STL 176: Why we don’t like resawing on the tablesaw
Mike, Anissa, and Ben discuss milling lumber without a joiner, tablesaw resawing, lumber questions, and the top two choices for... everything
Leave a comment below to enter to win a one of three Shop Talk Live t-shirts!
Question 1:
From Damon:
It’s time for me to start surfacing rough boards, but I don’t have the money to buy BOTH a jointer and a planer. I do have a plan for milling stock without the jointer, please let me know what you think:
- Buy a lunchbox planer and build a sled for face jointing
- Build a jig for ripping a straight edge at the tablesaw
- After face jointing with the sled and then planing the stock to thickness, the plan is to a rip a straight edge on my table using the jig and then ripping to width using the fence.
Do you know of a better way to mill to four square without a jointer?
- Router Setup for Edge-Jointing by Jeff Colla
- Video: No jointer? No problem. by Gregory Paolini
- Video: Quick Tip: Jointing Without a Jointer by Thomas McKenna #205–May/June 2009 Issue
- Video: A Planer Sled for Milling Lumber by Keith Rust
- Video: Turn Your Planer into a Jointer by Dillon Ryan #256–Sep/Oct 2016 Issue
- Tablesaw Tapering Jig is Safer and Faster by Mark Schofield #229–Nov/Dec 2012 Issue
Question 2:
From Granary:
What are your thoughts on resawing at the tablesaw? I’m terrified of it, but was recently and reluctantly exposed to it as a method for expediting the process at the shop. But, as an intermediate woodworker, I can only see downsides to resawing at the tablesaw. While taking a class, after resawing a few times at the tablesaw, I had to request that I not do it. I felt like a total wuss, but at the same time, when I was holding the stock, and the saw was running, I just felt like it was going to go wrong.
Segment: All Time Favorite Technique
Anissa: Gluing on clamping blocks for miters
- Tablesaw Sled for Miters by Craig Thibodeau #257–Nov/Dec 2016 Issue (features miter clamping tricks)
Ben: Using CA glue to glue a piece to an backer board in order to plane it thinner than 1/4-in.
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Mike: Using shims to perfectly offset a piece
- Mid-Century Credenza by Libby Schrum #261–May/June 2017 Issue
- Video: Get perfect reveals with a Domino by Anissa Kapsales #261–May/June 2017 Issue
Question 3: Esoteric lumber questions!
From Craig:
Needed some 16/4 ash stock for table legs. At my local lumberyard, I selected from a bin that contained a mix of flat, riff and quarter sawn boards, I pulled what I’d thought was an ideal piece, had the yard guy write up the tag, and then proceeded to the office. I noticed on the tag that the width of my selection was ~ 12/4. I suggested that I should pay the price for 12/4, rather than 16/4, but they were unpersuaded. It was foolish of me to suggest this, as at this yard the invisible sign on the wall reads “The customer is always wrong”
Love the show; Anissa “Long Pause” Kapsales is a nice addition
From Cameron:
When breaking down a larger board do you prefer long or wide off cuts? After listening to the pod for years now I’m obsessed with getting the best grain selection but don’t want to waste a whole board to get one piece.
As an example, I have a board that is 8-in. wide and 4-ft. long. From that I need piece that is 3-in. By 8-in. The best piece is on the edge of the board, 6-in. from the end.
Every two weeks, a team of Fine Woodworking staffers answers questions from readers on Shop Talk Live, Fine Woodworking‘s biweekly podcast. Send your woodworking questions to [email protected] for consideration in the regular broadcast! Our continued existence relies upon listener support. So if you enjoy the show, be sure to leave us a five-star rating and maybe even a nice comment on our iTunes page.
Comments
Great show as always, especially the discussion on milling without a full shop of dedicated tools. :)
Forgot to leave my wood comment, I'll go with Walnut and Cherry
I would wear a bonk, bonk, bonk shirt.
The Mike twisted reality answer of wood choice. Hardwood and soft wood, domestic and exotic, surprised he didn’t find a way to justify not having to make a choice. Another great podcast, thanks guys.
Great advice love the show as always.
-Walnut and sycamore.
Hilarious show! Well done. White oak and ash
One vote for best show. Walnut and Cherry.
Mortis and Tenon / Miter
Walnut / Cherry
Almost forgot - great show as always just dont worry about the length of the episodes I am sure there are very few in the crowd that would complain about the show being too long.
I would wear a bonk bonk medium shirt at least once a week.
Good to see that the snark isn't gone. Keep up the good work.
Favorite podcast of all. I have listened to the entire collection twice now! And would gladly send you a photo of me leading church in a Shop talk t-shirt if you send it to me (Episcopal priest) :)
If I were limited to 2 joints, one of them would have to be the beer joint down the street. It seemed like all of you might have visited it before this show.
How can you not get "Bonk Bonk Bonk" if your a listener to this podcast! You say that more than Mark II sharpening guide.
Great show as always everyone. My two woods are Maple and oak!
M&T, Dovetails
Walnut, Ash
Great episode!
I'm just going to leave this link to a blank sketchbook with numbered pages and a table of contents here. Make sure you click the "plain ruling" button in the options.
https://www.leuchtturm1917.us/notebook-medium-a5-hardcover-249-numbered-pages.html
In response to Mike's answer to choosing only two joints for the rest of your life. Is Mike the type to be at a party and someone tells the group something and he adjusts his glasses and says, "actually..."
I love you Mike!
Also, does a butt joint count??
Also, Ben! I totally caught your Django Reinhardt reference. Don't worry!
Mortise & Tenon, Half-Lap
Cherry and Soft Maple
Right thumb and Index (I'm left handed. Right fingers hold the chisel, left hand mashes it like a club)
Drawbored mortise and tenon/ Sliding dovetails.
White Oak, Mahogany.
Every episode needs a "would you rather" segment. Which 2 fingers would I use middle and pointer because the thumb is not a finger it's a thumb. Maple and walnut. Bridle and dovetail. 150 and 220. Coffee and Water (Although isn't coffee just dirty water). Fun episode!!!
T-Shirt, sure. Love the band saw always the safest. I say start there. Router to straight edge. Look guys long edge this is the best way. I invested in sheared 96 x 5 1/8 inch steel. Great for flooring.
T-shirt---- yes please.
xl please
Along the lines of your bullet journal tip: Don't they make reinforced sketch filler paper? I use reinforced graph paper for several binders - I have the tendency to take out what I read, and put it back in the front of a binder. The things I refer to most often are then most accessible. A nice byproduct of that is that looking for something I have vague recollection of, I generally know I should start from the back. Inevitably, similar notes get clumped together as I refer to them.
That being said, one place where I do find a table of contents helpful is by making bookmarks made of 3x5 cards in books. That way, rather than trying to store noteworthy info elsewhere, I can just leave the index card(s) in the book. It's also helpful to remind myself what I found useful in a book if a friend asks about it.
Great podcast. I could literally hear the clock ticking in the background during the pause while Mike was figuring out a loophole to Anissa’s joint question. Lol
Great show as always, Jarrah and Tasmanian Oak.
Oak and maple
If I could only use two fingers to rate the podcast; I would give it two thumbs up.
Another great episode!
Walnut and Maple
Anissa & Mike are the best! Thanks for making my day better.
2 woods? Maple and walnut. The different figures of maple present gorgeous tapestries into which walnut heartwood contrasts while the sapwood compares. And both are locally available where I make sawdust.
2 Joints? Splined miter because I'm into making keepsake boxes at the moment, and the deep purple/pinkish brown of walnut splines, tops and feet sure are pretty against that wistful creamy background.
Groove because boxes need a bottom. Although I could be convinced to switch to butt joint or rabbet or a multitude of plethoras of other joints. This feature is largely utilitarian.
Sandpaper? 180 + 240 is my personal sweet spot. Below that I'm shaping so planes and scrapers do the bulk of the work, while above that I'm in finish territory where quad aught and/or a frenching pad are king.
Beverages? Tea and Bourbon. Coffee is nice, but have you tried lapsang souchong with its resinous pine needle smoked flavor? Or the multitude of other varieties and production methods that resonate oh so well with the act of selecting a particular lumber for a peculiar project?
And bourbon 'cause I've gotta find some way for oak to shine. I imagine half the reason oak is so popular in woodworking is that husky aroma as it meets the blade. Okay, I'll concede that those rays and flecks sure look nice, but I'll let those with a more methodical approach showcase this wood in their bread and butter.
2 fingers? Thumb and middle. A grasp between these two digits is significantly stronger than the thumb/pointer, plus the index is comparatively ineffective when one is cut off in traffic.
maple cherry.....great show
Would love the opportunity to have a FineWoodworking T shirt
Size L
Another great episode. First off my two woods would be Oregon Myrtlewood and curly cherry if I could get sufficient amounts of the Myrtlewood.
I fully agree about not feeling right about resawing on the table saw. While I’ve seen it done it’s not something I’d try.
The article on using shims in the shop sounds like one I’d be interested in. I’ve used them for some tasks and would love to see other ways to use them.
Ben, I like your technique even though my planer does plane down to 1/8 of an inch. It tends to break up wood, especially if it is at all figured, when I try to plane that thin.
I also agree that lumber yards play by their own rules and trying to argue with them is pointless. Every yard I’ve used seems to have their own rules too. Like Mike said, I pay the price and make something.
Mike’s technique of a sketch book with a table of contents is brilliant. If someone would make them that way with numbered pages I’ definitely buy some.
Donn Bullock
WB Fine Woodworking
But I always thought "Bonk, bonk, bonk" was funny :(
Cherry and curly maple!!
XL please... ;)
Walnut and white oak for me! XL Please!!!
Fun show, Cherry and Mahogany, XL, bonk bonk bonk.
Cherry and walnut. XL because I have a very muscular belly.
Not only was this an informative episode, but it also made me laugh out loud quite a few times. You guys rock.
Cherry and White Oak. Would love a t-shirt. Size large, please.
Thanks!
Cherry and Pine... great show, keep up the good work!
Favorite two joints were probably the ones you three shared before the podcast! Everybody got the giggles, and there was a discussion on flat bottom tacos! Quite the funny pod!
Great show as always
I’m in the 50% that found this episode amazing. Cherry and pine-bonk,bonk,bonk!
I'll buy that sketchbook.
holly and mahogany.
For Cameron's question, keeping longer pieces (ripping first) would be my preference. My rationale is that if the off-cuts are too small on their own, you can always laminate long pieces to make a wider board, but you can't laminate short pieces to make a longer board (without also making a wider, offset lamination)
Craig was right about being charged for the wrong size board. When pricing lumber the only reasonable approach is to consider the smaller dimension as the thickness. A piece of wood that's 1 in. x 8 in. x 6 ft. is a 4/4 board that's 8 in. wide. It's not a 32/4 board that's 1 in. wide.
Walnut and Cherry! Great show as usual. Mike, Anissa and Ben, my favorite host combo.
Great episode, I enjoy STL best when Anissa and Mike delve into the subject of books and/or teachers who have inspired them in some core way. I now own books by Tage Frid and J. Krenov because of the conversations that you've had centering on how those teachers and their schools were helpful in your growth as furniture makers. If I had to select two wood species; I would select Pear (because I've never worked with it) and Pine because I use it almost everyday. No tee shirt needed.
and please no tee shirt needed here
Yellow Cedar and Walnut. XL shirt, pretty please!
Love the show guys. Thanks for everything. I know i'm a long way away, but my favourite 2 timbers are Tasmanian Blackwood and Tasmania Oak (we just call it Tas Oak). It would be awesome if you have every heard of either, but the blackwood is my favourite and a little like your walnut i think. I hope to make a Sam Maloof rocking chair one day out of Blackwood. If i do, i shall send you a picture. Thanks again, you make this hobby less daunting and fun at the same time. All the best
My two woods walnut and beach. Walnut for the variety (I prefer the black walnut) and beach for its many uses and durability (great for drawers). Joints I’d have to go with dovetail for short runs and not sure if its a joint, but, I use the t channel router bit with a couple of passes on the table saw for long hidden runs. I’d definitely wear the shirt. Also on a final note if I think I’m being over charged for wood I’ll say so. If they won’t budge or show me how I’m wrong there are many other places to get wood in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Love the show thanks for the laughs.
If there's one thing I'm missing in life it's a shirt that says "Bonk bonk bonk." Please don't let me down Ben. And my two woods... White oak and walnut I think.
Great show. I always find it entertaining and noteworthy. Oak and, relcaimed pine.
Oregon Native- Maple & Walnut
Bonk, Bonk, Bonk!
Great show - funny, entertaining, and some good information too! Cherry and maple - following Mike’s line of thought - maple comes in red, silver, sugar, etc with grain of ambrosia, flame, spalted, etc, while black cherry comes in figured, curly.... My favorite joints ( good to hear the lifestyle diversity of the cast coming out in the show - does Ben try to use Denver as a hub when flying) are mortise and tennon and dovetails... I dislike resawing on the table saw relying on my bandsaw for this process ... I would buy the Mike P edition of the spiral bound notebook and I take a size large tee shirt.
Great episode, perfect cast and crew! Really enjoyed it!
Had to pass along some taco wisdom acquired from a friend - make the conventional and delicious hard taco, then wrap a soft taco shell around the outside to catch and hold all the tasty stuff that falls out when the hard taco shell breaks!
Table saw re-saw:
Really glad to hear you guys saying to not do something you are not comfortable with. There are many ways to do something for that reason. That said, I also really like that you made distinction between Hobbyist and Professional. Having about 15 years in professional top end furniture/cabinet shops, I have used both the band saw and the table saw for resawing. Both have positives and negatives, but I think what makes the difference is repetition. I was taught that the zero clearance plate, a tall secondary fence and a good set of hold downs was mandatory. After that, cutting thousands of feet in this manner taught me that the method is functional and the setup eliminates as much of the danger as is possible.
It can dull blades real fast and binding can happen to jolt you awake at times. Again though, don't do it if you have extreme fear. I think doing something with too much fear is more dangerous than the method because that stress level is waiting for an injury instead of using the tool wisely.
Ok let’s see if I got them all:
Mortise & Tenon/Dovetail
Index/Thumb (right hand)
Walnut/Ash
120/220
Water/Beer
And as a side note, square taco corners are the devil.
Bonk bonk bonk!!
Liked the "if you only could choose two" discussions. Makes you think. As far as wood goes, I would choose white oak and white pine, probably because I make traditional Windsor chairs.
First off, if I could only have two CO-HOSTS, it would be Anissa and Mike (no offense to the other incredible co-hosts you have had). This episode was the absolute best ever!!!! It was like three old friend talking woodworking, laughing, and busting chops. I absolutely loved it and hope you guys/gals team up much more frequently. I was insanely jealous that I couldn't have been there to join in the conversation. Keep it up!!!!
As for the two woods. I would have to say Cherry and Mahogany. I build period furniture, so those two woods would build a good hunk of the pieces I build.
Cherry & pine. Because I have a pile of rough cherry and I want to carve and paint some stuff and pile ought to paint up nicely.
I vote for this show going in the very good stack.
Cherry and Beech. Figured cherry is beautiful next to the quiet grain of rift sawn beach, and conversely, the flecks in quarter sawn (?) beech are a nice contrast to straight grained cherry.
First off, I'd love a bonk, bonk, bonk t-shirt. I didn't even know they were for sale.... Secondly, Mahogany and Beech. For sand paper, I would go 80 and 150. I need the 80 for material removal. 150 is close enough to finishable. If I was just doing finishing, I would probably go 180 / 220. For joints, I'm going with Mortise and Tenon and Dovetail as well.
Thanks for a great show. You all seemed to be enjoying it, which is nice.
I love the show and always have. It provides a great insight to the creative and practical thinking process of woodworker. As a lifelong self-taught wood worker it also provides a camaraderie for those of us who tend to work alone in our shops. The podcast humanizes the pillars of the industry by providing feedback you don’t get from the printed medium. “Gee, I made that same mistake.”
A golf analogy would be going to a tournament and seeing the bad shots and amazing recoveries one would not see on t.v. For those who are offended by the golf example, may I remind them that the first golf clubs were made out of wood.
Please keep up the good work on the podcast as well as in the magazine. As above I didn't know there were any Bonk Bonk tee shirts for sale. I'd love to get one. Keep cutting up wood.
Great show as always! Get a little antsy as time for another show approaches...keep looking for it.
Love to have a T shirt.
Great show. For me Oak and Sapele. Sapele has a great chatoyance and is very stable along with walnut which can be used as a contrast wood. I see a lot of "mahogany" that is Sapele or Sipo.
But, please, tacos are soft. Those packages fried shells are just bent tostadas. ;)
Nice session. Walnut and Cherry. Not original but a good choice.
Walnut and Oak
I know it’s not spiral bound and might not be available unruled, but Mike should check out the Moleskin “Professional Notebook.” It comes fully equipped with a table of contents section and page numbers. Also, on every page, there is a specific area to write in the date!
Hey, I'm probably too late to win a shirt but what the heck I'll try anyway. 2 joints for me would be mortise/tenon and dovetail. Sandpaper would be 320 and 400. Wood species for me would be hickory and cherry. Beverages.... coffee and coffee. I don't mind resawing at the table saw because I don't have a bandsaw at home nor do I have room for one and the bandsaw at work sucks so badly it would be more work than doing it at the table saw. As long as you have a sharp blade and the right feed rate resawing shouldn't be too bad if you're careful. Also, if the piece is too big to resaw completely at the table saw and you don't have a bandsaw to finish it off you could do it with a hand saw or you could rive it with an edge tool like a froe or even a chisel. And lastly you have to make sure the cover of Mike's custom sketchbook is blue tape
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