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After years of scrounging up wide, quartered boards, I have decided to build my first acoustic guitar (and have plans on making a bunch). I've got mostly 4/4 boards and am hoping to get four slices/two sets from each board.

I've got a 14" Jet bandsaw that I've used for years, but it's not quite as accurate as I'd like and I'd hate to see this beautiful wood go to waste.

Does anyone know of a shop in the Western NY area (from roughly Buffalo to Albany) that does precision resawing for acoustic sets? I've got a lot of wood so shipping won't work unless I'm looking to lose my shirt.

I did speak with Allied Lutherie in Vermont right as they were setting up their new shop and they do resawing for a shop fee. They obviously knnow how to process acoustic back and side sets, but it's just a bit further than I'd like to drive.

Any help? Thanks.

A guess - - - a call to RC Tonewoods might help. They sell b/s sets and they're in (or near) Buffalo.

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Peter Havriluk

RC tonewoods

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Unless those 4/4 boards are at least a full 4/4, 100% dead flat with no twist or warp, sanded smooth on the outside and totally free of any planer chips or other defects, you most likely won't get 2 clean sets out of them. They will definitely be thinner than I like to work with. Without any building experience, it's gonna be tough to work with sets that thin. Give that some thought, because you can always make wood thinner, but you can't make it thicker. Resawing nice wood with no room for error is a very stressful process. Long ago I learned that 1 nice set is better than 2 marginal sets, or worse no sets at all. Good luck!-Bob

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

I've received many emails from RC Tonewoods. but haven't shuffled off to Buffalo to see them yet. I'll give them a call for sure.

About the number of sets one can get out of a 4/4 board, most of my lumber is a full 1" thick (some thicker) and planed flat. I've read here and on other forums that people have been able to get 5 slices out of a board that thick and was being conservative. I'd be sure to get the opinion of whomever was doing the cutting and yes, I'd much prefer one good set and an extra piece for binding or headstock overlays. Luckily, the wood I've got has been in a very stable shop environment and some of it for decades.

Thanks for the responses.

I would have to agree with Bob.....

I have resawn over a thousand sets over the years on my 24" Laguna with a carbide tipped Woodmaster blade.

In my opinion the optimal thickness for resawing. backs is around .180" -any thinner and you risk not being able to clean them up to finished thickness of aprox .110 after joining.

So depending on the kerf size it's really close.

As far as sides go there is no problem getting 4 or even 5 slices out a full 4/4 board- I cut those at around .140 to finish up at around .085-.090

It may depend on the blade as to how much you need to leave for cleanup.

I run a Laguna 14SUV with their resaw king blade, and can comfortably get 5 slices per inch for backs.

A 4/4 board is a lot of meat to get 4 slices outta...

I guess some are just better at resawing than others. I have the same 24" Laguna as Brad and use the same woodmaster blade. I''m also up there with him on sets I've sawn. Plenty old Martin instruments and instruments made here in Hawaii show the saw kerf marks on the inside of the box. I guess if you are up for that, you should might able to get the 4 cuts. 5 clean cuts on a guitar width back is gonna nearly be impossible. Maybe you could send your wood to the poster who can do that.The .180 thickness that Brad mentioned is right on the money. For my own wood, that's about what I do. I've sold sets for 30 years and always like to give the builder a break and supply wood they can use without difficulty.I never know what their abilities are for joining, installing rosettes, etc. I will usually saw it at close to .200 and sand it to 4mm, giving the builder a chance at success, whatever their skill level is. I normally saw sets from wood that is 2 1/4" -2 3/8" thick. Works out the best for me. Don't go to a cabinet shop. Try to find someone with a power feed on their saw. First time I tried to build a guitar was around 1974. I took an 8/4 walnut board to a cabinet shop in Seattle and they got only 3 slices out of it! After that experience I went and bought a resaw. Good luck with your venture. Plenty to learn. Lots of hard lessons, but it's fun!-Bob

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

4/4 =1

1= 25,4mm

The Woodmaster CT has a kerf of about 1,35mm
There should be no doubt about getting 4 nice solid pieces out of 25,4mm boards
Even with 20mm, perfect flat pieces I am doing 4 slices of about 3,8mm
Sawmarks are so small and quiet, no problems to get to anything from 2,5mm to 3,2mm after joining and sanding

My opinion....

If the board is planed on both sides and is still a full inch thick, then you should be able to gut it three times and get 4 usable pieces unless you sawblade takes a very wide kerf. There is no real virtue in trying to get 5 pieces.
I've done some resawing using a combination of tablesaw and underpowered 14 inch bandsaw using the "nail in kerf" method of resawing, but it is more work and requires more cleanup than using a big properly setup bandsaw. Still, if you are only doing a couple of sets, it can work O.K..