Resawing cherry

Well this weekend I was going to resaw a load of walnut, to make a load of resonators clad with... well walnut. But my plank wasn't where I thought it would be, due to a car getting some repairs and another car being unceremoniously unloaded. 

Lucky then I had a HUGE plank of cherry and I really like cherry better than walnut so expect to see a load of cherry resos. 

I don't know if you can see it but there are pencil marks at the end of the plank. The leftmost 12 centimeters have the growth rings parallel to the faces of the plank, so that'll be ripped off and sliced to sides. Then the growth rings dive down and the 19 cm to the right are more or less quarter sawn. This matters less in my resos of course, but I wouldn't want the flat sawn look on the bodies. 

In the pic I'm cross cutting at 90 cm, a piece long enough for one piece rims and three smaller slabs to be ripped to one piece tops and backs. 

Then I ripped those 12 cm destined for sides. The daylight was disappearing fast. And my rip saw needs sharpening!

Remember the kerfing plane? Well of course you do. It gives me a kerf on all four sides of the slab, to guide the frame saw. I decided to make several kerfs at the same time. 

And that was hard work. The vise is heavy and grips securely, but it's mounted too high for this. I have a sore elbow now. 

But why the hand tools? Am I amish? No, my bandsaw is too tiny innit. See here. It can handle one piece soundboards for piccolos and acoustic sopranos, but the resos are too wide. 

So out came the frame saw. This was the morning after, I snuck off to the workshop before my family woke up. 

I will finish those handles before I use the saw next time, I promise myself.

One and a half hour later, knackered but pleased. The wood was kiln dried and had some case hardening so the pieces bowed a bit as they came off the slab. It'll cause no problems, but it's interesting to see the tensions inherent in a piece you perceive as totally inert and stable.