Resawing a billet of Ribbon Sapele

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I purchased a very nicely quarter sawn 8/4 billet of very nice and clean Ribbon Sapele that is 62" long and 11.5" wide. It is a full 1.75" thick.
I've been thinking about the best way to deal with it...cut it up. I have a Highland Woodworking Woodslicer resaw blade for my saw. Height wise it will handle the width of this billet, but this will be my first resawing and I don't know if I want to chance cutting this thing full length and width, so I've worked out a way to get at least 3 sets, probably 4 if I can do a good job of sawing, of back & sides, 2 neck blanks and a bunch of neck blocks. If I really had the equipment and knew what I was doing, I could cut the thing up as is and maybe get 6 B & S sets out of it, but I question too much my ability to be successful doing that. Also, the sides would be only about 1" extra length for dreds and that is not much to play with.

A question for those of you...especially you John. I've done the math, but wondering about the "real world". With a .025" wide blade, and cutting 4, about 3/16" wide slices for B & S, and then adjusting down to about an 1/8" cuts for the sides, that I could expect to pretty easily get 8 total slices? I realize that there will be some running through the drum sander to clean up the surfaces. If I could do this, I could get 6 sets with sides at 31" long.

What do you think? All advise is welcome on how to treat this billet. I like Sapele necks, I've done two of them. Nice to work and I like the look even though they are a little bit heavier than Honduras Mahogany.

Also, there was a billet of Bubinga there I passed on; 8/4 by about 38" long and 11.5" wide. It was not fancy, but nicely quarter sawn also and nice with black streaks. Only $90. Not long enough to get two sets of backs off two slices though. John have you resawn Bubinga and would I be crazy to try it? I don't want to have to buy 3 blades to get it done, not worth it then.

Thanks for anyones opinion and experiences.

Kevin

[tippie53]

To get as much out of the plank as possible
First I run plank through the sander so I have a flat and true face. Then I joint an edge. You need this square corner to help the blade track.
To get the most out of the board ,is DON"T BE CUTE so allow a bit of waste. Now that you have a clean on 1 side lay out what you need to get out of the board. Lay out the sides and backs , You will get more sides than backs. Allow 33 in on the side and 22 1/2 for backs. at least.
Sides are cut thinner than backs so here is what I do for getting the most out of a board .
You have to know how your saw cuts so if you know it wanders ,allow for that. adjust the blade clearance for the thickness of the back or side plus saw mark so allow a 1/16 unless your saw tracks poorly.
Make the rip then clean the plank , also check the sawed piece and see how it cleans up and adjust if need be. So this is what you do
Clean faces saw , check clean faces repeat. This will give you the best yield. Feel free to ask more questions if need be .

[Darryl Young]

John, are you cleaning up the face on first thin slice removed, or on the thick slab that will be resawn again, or on both?

Kevin, I would sure try finding a wide board and cutting it into slices before trying the Sapeele.......even if you test cut OK n a piece of pine 2x12.

If the blade wants to turn and not cut parallel to the fence, sometimes adjusting tracking (meaning where it rides on the wheel) may correct this. As you move the blade over the wheel, MBB it changes angle a little.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Thanks John I surely appreciate your input. I will practice a bit on some scrap first, and I'll clean up the cut as I go as you've suggested. Do you ever cut off the outside of the billet or always cut against the fence?

Kevin

[tippie53]

what I do is clean the face that way you only take what you need to get that clean , so you loose as little as possible. I use a 1 2/3 tooth wood master carbide blase and this has about a .030 kerf and I allow .065 this gives me a bit of clean up.
So you are working with a clean face on each cut.