Cutting wood planks?

I am a new member to this forum. So, please forgive me if the question has been asked countless times. I have gone over the old messages and have found answers to some of my questions. But, not all of them.
I have purchased my own stock for a plank on frame model. I have some cedar, mahogany, and some black cherry.
What I need to know is what should I do about cutting the planks? Can I take them to someone to cut them for me? If so, what kind of establishment will do that for me?
I have a band saw...only a 9" one and the blade wavers too much to be a good choice. I have already cut some strips on a table saw with a low kerf blade and it works well. The resulting wood is fine but does have some marks on it.
Thanks in advance
{David O'Flaherty}

Cut strips off the edge of your stock (plank) and finish so that the THICKNESS corresponds to the WIDTH of the planking stock you require.

Then resaw these strips and slice planks of the appropriate thickness off the edge...allow for saw marks so that the planks will FINISH to the correct thickness. This is where a modeling saw, such as the Preac, really shines.

Most planks will be seen on only one side, so some roughness on the back can be tolerated.
{John O. Kopf}

I mill all of my own planking and I start with regular boards. I cut them down on a Microlux table saw, then run them through a thickness sander until the thickness of the board is the width of the plank. This is usually 1/4" or less. Then I rip planks off of this billet with the Preac saw. Works great, consistent results, and the Preac leaves no teeth marks on the wood.
{Bob Hunt}

Is it the Preac? Or the blade you use that leaves no marks. Oh Gheese, I may have started something here. But I really wonder if it's the saw or the blade that counts, No simple answers allowed.
{Nebk}

It is the blade, which is a slitting saw that is hollow ground, that is, it is thicker at the outer diameter than at the bore. Also a solid mounted spindle running in ball bearings helps a great deal, no wobble.
{Regards, Jerry G)

P.S. If you want a complicated answer, you have the wrong guy!

"a solid mounted spindle running in ball bearings" Aye, and there's the rub. The blade must run true to prevent saw marks, and for that the shaft must run true ... which may require a top quality saw. We know the Preac is engineered for this purpose, but are less sure of the cheaper saws. (But who am I to say? I use a 20 year old [has it been that long!?!] 8" makita contractor's saw where I compensate for the wobble in the blade with the inaccuracy in the fence. grin And then use a plane to remove the saw marks.)
{David Hill)

An important factor for smooth cuts is exact alignment of the saw arbor with the table slot.

I went through a labor of love to align my 10" table saw using a dial indicator, and was able to get within .002". Just torqueing the bolts on the trunion could change the reading by more than .002". So it became a lengthy trial and error process. Perhaps higher grade cabinet saws have a better trunion adjustment mechanism. Anyway, with a high quality blade, I can make smooth cuts with virtually no teeth marks. In the case of a Preac, it comes with precise alignment out of the box.
{Phil Krol}

When I took my Preac out of the box, I was a little disappointed to find that the blade as mounted at the factory was running out .009" (nine thousandths of an inch). Not exactly "precise alignment". I removed the spindle shaft from the bearings and carefully set it up in my Sherline lathe to run dead nuts (toolroom expression for true reading, meaning no deviation of a dial indicator on the work when rotated) and then took a very thin facing cut on the surface where the saw blade is mounted. When carefully assembled, the saw blade is now running "dead nuts". I wrote a letter to Charlie Files, the CEO of Preac, and he saw to it that every saw spindle shipped after that date, was faced at assembly to insure the accuracy they advertise. By the way, Charlie and I both worked for Bulova Watch Company, but at different times. Their toolroom is renowned for turning out the best toolmakers in the world, every bit as good as Swiss or German toolmakers, but trained in the good old USA!
{Regards, Jerry G}

Yes, that is pretty much what I did. I used a 10" table saw and am not too concerned with the finish of the planks. I will sand them down to a nice smooth exterior finish that should be fine.

I don't have any fancy equipment like a Preac saw so I was looking for some tricks on how to do it without anything special. I mean...they have been making models for hundreds of years!

I will let you know how it turns out!
{David O'Flaherty}

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