Best methods for cutting laminates

[Jacob1]

I need to rip cut long boards for laminated but kinda suck with a handsaw what are some ways I could cut out the wood needed

[mmattockx]

Many cut theirs on a bandsaw. I have used a tablesaw but upgraded my bandsaw a while ago and will be trying it the next time I am cutting them.


Mark

[Hamish]

Bandsaw or tablesaw. Bandsaw has a smaller kerf so less wood becomes sawdust, = more laminates from the same board.

Tablesaw, needs a dedicated rip blade.

Whatever method you use, you need to know what you are doing with the machines, before you grab a primo piece of timber and start cutting, and get success/safety. No matter what method you use, you will need to clean up the sawn faces before the lams will be ready for glue up.

[Gimlis Ghost]

You might consider one of the razor saws developed specifically for cutting wall paneling. They cut very cleanly.
I plan to get one before redoing the tile board in my restroom.

[bownarra]

If they are designed to cut sheet material it won't be much for cutting boards!
It depends on if you only want to do a few lam bows or set yourself up to do all the steps yourself.
it isn't just a bandsaw you need to prep lams a drum sander is also pretty much essential if you are doing lots. Also for decent Re's capability you will need a decent power and make of bandsaw.
I went down the route of getting an underpowered 2nd hand bandsaw to begin with thinking it would be ok and I'll be saving money....it was a total waste of money!
Another option is to find your local cabinet makers and ask them to rip your boards into lams and dress with 60/80 grit on their drum sander. You will get a profession job done and you can get on with the bow making.

[txdm]

I've done some 1/8" with a table saw and it's too much of a harrowing experience, between worrying about messing up the laminate and the board shooting into me like an arrow. I bought a band saw recently and though it is safer, it is still not easy to get them right. At the end of the day you still need to clean it up with planer of some kind.

[PlanB]

Just some tips when re-sawing using either:

For a bandsaw: make yourself an L shaped fence out of two pieces of 2 by lumber that you can clamp down at any angle to the blade. Most accessory fences either aren't tall enough, or don't allow setting the fence to an angle to the blade.

Then do a test run, resawing a piece of scrap wood to the thickness desired. Bandsaws blades almost always want to cut at a slight angle to exactly square to the table. Here's how to solve that problem. First scribe a line on the top of the scrap piece, then start re-sawing it freehand, keeping to the line. You will automatically correct to the right angle to stay on the line. Stop the saw when your piece is about a half a foot into the cut. Don't move the piece. Clamp your custom fence against the piece you are cutting at whatever angle it wanted to cut at. The fence will now have that angle and also will be spaced just the right thickness you want for your good stock. Then saw your actual lams out.

For a table saw:
Decide on the minimum width you need your lams to be and rip your stock to that width first. Then for re-sawing crank up your tablesaw blade to its max height above the table. Measure that. If you have a 10 inch tablesaw, maybe your blade sits 4 inches above the table. if so, and your stock is say 2 inches thick, consider buying a 7-1/4 circular saw hollow ground planer blade for this purpose. Or an 8" tablesaw blade of the same type. These blades will be much thinner and your saw will power through the resawing a lot easier with a smaller diameter saw. The hollow ground planer blade will leave a much thinner kerf, and a much smoother finish on your lams. You will also get a lot more lams out of a single piece of stock because of the narrow kerf.

Thickness sander: You can make up one of these with a little ingenuity, or various ideas out on the web. Mainly useful for if you're doing a lot of lamination and need a consistent thickness. Two wood and lam backed bows generally need only one clean side, But multilams need thickness control.

Hope that helps.