Thread: Walnut burl

I think you'll be fine, I've worked with harder, more crack prone woods in the past. Just go slow sanding and be gentle. As far as cutting, I would lean towered a blade finer teeth and more of them. Less chance for them to get caught and cause cracking. At 1/8 thick, you shouldn't have too much trouble cutting it into your basic shape. Good luck!

Matt

How did your Friend cut this down to 1/8 thick?
Or how or what do you guys use to do this?

Originally Posted by heliguy

How did your Friend cut this down to 1/8 thick?
Or how or what do you guys use to do this?

A good bandsaw.

Originally Posted by Joe Chandler

A good bandsaw.

Definately use a well set up band saw...

I lost about 1/3rd of my Ironbark burl by putting it through as thicknesser... envisage chunks of burl shooting from the exit as the blades tear apart carefully sawn 4mm slabs...

This kind of thing or am I kidding myself Ebay link

Well that IS a bandsaw...

The two most important factors will be how secure the fence is and the material used in the blade guide.

A carpenter friend of mine threw away the nylon guide blocks (in the head) and replaced them with ebony as it held/guided the blade more reliably.

It should suffice for your needs, just be patient.

I would say stay away from any bandsaw less than 14". The tabletop models just aren't heavy and strong enough to tension the blade enough to get good, straight cuts. This is from experience. You'll ruin more wood (or anything else) trying to resaw with the tabletop saws than you can imagine. They're really not even good for outline sawing. Point blank, they suck. The only one less than 14" I can recommend is the Craftsman 12". That's what I use. They're on sale right now for $329, as well. Phenomenal saw for the money, and will cut anything you can imagine. Fantastic saw!