: I am ready to start cutting strips. I have some clear 2"x8"x16ft
: western red cedar and I am wondering if anyone out there can give me
: advice based on experience. I have a 10" table saw with a new Freud
: thin-kerf teflon coated ripping blade. I also have a 14" band saw
: with a riser. I want to end up with 1/4 by 3/4 strips.

: In what order should I do the ripping? Should I start by ripping each 2x8
: into 1x8 boards on the bandsaw, and then cut strips on the table saw? Or
: should I just start with the table saw to make 1.5in by .25 inch strips. I
: have never tried ripping through 8" thickness on a band saw. Would
: that be painfully slow for a 16 foot length? Your advice please.

: Stan Woronko

Hi Stan

First things first: Do you have flat grain or verticle grain in the 2 x 8?

You want to end up with verticle grain in your strips if possible, simply for ease of sanding and scraping when fairing your hull. It is a matter of personal preference as to whether you use the band saw or table saw for cutting your material. I don't like using the band saw because mine sits up too high to comfortably work with long stock. To effectively rip with a band saw you need to have the widest blade that will fit on your wheels which in most cases means you will have to buy a special blade and reset the guides to fit it. Then you will have to build infeed and outfeed tables the same heighth as your saw table. Then you will have to build a fence to guide the material.

The table saw is about waist high and easier to control material on to my thinking. With the table saw, you already have the fence and the blade you need so you will only have to build an outfeed table, or if you have a neighbor or friend to tail off on the saw, then you needn't buy or build anything else.

If the board has a clean end ( fresh cut so you can see the grain )then you can determine which way you want to cut first. My first cut is ALWAYS to rip down one side of the board to get a clean, straight edge to work with. Most lumber is slightly rounded on the edges and you don't want that in your strips. Then....When you have somewhere to start....stop!! .... and look at the end of your material. You need to have a plan before you just start ripping.

I don't know what knowledge you have of grain patterns, but, Verticle grain is when the growth rings in the lumber are going up and down in the face of your board. They will be fairly straight and close together.( while it is laying flat on the table ) That is what you want in your strips. Flat grain is when the growth rings are going across the board in swirly patterns. This is where the old saying " a picture is worth a thousand words " comes in real handy. It's tough to explain to someone who hasn't dealt with it before. Anyone want to sketch, scan and post an image of this???

If your grain is verticle, you have a much easier task ahead of you. Since you want 3/4" strips, you can set your fence for that measurement and rip the 2 x into 3/4" planks. Then, lay them down and cut them into 1/4" thickness. I don't remember the nominal width of a 2" x 8" board, but, chances are you will have a little left over. Save it for possibly using as thinner strips somewhere or just cut single strips out of it.

If you have flat grain, then you will need to turn it around a quarter turn to get the verticle strips. If your nominal thickness of the board is 1 1/2" you will not get the full 3/4" width strips out of it, as you will have the blade kerf to deal with. Then, you will need to subtract the kerf thickness and divide in half to find the width. Some stock is about 1 9/16" or 1 5/8" and you will have a better chance of getting the 3/4" widths in your strips. To make the board easier to handle, I would cut it into a couple of pieces and that can be done by taking 4 or 5 - 1/4" measurements and add the kerf measurement for each cut needed and then cut that width. It's easier to handle a smaller 2 x than the full 2 x 8. Then, you can rip 1/4" slices off of that with the grain going across and then the 3/4" rips to finish up. Or, you can rip 3/4" slices off of it with the grain going up and down and then rip the 1/4" strips with the garin going across. You must be aware of the depth of cut possible with your blade as some don't have the thin kerf down the whole blade. Some only use around 1 1/2" or so. Im not familiar with the Freud brand's construction.

There is always the board with the circular grain pattern, which complicates things a bit. For this one, you have to do a little picture drawing on the end of the board to determine which way you need to cut it. That would be too much to explain without a diagram, but, I think when You see the board, you will get the idea.

I hope I've made this at least semi-understandable for you. Then again, you probably know all of this already.??? I don't have the capability to post pictures or sketches or I could show you in a couple of seconds. If this doesn't make any sense, then maybe one of the other fellas/gals can help you out further.

If you want to complicate things further, you could " Book-Match " all the boards in different patterns. I can do it, but, I can't explain it to make any sense and if you are new to this, I wouldn't try it on the first boat. Hope all this helps a little. :)

Rehd