Sawing out lams?

[barley40]

How do ya'll cut your lams for a laminated fiberglass longbow?

[Bradford]

Bandsaw then on the lam grinder

I usually cut them down to about 1/8 on the band saw, then I made my own lam grinder to get them where they need to be

[kennym]

Sharp blade on a well tuned bandsaw, .035" over desired thickness.

If a taper, saw it with a 1/4" thick taper sled of the right taper per inch.This not only saves wood and grinding time, but bookmatches much better grainwise.

Then grind with a thickness sander to proper thickness.

Sounds simple, eh? LOL

Gets easier after a few!

[Sixby]

Hey Kenny, What blade are you using Bro?

[kennym]

Hi Steve,
I have settled on a Lennox diemaster II , not a carbide, @ 4 tpi (I think )

About 32.00, carbide Lennox for my saw is 121.00 and only last 2-3 times the diemaster.

http://www.toolcenter.com/093_5_Band_saw_Blades.html

Some are better than others ,the one on my saw now cuts a little rough,like one tooth has a little too much set. Most cut pretty smooth.

[Walt Francis]

I used the same procedure as Kenny until I couldn't find a good bandsaw blade where I live and did not want to wait ten days for a new one to arrive (There are a downside to living in the Montana).  On a whim I tried a super thin 7 ¼" blade (A 40 tooth Diablo although the 24 tooth works well too), with the zero clearance insert, on my 10" table saw thinking it would get me by for the bow I had planned.  I was surprised, it is much faster, makes a cleaner cut, and has about the same kerf as the 8 teeth per inch blade I was using on the bandsaw.  However, unless you have a lot of experience and are confident using a table saw, for safety reasons I recommend using the bandsaw.

[Bradford]

Yeah Walt.. I have done it on a table saw as well.. I made them a hair thicker.. but it is fast.

I find with a 6 tpi blade, I hardly have to do and sand down on the bandsaw..  I just take a lot of time setting up the saw correctly.. I get great cuts.

[eflanders]

I have a good 40 tooth Forrest blade on my table saw but it's kerf is 1/8".  Great cut, no sanding needed if set right, but wastes valuable wood.  My bandsaw blade cuts a 1/16" wide kerf but needs sanding afterwards.  So what I usually do is use the saw that is safest based on the original stock thickness.