Splitting thick material into two for scales.

[Joshua Fisher]

Just a tip for those with metal saws, lower tooth count is going to work better for what is essentially a small resawing cut. You can find bi-metal blades in 4 and 6 tpi that are 1/2” wide from places like bladeserpent either in Lenox or their house brand. If the teeth are too fine they will clog before they can exit the cut and cause drifting as that dust has no where to go it pushes on the blade and will make the blade wander more. With the right blades you can make very thin cuts and have minimal clean up. If you only need to make one cut to split the block in half and don’t have a fence for the bandsaw use a height gauge and scribe a center line or scribe two lines and stay in between them. Oscillating tools in my experience build up a lot of heat in the cut which is not a good thing for wood handles, especially some exotics can be very sensitive to heat.

 

[AVigil]

Oscillating tools in my experience build up a lot of heat in the cut which is not a good thing for wood handles, especially some exotics can be very sensitive to heat.

With the multi tool it is easy to control the heat by not ham fisting the cut. You just keep pecking at the cut and do not over heat it. I split ebony, which is heat sensitive with no problem

If over heating is an issue then the last thing you would want to use is a table saw.

The reality is not everyone has or wants an expensive wood cutting bandsaw.

 

[Joshua Fisher]

With the multi tool it is easy to control the heat by not ham fisting the cut. You just keep pecking at the cut and do not over heat it. I split ebony, which is heat sensitive with no problem

If over heating is an issue then the last thing you would want to use is a table saw.

The reality is not everyone has or wants an expensive wood cutting bandsaw.

I actually don’t even use my wood saw much anymore and will likely be selling it soon, I split blocks on my metal cutting saw with a low tpi blade and then I take the blade off when I’m done and only use it for splitting blocks.

 

[ashwinearl]

With the multi tool it is easy to control the heat by not ham fisting the cut. You just keep pecking at the cut and do not over heat it. I split ebony, which is heat sensitive with no problem

If over heating is an issue then the last thing you would want to use is a table saw.

The reality is not everyone has or wants an expensive wood cutting bandsaw.

AVigil any chance you could show picture of how you secure the scale and hold the saw to manage consistent depth of cut.

 

[AVigil]

AVigil any chance you could show picture of how you secure the scale and hold the saw to manage consistent depth of cut.

Scribe a line around the circumference of the block where to want to make the cut. Clamp block in a bench vise, with the top of the block parallel to the floor. Hold blade parallel to the top of the block and start your cut

 

[C_Claycomb]

Tip from the woodworking world might be new for some, not for others.

Set up your scribe line and cut so that you are cutting with the edge of the cut’s kerf on the line. The tempting thing is to scribe the line dead centre of the material, then try to put the centre of the saw on the scribe line. Usually a recipe for a wobbly kerf.

For wood splitting, good saws are those made for cutting tenons. These don’t tend to be things one finds at the local big box hardware store. They have reinforcement on the back to keep straight, and rip cut teeth shaped to cut western hardwoods rather than Japanese softwood.

 

[Albin]

Here is how to get perfect cuts on a table saw or band saw -
Attach the block to a larger piece of wood or metal with double sided tape. Use the kind sold by places like Woodcraft for the folks who do turning.
Make sure the block you use is square. A 1-2-3 block will work, a piece of 2X4" aluminum bar or rectangular channel, or a well sanded and squared piece of 2X4 hardwood. IT can be wider if you wish 2X6 or 2X8 ... doesn't matter, as long as the side is square,

Now you have something that you can run through the saw against the fence safely. It works best with a pusher fence/sled that is squared to the blade at 90°.
This technique is also good for cutting multiple scales from a thicker block.

My table saw sled is one of the most useful tools I've ever made. Every table saw owner should have one.

 

[A.McPherson]

My table saw sled is one of the most useful tools I've ever made. Every table saw owner should have one.

Plus they are super easy to make, so you doing have to buy them!

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Agreed - A 90° sled made from scrap lumber and a roll of double-sided tape makes for safe and accurate cuts done in seconds on a table saw of band saw.

 

[JV Knives]

I think the real problem here is we are mainly knife and steel workers until we schedule a piece of wood in to a build (different %s for each of us) but its hard to allocate the money to "do it right" if this is your only wood interest. I'm still looking for the best and cheapest method for this as I fall in to that category. I jump back and forth between a cheap tablesaw, a metal bandsaw, and a mitre saw. Don't really like any of them and I'm sure a higher end wood cutting machine is superior. I own a dewalt oscillating saw....will give this one some thought

Cheers gents,
John

 

[Crag the Brewer]

I have a craftsman vibrating multi tool I got as a gift.
I attempted cutting into a medium branch of sumac I'm attempting to dry, then send off for stabilizing.... I have a bunch I'd like to do.

This tool didn't make a dent, hardly.
Maybe I can look for a courser toothed blade for it?

I don't really want to buy a bandsaw, money is tight now, more so than usual

 

[A.McPherson]

I don't really want to buy a bandsaw, money is tight now, more so than usual

I got lucky on mine... A buddy of mine found it abandoned on the side of the road, didn't feel like fixing it and gave it to me.
Bought a new drive belt, greased it up ordered some band saw blades and bam! Here I am 10 years later wishing I was talented enough to make band saw puzzle boxes with the best of them!

 

[AVigil]

 

[RickHuf]

I have a heck of a time splitting material. I've tried screwing it to other boards, table saws, band saws, Japanese fancy saws...


Never thought of the multi tool. I have a corded Dremel one that was bought for the Mrs to refinish furniture. Gonna give it a shot thanks!

 

[RayseM]

Another way to beat this devil :

1) Start with a solid, flat surface, 3 or 4 times (more) bigger than your cut piece - upon which you will attach your cut piece and another bigger piece that is the same thickness as the “finished” piece you wish to obtain from your good stock. You can stack material here ( of wood, plastics, metal even) to get the right thickness - each layer can be secured to the other with contact cement - OR - a high quality double stick tape - carpet tape or a 3M type. If you stack material, THE TOP PIECE should be a material that will not ruin the sharp teeth of your good saw. A dovetail saw is ideal as it is designed to cut along the grain and through end grain but any sharp medium to fine tooth blade that you can push down on to guide as you cut, will serve the purpose. SEE NOTE # 3.

2) Also use the contact cement or double stick tape to fix your intended cut piece to the base board. No need to secure the thickness guide as it could be handy to be able to move it around the cutting piece. The contact cement and the double stick tape can be easily removed after with a few spritzes of lacquer thinner from a spray bottle and a bit of prying with a thin putty knife.

3) With your cut board attached to the flat work surface and your guide piece or stack ready - using a good sharp back saw or Japanese saw with a good amount of flat behind the teeth so that you can keep pressure on it - start the cut into your cut piece with the saw blade resting firmly (with hand pressure) on the guide block.

4) You can move your guide block around to the ends and other side to start saw kerfs all around the perimeter. The end cuts in particular will serve to guide the blade. Keep an even pressure on the blade and cut around your cut piece - meeting the cut in the middle from the 2 long sides.

5) To finish up your cut pieces flatten with a disc or 2 of self adhesive sanding paper on a hard flat surface. Simply push your stock back and forth on the sand paper.
There are other ways to sand smooth but for small scale size pieces this is a challenge with any machine - so I recommend hand sanding flat.

6) In some cases you will be cutting a very nice piece of wood in half (or nearly so) creating a book match of the grain that will be the outside surface of your scales. In such a case not is not so critical that the cut surface be truly flat as this will be finished outside surface and will shape more easily attached to the knife.

7) Hand cutting gnarly hard woods by hand is tedious but doable and the above process will do the job more cleanly (though slower) than any oscillating tool. Those blades - even the best of the woodcutter blades. At the least - in my experience - an ocilatting tool blade will overheat and wander in hard wood even in only a few inches, resulting in an uneven cut and some heat hardening of the wood. OK enough for cutting pine or basswood but for most knife handle material not a great result.

8) I prefer to use a bandsaw but when I didn’t own a bandsaw the above was my technique.

 

[AVigil]

Hand cutting gnarly hard woods by hand is tedious but doable and the above process will do the job more cleanly (though slower) than any oscillating tool. Those blades - even the best of the woodcutter blades - will overheat and wander in hard wood even in only a few inches, resulting in an uneven cut and some heat hardening of the wood. OK enough for cutting pine or basswood but for most knife handle material not a great result.

I have cut Micarta, Ebony and Desert Iron wood, no "wondering or uneven cut" The video show that. As for over heating, take it slow, blow air in the cut to cool down.
There have been a few who have never done it claim it can not be done an yet I have shown otherwise.

 

[RayseM]

I have cut Micarta, Ebony and Desert Iron wood, no "wondering or uneven cut" The video show that. As for over heating, take it slow, blow air in the cut to cool down.
There have been a few who have never done it claim it can not be done an yet I have shown otherwise.

Wasn’t intending to be argumentative AVigil , just reporting my own results trying to do the same (but different). I use a multi tool weekly if not daily for all kinds of woodworking. It is one of my favorite tools by far - only wish I had bought one years before I did. Admittedly I have never air cooled my cuts. From my experience my results trying to reduce the thickness of various materials has been less than satisfying - mixed results at the least. It certainly does the job though. I guess I need to adapt my speed settings and feed rate to the task. My blades are excellent quality. I edited my post with a qualifier.

Do you use any kind of a guide or are you free handing to a scored line?