Shopsmith Forums

I have a 1" thick by 10" wide board I need to be 1/2" thick for a project I'm working on. Is there a good way to resaw it?

The tools I have on hand are:

• ShopSmith 10ER
• 9" Radial Arm Saw
• 8" Circular Saw
• Hand tools
• Hand power planer
• Router

I'm not entirely opposed to getting a tool to do this either, but I do have a budget.

What would be your recommended method to do this?

Get an old scrub plane to rapidly bring it down in thickness. If my old plane is a guide, they don't need to be expensive, nor do they require a a lot of fancy fettling. It's a rough tool that hogs out a lot of waste. Finish up with a hand plane.

Or find access to a bandsaw with the required capacity.

A thickness planer would also work. See if there is a tool rental company in your area with something that would work. It would be cheaper than buying a tool. Most allow 4 hour rentals for less than $100 depending on what is being rented. I have also seen ads on Creig's List for people renting out their tools. An other option would be to see if a local custom woodworkingr/woodmill shop would run it through their planer or band saw for you for a reasonable fee.

Brenda, I didn't even think about renting a tool, that might be a great option.

Is there anyway way I can get two ~1/2" pieces out of the 1" piece?

Either on your radial arm saw or shopsmith ER, set up to rip fence slightly more than 1/2 from the blade. Set your blade height as deep as you can and rip along one edge of the board. Flip the board end for end and repeat on the other edge. You will now have two deep grooves separated by somewhere between 4.5 to 5.5 inches of material. Use a handsaw to cut through and you will have a board 10 inches wide and roughly 1/2 thick.

That might be a better option since I'll need to get two 1/2" doors out of the same panel.

dzawacki wrote:That might be a better option since I'll need to get two 1/2" doors out of the same panel.

I am sure you know this but whatever method you use the remaining segments will be less than 1/2" thick.
Dick

dickg1 wrote:

dzawacki wrote:That might be a better option since I'll need to get two 1/2" doors out of the same panel.

I am sure you know this but whatever method you use the remaining segments will be less than 1/2" thick.
Dick

that's right! the kerf takes up about an 1/8th of an inch.

Yes I knew, but always good to bring it up. I'll adjust the dados these need to go into accordingly.

Thanks!

there is a woodworking club in Madison that might help you
see if they can help you resaw your board or plane it for you
besides that you can make some new friends

Madison Woodworkers Guild
6014 Gateway Green
Madison, WI 53716
Contact: Steve First
Phone: 608-222-7581