Band Saw: Cut Joints Like a Handsaw

08/28/2016 08:44
For centuries, dovetail and mortise-and-tenon joints have been the woodworker’s choices for both strength and beauty. The mechanical interlock and the long grain surface area of these joints provide unparalleled strength for a wide variety of woodworking applications. Dovetails are used most often to join the corners of casework and drawers, while mortise-and-tenon joints are used to make face frames for casework and paneled doors and to join legs to rails when constructing tables and chairs.
 
Although there are dozens of methods for making these time-honored joints, you may be surprised how quickly and precisely you can cut them with your band saw. Of course the process starts with the right blade for the job, and if you want to cut dovetails, your saw must have a tilting table. For more details on cutting precision joinery with your band saw, you can click here.Follow templates like a router
 
Using a template with a woodworking machine is the fastest way to produce identical multiple parts for furniture or other woodwork. This procedure also relieves the tedium that occurs when making many identical pieces. If you own a router table, you’ve probably used the template-routing technique. It’s very similar to the template-sawing technique. 
 
When template routing, you must first make a stiff template of plywood that is identical to the part you wish to produce. The bearing on the end of the router bit follows a template attached to the work piece to guide the cutler along a path. Whether you’re making 6 parts or 60, they all come out alike.
 
The same concept can be used with the band saw. First, clamp a notched stick to the table, positioning it around the blade, as shown in the bottom photo at left, or use a special blade that has a follower pin. Then, attach the work piece to the template with small brads or double-sided tape. As you guide the template past the notched stick, the blade is guided through the cut to create a work piece that is identical to the template – what you might call handsaw cloning Template sawing is a quick and easy way for you to make a multitude of exact copies of your original work piece.
 
Although the band saw doesn’t produce a finished surface as a router will, this technique is still much faster than laying out and sawing each piece individually. If you would like to put this technique to work on your bandsaw, you can click here.
 
Saw compound curves
 
If you enjoy building furniture with sensuous, flowing lines, then you’re well aware of the handsaws potential in this area of woodworking. Many furniture styles, both period and contemporary, contain graceful curves that flow in two directions at once, and the band saw is the tool for creating those curves.Once you learn to saw compound curves, you can add an extra dimension to your next furniture project. As a builder of exact reproductions of fine colonial American antiques, I use the handsaw to create the compound curves found in cabriole legs and ogee bracket feet. This technique involves laying out and sawing the curves on two adjacent faces. There are some additional steps involved, such as select¬ing the right blade and building a stand to support the stock, that are clearly outlined here.
 
Resaw wide panelsResawing involves standing a board on edge and ripping it through its thickness to produce two pieces of thinner stock. You can use this technique for making matching panels by sawing a thick, over¬sized board into two pieces of equal thickness.
 
Resawing is also a great way to make your own veneer out of a prized figured board. You can glue the veneer to drawer fronts for a chest so that all the fronts will match perfectly. If you need thin stock for small drawers or other small boxes, you can save lumber by resawing oversized stock rather than planing the excess thickness.
 
No other woodworking machine is better suited for resawing than the band saw. Because a handsaw blade is thin, it creates a small kerf and therefore very little waste during sawing. This means you’ll get more usable stock from your expensive lumber and less sawdust. 
 
Also, the thin blade of the bandsaw creates very little feed resistance as you’re sawing. If you’ve ever resawn with a table saw, you’ll immediately notice the difference with the bandsaw.
 
Resawing with the bandsaw is safer too. Since the blade pushes the stock down¬ward toward the table, there is no chance of kickback. Still another advantage is that you can resaw wider stock with your bandsaw than with a table saw. Most of the common 14-in. band saws can resaw a 6-in.-wide board. If you need more height capacity, you may be able to outfit your bandsaw with a riser block to extend the column to accommodate boards up to 12 in. wide. But if you plan to do a lot of resawing, a large-capacity floor-model bandsaw is your best option. It will have the motor, frame, wheels, and guides to handle the wider blades and the greater blade tension needed for successful resawing.

For centuries, dovetail and mortise-and-tenon joints have been the woodworker’s choices for both strength and beauty. The mechanical interlock and the long grain surface area of these joints provide unparalleled strength for a wide variety of woodworking applications. Dovetails are used most often to join the corners of casework and drawers, while mortise-and-tenon joints are used to make face frames for casework and paneled doors and to join legs to rails when constructing tables and chairs.

Although there are dozens of methods for making these time-honored joints, you may be surprised how quickly and precisely you can cut them with your band saw. Of course the process starts with the right blade for the job, and if you want to cut dovetails, your saw must have a tilting table. For more details on cutting precision joinery with your band saw, you can click here.Follow templates like a router

Using a template with a woodworking machine is the fastest way to produce identical multiple parts for furniture or other woodwork. This procedure also relieves the tedium that occurs when making many identical pieces. If you own a router table, you’ve probably used the template-routing technique. It’s very similar to the template-sawing technique. 

When template routing, you must first make a stiff template of plywood that is identical to the part you wish to produce. The bearing on the end of the router bit follows a template attached to the work piece to guide the cutler along a path. Whether you’re making 6 parts or 60, they all come out alike.

The same concept can be used with a good band saw. First, clamp a notched stick to the table, positioning it around the blade, as shown in the bottom photo at left, or use a special blade that has a follower pin. Then, attach the work piece to the template with small brads or double-sided tape. As you guide the template past the notched stick, the blade is guided through the cut to create a work piece that is identical to the template – what you might call handsaw cloning Template sawing is a quick and easy way for you to make a multitude of exact copies of your original work piece.

Although the band saw doesn’t produce a finished surface as a router will, this technique is still much faster than laying out and sawing each piece individually. If you would like to put this technique to work on your bandsaw, you can click here.

Saw compound curves

If you enjoy building furniture with sensuous, flowing lines, then you’re well aware of the handsaws potential in this area of woodworking. Many furniture styles, both period and contemporary, contain graceful curves that flow in two directions at once, and the band saw is the tool for creating those curves.Once you learn to saw compound curves, you can add an extra dimension to your next furniture project. As a builder of exact reproductions of fine colonial American antiques, I use the handsaw to create the compound curves found in cabriole legs and ogee bracket feet. This technique involves laying out and sawing the curves on two adjacent faces. There are some additional steps involved, such as select¬ing the right blade and building a stand to support the stock, that are clearly outlined here.

Resaw wide panelsResawing involves standing a board on edge and ripping it through its thickness to produce two pieces of thinner stock. You can use this technique for making matching panels by sawing a thick, over¬sized board into two pieces of equal thickness.

Resawing is also a great way to make your own veneer out of a prized figured board. You can glue the veneer to drawer fronts for a chest so that all the fronts will match perfectly. If you need thin stock for small drawers or other small boxes, you can save lumber by resawing oversized stock rather than planing the excess thickness.

No other woodworking machine is better suited for resawing than the band saw. Because a handsaw blade is thin, it creates a small kerf and therefore very little waste during sawing. This means you’ll get more usable stock from your expensive lumber and less sawdust. 

Also, the thin blade of the bandsaw creates very little feed resistance as you’re sawing. If you’ve ever resawn with a table saw, you’ll immediately notice the difference with the bandsaw.

Resawing with the bandsaw is safer too. Since the blade pushes the stock down¬ward toward the table, there is no chance of kickback. Still another advantage is that you can resaw wider stock with your bandsaw than with a table saw. Most of the common 14-in. band saws can resaw a 6-in.-wide board. If you need more height capacity, you may be able to outfit your bandsaw with a riser block to extend the column to accommodate boards up to 12 in. wide. But if you plan to do a lot of resawing, a large-capacity floor-model bandsaw is your best option. It will have the motor, frame, wheels, and guides to handle the wider blades and the greater blade tension needed for successful resawing.

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