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Cutting Strips

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I have been throwing everything in the thread about finding wood for strips and figured maybe I should break out some questions in either separate threads or start a build thread. For now I'll do a break out of a specific topic.

I dug out my 1981 printing of "The Strippers Guide to Canoe Building" from when I toyed with the notion of building a stripper way back then. It reminded me that back then I got the impression that most seemed to think band sawing the strips was the way to go. Given that in my shop the band saw is habitually the go to tool for operations where there is a choice between it and other tools I might normally tend to lean that way if it is a toss up.

I see that folks here seem to either use a skilsaw or a tablesaw. Given the choice between the two It occurs to me that I like the duct collection on the tablesaw considering how much cutting this will involve. It also might be a reason to prefer it over the bandsaw which has poor dust collection despite my best efforts to set that up.

If I wanted the very most smooth and uniform thickness strips I could run them through the thickness sander for a light pass on each side before doing the bead and cove, but I imaging that is overkill. It wouldn't take very long though since a lot could be done side by side in one pass.

Oh, on another note I saw some mention of "gang cutting strips" on the table saw using more than one blade with a spacer between blades. See http://www.michneboat.com/Making Strips.htm Anyone ever try that? Probably not worth the setup time for cutting the strips for one Wee Lassie 2, but it looks interesting. Thoughts?
 
In the above video, I do all my strip cutting outside No mess in the shop ! No need for infeed or out feed tables. Also no need to plane the strips ! They come out uniform enough, you go straight to the router to bead and cove.
I cut, and bead and cove, enough strips in one day (a Long day) for a canoe.

I have on a few occasions, loaded up my router table, and Skilsaw, to cut strips at friends houses, for their canoes. An extra hand makes the process go faster !

I learned this method from the Minnesota Canoe Assc,over 30 yrs ago. I have improved my saw set up, but it is the same method !

Jim
 
I prefer a bandsaw for strip cutting. The speed with a sharp blade is tough to match, and the waste due to saw kerf is minimal. Set up of the fence is critical.
BTW, I buy nothing wider than 6” stock, and slice from both sides, to minimize any accumulated errors. I generally lose only one strip per plank, and not because of an accumulation of errors.
Ultimately, you’ll need to use whichever method you’re most comfortable with... my early career as a toolmaker made me a band saw fan, but others obviously have alternate preferences.

Funny you mention David Hazen’s, book, that’s what got me started back in the ‘70’s.
 
Hands down the Skilsaw is the best method !

First, uniform strips will save a lot of work in the sanding department.
A bandsaw requires pushing planks trough the saw. A 16' plank is no fun pushing ! Same thing with a tablesaw !

A Skilsaw in combination with your Strongback, simplifys that.

https://www.facebook.com/1413686178/videos/10218869416472467/

I'll have to experiment a little on some scrap lumber with the various methods before committing and will give that a go. I kind of wish I had the problem of pushing 16' lengths of cedar, but if I am lucky some of it will be 12'. The stuff in the local racks is mostly shorter lengths with some 12' at the longest. In selecting pieces I figure I will prioritize for the nicest looking without regard to length. So I am not sure what lengths I will wind up with. I wouldn't be surprised if I wind up with mostly 8-10' stuff in 1" boards. The hardship of pushing those lengths is greatly reduced as compared to dealing with 16' lengths.

If I were to go with poplar I'd be dealing with bigger heavier rough planks as a starting point and doing all the milling in my shop, but they'd still only be 12'. If when I actually shop for the cedar if it looks lousy using poplar could still happen.

Maybe I don't give the skilsaw the credit it is due because my hand circular saw for years was a cheap piece of junk that I bought around maybe 1970. It was used mostly for rough work and any finer work away from stationary tools was done with hand tools. I fairly recently bought a worm drive saw that is night and day a better tool.
 
Second the use of a skillsaw with a thin kerf blade ... the new thin kerf saw blades are going to give the bandsaw kerf width a run for its money and the speed and cut alignment is going to be a lot easier IMO.

Pete, I don't like to have to do the strip joining on the canoe, I just skarf what I have to suitable lengths BEFORE cutting strips. Joining on the canoe isn't the end of the world, but I find working with full length strips is a lot easier. I skarf them at about 4:1 for strips and 10:1 for gunnels .... the strips don't need structural skarfs, so I save a little real estate and lower the ratio.


Brian
 
I prefer a bandsaw for strip cutting. The speed with a sharp blade is tough to match, and the waste due to saw kerf is minimal. Set up of the fence is critical.
BTW, I buy nothing wider than 6” stock, and slice from both sides, to minimize any accumulated errors. I generally lose only one strip per plank, and not because of an accumulation of errors.
Ultimately, you’ll need to use whichever method you’re most comfortable with... my early career as a toolmaker made me a band saw fan, but others obviously have alternate preferences.

Funny you mention David Hazen’s, book, that’s what got me started back in the ‘70’s.

I am used to using a bandsaw for re sawing. I have a few different fences for different purposes and re saw thicknesses from veneer on up all the time. Given that my normal work is mostly musical instruments I typically deal in rather short lengths though. I find that I can usually get a pretty smooth cut, but I can run the stock through the thickness sander or planer (I actually prefer the thickness sander for this) if I want perfectly matched thickness and perfectly smooth faces.

My copy of the Hazen book is a 1981 reprint.
 
Pete, I don't like to have to do the strip joining on the canoe, I just skarf what I have to suitable lengths BEFORE cutting strips. Joining on the canoe isn't the end of the world, but I find working with full length strips is a lot easier. I skarf them at about 4:1 for strips and 10:1 for gunnels .... the strips don't need structural skarfs, so I save a little real estate and lower the ratio.
It had occurred to me that would be a good idea, but I had seen little to no mention of it from other builders. I am used to doing scarf joints and would have no qualms about doing them except one. If I wind up with a hodge podge of widths and lengths of boards it might be a bit of a puzzle to figure out a sensible plan for doing so.

I hadn't seriously shopped for thin kerf blades in a long time (ever really I guess). So I was surprised when I saw that they were well under the width of what my blade that I considered thin kerf is. Mine is 0.125".
 
A Freud Diablo 24T 7 14" Construction blade (Carbide) is pretty much the standard ! At around $10 they are great !
 
The Bandsaw blades, we have at the Wood shop leave more kerf marks than a Diablo 7 1/4", and they can wander on you when they get dull.
 
Dissenting opinion here. I prefer to use the table saw for cutting strips. I am not a wood miser, I just want them to be reasonably uniform. Having said that, we do run them through a thickness planer to get them all the same thickness and with a smooth finish. This makes the routing much easier.

Scarfs are cut on a long table after the machining with an eye to matching the grain and colour as much as possible. I usually make a mitre box for that and hand cut them.

I would like to try the bevelling technique some time though.
 
Having completed my first canoe in May and having chosen the method of using my tablesaw, I certainly wish looking back on it that I had used the skillsaw method. I definitely had some minor inconsistencies using the table saw to rip the strips. I ran into some trouble with warped rough cut Ash lumber that I was using for my gunwales and this forum shared the method of using the skillsaw with a guide and I am now a believer and will never look back at any other method. I was able to cut the consistent full length gunwale lengths with the skillsaw method regardless of the wonky wood that tried to give me trouble. Skillsaw FWIW.
 
I first tried cutting strips with my skil saw, but it was underpowered, and the base wasn't up to par. So I ended up using my table saw. It did ok but I did have some inconsistent strip thickness, and it was like dcloots mentioned that you need a decent straight edge on the board to start with. I ended up cutting strips a hair thicker and running them thru my planer. This was more work and more waste. Next time I'll buy a better circular saw.
 
First time building a canoe, did do some striping for tear drop trailers, 15 years back no planks to bend like a canoe has. Cut them on a table saw with
a blade setup of 4 thin kerf blades 7 1/4 dia. with spacer for each blade 4 inches in dia. with bolts holding everything, can only cut just a bit over 1"
thick board. Spent most of 2 days now trying to cut strips with a skil saw could not get very good planks. and lots of dust in the air, and so much saw dust
on sweep up. The table saw I have now will only use 8" or 10" blades. Got 4 new 8" thin kerf blades put them in my old set up. Cut up 4 six inch deck boards got 64 planks 1 inch wide. down side is deck boards have radius on edges so 8 planks will only be about 3/4 wide. Put bead and cove on them
on router table. All saw dust went in vacuum. Did all cutting Sunday afternoon and not late for dinner.
I can see things coming up that will need help with. Stop by I 'm on the east side of the St Croix river.

lyle
 
Okay so I am wondering how you handle the narrow pieces when cutting with a skilsaw? I have a few ideas, but am curious what common practice is. I can't imagine just cutting the last strip from a narrow piece without the piece being held down some way. It sounds tricky.

I could see maybe sticking the work piece to the side of the strongback with double stick tape or something, but cutting a less that 1/2"wide piece to get the last 3/16-1/4" strip seems to be an iffy proposition without some kind of creative clamping or other holding.

I have pushed pieces that narrow through the fence on the tablesaw and bandsaw with either a couple push sticks or a push stich and a feather board, but the skillsaw seems to call for a different answer. Or is it a non issue in actual practice? Maybe just holding it against another board it isn't an issue?
 
I hadn't seriously shopped for thin kerf blades in a long time (ever really I guess). So I was surprised when I saw that they were well under the width of what my blade that I considered thin kerf is. Mine is 0.125".

So upon a bit of checking I guess my 0.125" thin kerf blade is fairly state of the art for a 10" thin kerf blade. The 0.090" kerf blades are the 7-1/4" blades. So if I use the table saw it is going to eat that extra ~0.035" per strip as compared to the skillsaw unless I fit the 10" tablesaw with a 7-1/4" blade. Not sure that is going to be the deciding factor, but I figured I might as well understand the difference.
 
I’d say 90% of the time I run an 8” blade on my 10” table saw. Thinner kerfs and more power from the saw. It’s 1950’s 10” Craftsman saw. Jim Dodd has a great thread on cutting strips if he didn’t link it already (I can’t remember all that what was said where) I hope he will. I’ve got several bandsaws, the tablesaw mentioned and basically a full wood shop but I still would cut strips with a skill saw.
Jim
 
Table saw cutter here. I have good in/out feed table setups, plenty of room in the shop, and dust collection. I use a thin kerf 7 1/4" blade in my 10" saw. I have no problem with uniformity.

I've tried double stacking blades on the table saw and it was more hassle than it was worth.

I tried using my bandsaw once. I didn't have very good luck. Since then I've gotten a better bandsaw and have seen how nice of a cut a good blade can leave so I have no doubt it can be done effectively.

I've never tried the skilsaw method but I'm sure it works fine.

Alan
 
Table saw here as well, with a 7 1/4 Diablo blade. Recently cut almost 1900 linear feet of strips, a mix of 3/16 and 1/4. Now about 2/3 through stripping my canoe and so far have found just 3 strips that had some serious thin spots.

Used the skilsaw method to process a couple of large boards to get them manageable for the table saw, including a 4x4 cedar post, and I am sure it would work well for cutting individual strips as well. I also found that you can really reduce dust using the skilsaw method by attaching a dust collector to your circular saw and running it to your vacuum system - I used one from Dewalt, although there are probably others, and it cut the dust by 80 percent as far as I could tell. But the table saw is just what I know for strips and am comfortable with it.

I should also say that the boards I was cutting with the table saw were not that long - 8 to 12 feet for most of them. If I was using anything much longer I would take probably try the skilsaw to take advantage of the fact that you are taking the saw to a hefty fixed board, rather than the other way around, and don’t need 30 or 40 feet of combined infeed/outfeed space. My last canoe I was manhandling an 18 foot piece of 1x6 ash through the table saw for gunnels and don’t care to repeat that.
 
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I've never tried the skilsaw method but I'm sure it works fine.

Alan

You are Truly missing out !
Roll a strongback out in the driveway, or yard. No dust in the shop.
For a beginner, or seasoned Pro. The most cost effective way to quality strips !
 
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