Don't Blame It On The Saw!

[junquecol]

Most of us use our band saw primarily for ripping. Tonight as I was cutting out Toys for Tots cars, I noticed that my saw would do the parts of the cuts that basically were cross cuts with no problem. When I cut areas that were basically rips, I need to use more force to cut cars. I remembered reading an article many moons ago about sharpening BS blades. The author said the problem with BS blades is they are for cross cuts, not rips. The teeth are pointed, not square across, like a rip blade would be. Fact remembered and experienced. As second thought, the light on my BS never has been very bright. I remembered that Alan posted about using a compact florescent bulb in his drill press lamp. While in HD this afternoon, I bought a "Bright White" CF bulb- Wow, It's almost like having sunshine over at the band saw.

 

[JimmyC]

I hadn't heard of using the CF's for the shop , but now I'm going to try them. Thanks Bruce.

 

[TracyP]

Now that is a good idea, and an inexpensive one at that. Thanks for posting this.

 

[DaveO]

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) are ideal for the shop. They stand up much better to vibration than incandescents, and are not hot to the touch. I installed a light on my lathe with a standard incandescent bulb. It was dead within two weeks. Earlier in the day that I discovered it's demise, I had read article on using CFL in shop fixtures. I replaced mine and it has burnt ever since.

Dave

 

[Tarhead]

They're cooler too.

 

[CarvedTones]

I use CFLs in the shop also. But I still have an incandescent or two and I have an OTT lamp and a "Day-Lite" lamp. If you ever try to color match stain and/or grain, you will want to use as many different light sources as you can. I will think I have it, then switch on a different light and find it isn't right.

Interesting bit about the blades on the BS. I switched to a WoodSlicer when I put a riser on my BS. I thought it was engineered to rip well, but it does cross cut fine also. I prettty match had to go with it because of the thin kerf as I have a wimpy motor.