cutting hard 2" oak

[ChaplainRon]

I go by a trucking company where they work on trailers replacing the deck. It is made from 2"x12" boards that are made of joined 2" pieces of oak. They don't use cut-offs less than three feet long.

I got a small piece to see if I could do something with it. I had no idea that oak was so hard. I broke five blades cutting out my name. I have all the blades in Mike's sample pack. I guess calling Mike would be thee best way to get a blade strong enough to cut this wood.

Has anyone  used wood like this? Do you have any suggestions of what could be made from this wood?

Ron

[scrollgirl]

Maybe you can plane the board down a bit to a more manageable thickness.  But I think you wouldn't go wrong with calling Mike.  He is certainly the 'go to' man when it comes to blades and will put you on the right track.

  Sheila

[Rapid Roger]

Oak of any thickness is harder to cut than most other woods. I just cut some pieces of hard maple 1-7/8" thick for a project, and had an easier time of it than 3/4" oak!  I used an 'FD-XL No 7' (15 t.p.i.) to do the job. I'm sure ther may be a better blade to use for something that thick but, I got fairly smooth cuts and no burning.

Rog

[GrayBeard]

I have been using the #3 FD-Polar on 1/2" oak and it seems to be OK...

I do feel however that OAK has a mind of its own as far as where the blade goes! I fight it all the way to the end but the results are great.

~~~GB~~~

[dgman]

Hey Ron, Oak indeed is a very hard wood to cut. 2" is extremely tough, but I have cut it before. For this wood I would go with a #12 size blade, weather a FD or Olsen blade.
If I had a supply of 2" oak, I would resaw and plane it down to 3/4", 1/2" and 1/4" thicknesses As I have a band saw and a planer!

[julief]

I made 3 baby cradles out of oak last year.  On the 3/4 stock, I used a #5 Olsen plantinum reverse tooth blade and the 1 1/2" stock, I used a #7 & #9 Olsen platinum reverse tooth blade.  If you go any bigger, it's pretty tough to make the turns.