Basic Bandsaw Question

[Bigdog72]

I have never owned (or used) a band saw before and I am trying to self teach myself so I have a very basic question about fences. As soon as I got my $175 band saw home I immediately researched and ordered a $110 fence for it. Now, this blue fence looks right pretty sitting there but, other than resawing, do I have a need for it? Heck, the other day I tried using it to guide a straight cut and found out quick that wasn't right!!

 

[rickc]

I have never owned (or used) a band saw before and I am trying to self teach myself so I have a very basic question about fences. As soon as I got my $175 band saw home I immediately researched and ordered a $110 fence for it. Now, this blue fence looks right pretty sitting there but, other than resawing, do I have a need for it? Heck, the other day I tried using it to guide a straight cut and found out quick that wasn't right!!

A bandsaw fence does not work the same way as a table saw fence. Each saw / blade has a certain amount of drift. Think of trying to cut a straight line free hand. You end up having to turn it a little bit one way or another. The drift can also be affected by the TPI of the blade as well. (Try resawing a 6 inch thick piece of wood with a 1/8" blade!)

You will need to set your fence up to take that drift into consideration. The fence will help rid you of those little variations as you cut your straight line.

Look at the bottom of this article covering bandsaw blade drift for a more professional treatise on the subject!

I would also recommend you pick up a copy of this book to help you become familiar with your saw. Band Saw Handbook

 

[PurpleThumb]

Geoff, you need to tune your fence for the drift on your blade (each time you change blades) I'm no expert but I took a class under David Marks and basically this is what you do: Select a 2 1/2' to 3' long 2" thick board. Straighten one edge and joint an adjacent side @ 90 degrees. Draw a straight line 1/8" from the straight side. Sawing freehand follow the marked line. Check the angle between the straight edge and the edge of the table where your fence is attached several times(turn the saw off during checks). Take the average of those angles (should be very slight difference) and set your fence to that angle. You should be able to saw perfectly if you had everything square and perpendicular before starting. Worked for me.

 

[tom hintz]

Bandsaw fences are not an all the time thing but they are handy when you need them!
I have several band saw related How-To's at the link bellow, including dealing with drift which is a big deal on most band saws and something you want to get familiar with. ONce you get used to the idea, handling it is pretty simple.

http://www.newwoodworker.com/tipstrksdir.html#bandsaw

 

[Gofor]

I use the straight line/hand cut method to find the drift, but also, you can sometimes adjust the drift out by slightly adjusting the blade tracking adjustment on the top wheel. On mine, a 1/16th" difference in blade position on the top wheel can change the drift as much as 1/4" per foot. IMHO, it is worth the time and effort to get the wheels co-planar as possible, as that also can affect drift. Now that I have the wheels straight, I can usually get the cut to align with the miter slot with a minor adjustment. The main time its needed is when I change blade widths, so I usually only do it when I am going to be doing a lot of cutting with the same blade.

Go

PS The downside of adjusting the tracking is that you need to back off all the guides/bearings and readjust after the tracking is set.

 

[TracyP]

Thanks for posting this thread Geoff. I too am a new band saw user and have benefited greatly from it. At the Extravaganza this last weekend, Tom Toolferone did a band saw box demo. It was very interesting to see how he adjusted the fence for the drift. This thread has been a learning experience for me.