Cutting a 6x6 into 4 pieces

[weelis]

I have a four ft. long piece of rough sawn cherry that is 6x6. Need advise as to best way to cut it into four equal pieces to make table legs. Tjhanx.

 

[Grimmy2016]

You might want to joint and plane the wood so its exactly even on all sides. Then if you have a decent bandsaw with resaw guide you can set it to 3" width and cut down the length and then take both halfs and do the same with them (on the 6" wide side face down on the table) That would be the easiest.

I have a four ft. long piece of rough sawn cherry that is 6x6. Need advise as to best way to cut it into four equal pieces to make table legs. Tjhanx.

 

[Mike Davis]

Tablesaw set 3 inches at blade height and rip fence. One cut on each face.

 

[Roy G]

Unless you need 4 feet long legs for your table, I would recommend cutting the piece of cherry down closer to your final leg length. This would allow you to minimize any bow or cup in the wood. Then I would smooth one of the faces before I did any ripping.

Roy G

 

[mkepke]

I would skip joint and plane two adjacent faces, so the beam could be rsawn into four separate leg-blanks with a bandsaw/tablesaw/hand held circ saw - whatever you have available. I would only remove enough material to get a reference surface(s).

I would try to preserve as much material as possible for after the resaw with the expectation the leg blanks are going to warp, possibly a lot. You may need to remove quite a bit of material to re-true each leg.

-Mark

 

[scsmith42]

I would try to preserve as much material as possible for after the resaw with the expectation the leg blanks are going to warp, possibly a lot. You may need to remove quite a bit of material to re-true each leg.

-Mark

^^^^ This. Unless those 6 x 6's are the exact same MC% throughout, you're going to get some movement after your resaw them.

 

[Rwe2156]

Start with two square and jointed faces then resaw. I prefer bandsaw less waste.
Joint the sawn faces, sticker in a draft free area.


Resawing opens up the center of the wood so it is subject to both stress relief and bowing due to diffs in moisture.
The key is keep them big as long as possible.

Check them with a straight edge every couple days. Plan on rejointing at least 1 or 2 times taking equal amounts off all face and re-stickering for up to a week between millings (this depends on how stable the wood is).

Sneaking up on final dims is the key. And you may still find some movement even after that!

 

[jazzflute]

I would crosscut it into little 1" thick squares, then cut each one into quarters, and then glue them back together until you reach the length you need for the legs.


OK, not really, but it was the only answer that wasn't already taken.


K

 

[Hmerkle]

I would crosscut it into little 1" thick squares, then cut each one into quarters, and then glue them back together until you reach the length you need for the legs.


OK, not really, but it was the only answer that wasn't already taken.


K

Kevin - sometimes we miss you when you are gone for long periods...

 

[jazzflute]

Kevin - sometimes we miss you when you are gone for long periods...

I note the conspicuous inclusion of the word "sometimes" in your post.

Hmmm....

K

 

[Hmerkle]

I note the conspicuous inclusion of the word "sometimes" in your post.

Hmmm....

K

Polly gets two crackers for paying attention to the lyricist!

 

[jazzflute]

Polly gets two crackers for paying attention to the lyricist!

I prefer to use shellac; do I still get two crackers?

K

 

[Hmerkle]

I prefer to use shellac; do I still get two crackers?

K

Well, then maybe you will have to share (with me for the responsibility of hijacking weelis thread!!!)