Resawing wide crotch mahogany

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briyon

Well-known member
I recently purchased a couple of beautiful pieces of crotch mahogany and was thinking about re-sawing them and how I would go about that task.  The 2 crotches are 21" wide, 45" long and 6/4.  I don't have a specific project in mind but was wondering about how I would maximize the use of these beautiful pieces of wood.  I do not have a band saw or any saw large enough to re-saw wood this wide.  My question is...how would others re-saw these pieces or any wide pieces beyond the capacity of their band saw?  I have been thinking about this in general, not just as it pertains to these pieces of wood.  I know most people don't have the capability to re-saw wood this wide by machine but wondering what most people do in this case.

Thanks,

Brian
 
Check with someone local with a bandsaw mill. It would be worth the time or I have hand saws but they are not sharp and you will have to be on the bottom plus I can not guarantee I can follow the line anymore.
 
Like Jeff said, don't kid yourself just go find someone with a bandmill. Last I heard Wood-mizer has sold over 25,000 so you'll never be more than a half hour away from one. Check their website, they should refer you to an owner nearby. My biggest bandsaw can fit 26" under the guide but I'm a little too far away and it's not set-up right now.
 
Brian,

My experience with such pieces of wood is that they often have cupped or twisted slightly and that since you are only dealing with 6/4 of wood, a slight deformation is substantial part of the thickness of wood to be harvested. You may need to have a way of holding the wood in plane for sawing to maximize your recovery.

I believe that you are likely to do best shooting for sawn pieces about 1/4 inch thick. With typical saw bladecut losses, this will mean you end up with about half of the piece in volume after sawing, but in you case perhaps 3-4 useful slices.

Karl
 
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