger piece of wood may help prevent kickback. Such small pieces can be launched quickly. 

I have to resaw a board that is long enough to go through my planer, or I have to sand it to get it flat and smooth. Now I have a thin piece of expensive wood that I may never need again, or at least not for months. It also allows me to pull bits of wood out of the waste bin that would otherwise be kindling. It also allows me to create a project from the same piece of wood.

The piece on the tape is not coming off, and I think kickback is highly unlikely. If it does, I am not standing in the path of the part, and even if it did, it is tiny. I am wearing eye and ear protection. I would not do this with a large part like the ornament I cut from 3/4 stock and resawed on the band saw to get multiple ornaments.

 

[BadBob]

The idea of this post was to demonstrate a technique for resawing small parts using two-sided tape. This technique would be very usable on a bandsaw and could probably be used on a scroll saw, although I haven't tried it. It's on my to-do list.

 

[Denny Knappen]

A great idea, but I am like Kevin.  My table saw is gathering dust.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

2 hours ago, BadBob said:

I have to resaw a board that is long enough to go through my planer, or I have to sand it to get it flat and smooth. Now I have a thin piece of expensive wood that I may never need again, or at least not for months. It also allows me to pull bits of wood out of the waste bin that would otherwise be kindling. It also allows me to create a project from the same piece of wood.

The piece on the tape is not coming off, and I think kickback is highly unlikely. If it does, I am not standing in the path of the part, and even if it did, it is tiny. I am wearing eye and ear protection. I would not do this with a large part like the ornament I cut from 3/4 stock and resawed on the band saw to get multiple ornaments.

 

The smaller the piece the smaller the tape to hold the piece. A spinning tablesaw blade will rip a small piece so fast you will not see it. If a tablesaw blade has any run out in it it wobbles and that is an extra force side to side thus pull the tape off the board. Kickback is highly likely in that situation. You do as you see fit. Just a suggestion. but I have seen this before. Even doing shapes like that on a bandsaw can be troublesome because when the blade hits the front of the object it wants to force the piece downward and can dislodge the tape. The scrollsaw would be the best choice because you control the speed and thus the force applied to piece.  

Now I have used your method to cut tiny little piece but they were cut from longer pieces. 

[kmmcrafts]

2 hours ago, BadBob said:

The idea of this post was to demonstrate a technique for resawing small parts using two-sided tape. This technique would be very usable on a bandsaw and could probably be used on a scroll saw, although I haven't tried it. It's on my to-do list.

 

I can see where this can be useful and have done it many times on the bandsaw... and I guess it's way safer than not taping it to a board and using the table saw with your hands or push stick on that tiny piece.. I'm just saying there are many safer ways to achieve the same end result.. no bandsaw? cool try a jigsaw or Sawzall.. heck, tape it to the board and use a hand plane, sander or grinder, lol.. lots of ways to achieve the same thing. There were times I needed to bring the thickness of a very small piece from 3/8 down to 1/4 and I just used my belt sander.. goes pretty quick with a 36 grit belt on it..

While I understand you're a experienced woodworker and I see you mentioned you weren't stupid to stand in the line of fire should that tape fail and shoot the piece back at you.. You knew what you were doing.. some people do not have any common sense and lack any fear of running machines.. they may see this post and give this a try because it seemed like a great idea and end up in the ER. 

I'm not a experience woodworker as far as running table saws.. and that is probably a good thing that I'm a little scared to use it for certain things.. maybe scared is the wrong word.. maybe I should say I'm scared enough to be extra cautious of what I'm doing when I do run it.. because I'm not really scared to use it.. I'm just not too comfortable running it when there are other ways to get a job done in a safe way.  

Wood is cheap compared to a ER visit.. I do the best I can to use up all the small bits I save and have laying around but there comes a time where that just isn't worth the price.. Plus saving some of those bits and pieces makes for a nice campfire and a tasty roasted marshmallow or smore.. and that is way more fun that the ER waiting room in my opinion..  

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

3 hours ago, BadBob said:

I have to resaw a board that is long enough to go through my planer, or I have to sand it to get it flat and smooth. Now I have a thin piece of expensive wood that I may never need again, or at least not for months. It also allows me to pull bits of wood out of the waste bin that would otherwise be kindling. It also allows me to create a project from the same piece of wood.

The piece on the tape is not coming off, and I think kickback is highly unlikely. If it does, I am not standing in the path of the part, and even if it did, it is tiny. I am wearing eye and ear protection. I would not do this with a large part like the ornament I cut from 3/4 stock and resawed on the band saw to get multiple ornaments.

 

I use my tablesaw alot. Any time I do some cut that I feel unsafe I make a jig to rectify that. I am comfortable enough around the saw that I do understand the dangers. I have cut hundreds of thousands of these small pieces to make these baskets over the years. Made a jig to do it but every so often one gets hung up and clips the blade just right and gets launched. It penetrated my back sheetrock wall that is about 15 feet behind me, like it was butter. The first time it happened it scared me but I knew it was possible so like you  I know not to stand in the danger path. These pieces are not large but can be a dangerous. Good luck and stay safe. 

[Roberta Moreton]

I would resaw first.  It’s 1. The natural order of how this thing is done. 2. SAFER

[BadBob]

I have done this frequently on my bandsaw using a zero-clearance insert. I push the piece with a block of wood and hold it against the fence with a wooden stick. Both are scraficial, so if they get cut in the process, no big deal. The only issue I have ever had on the bandsaw was with the piece shifting. Using the tape would eliminate this issue.

My shop is stocked with hazardous tools.  Sharp spinning objects can hurt you badly, but so can most hand tools, whether they are sharp or not. I have known people to stab themselves with a screwdriver. I don't consider a drill to be terribly dangerous, yet I know someone who drilled a hole through their hand. I have wrenches that are large enough that if I were to drop one on my toe, it would be very bad. I wear steel-toed safety shoes in my shop. I see people in their shop in shorts and flip-flops. What do I get injured on? Corners. I took a file to my Shopsmith because I kept cutting myself on the corners. What am I scared of? Falling chisels. If I drop a chisel or one falls off the bench by the time it hits the floor, I will be as far away as I can get. All of the things you do in a shop are dangerous in some way. You mitigate the risk. Understand your tools and think through the process.

[BadBob]

12 minutes ago, Roberta Moreton said:

I would resaw first.  It’s 1. The natural order of how this thing is done. 2. SAFER

There is no natural order. 

[Dan]

I saw a video of a guy that did something like that but he glued the piece he was cutting to another board then ran it through the table saw. 

I have run thin wood through the thickness planer using a carrier board. Just stuck the roughly 1/8" hardwood to the carrier board with double-sided tape and planed to the thickness I needed, 1/16". These were only 6" long and 2" wide. The toughest part was getting the part removed from the tape. So, you could cut the board the size you need to make all the parts for the project and run it through the planer to get the thickness you want.

[BadBob]

19 hours ago, Dan said:

I have run thin wood through the thickness planer using a carrier board. Just stuck the roughly 1/8" hardwood to the carrier board with double-sided tape and planed to the thickness I needed, 1/16". These were only 6" long and 2" wide. The toughest part was getting the part removed from the tape.

I have done similar. The first time I used my carrier board, I followed the instructions from a YouTube video. It advised using hot glue to hold everything in place. The footage never mentioned how to remove the hot glue.