Band Saw Blues

[dlrion]

I restored an old bandsaw that Sawduster gave me a few months back, and it has worked pretty good for most normal cuts. Recently however I destroyed a perfectly good piece of walnut and a nice piece of maple trying to resaw. I am using a 1/4 8 TPI blade which I think may be my first problem. The thing that worries me is that it blade is not wandering back and forth on top, but on bottom.

In other words, I will start off really well, and it seems like it is doing fine, but then I notice that the blade is getting closer and closer to the inside edge of the bottom of the piece until I just stop.... :icon_scra

Is this entirely caused by the wrong blade or am I doing something else wrong.

Thanks

Dan

 

[ptt49er]

Dude...you need a thicker blade! I don't remember what size bs you have, but 1/4" 8tpi blade is not enough.

 

[Bas]

Definitely try a 1/2" blade. Something like a Woodslicer or Timberwolf. Your current blade may also be dull, you might be feeding it too fast, and your blade may be wandering too much because the wheels aren't coplanar. When the planes aren't aligned properly, a rift will occur in the space-time continuum of the work piece. Also, all band saws have a "drift". This is the amount that the blade wants to follow a path that isn't parallel to the fence, causing you to mess up your work, sell all your tools and start wandering the countryside, thereby becoming a "difter".

You can also reduce the variance by first cutting a groove in the piece on the table saw 1"-2" deep on either side. Then you only have to cut out the middle piece, and the blade won't wander too much since it will stay within the existing kerf.

 

[Mike Davis]

I use a 3/4 inch 4 tooth blade for re-sawing.

Did you put the riser in that saw? I believe that was mine for a while. I bought it for $100 and did a lot of work on it and finally decided it was not the best for re-sawing. I then bought a Rikon for $700 and it works fine.

You may be able to fix that one if you want to spend $100 on a set of Carter guides. And fine tuning the wheels. I added a washer to bring the bottom wheel out as far as possible but it still was about 1/32 inch out of alignment with the top wheel. Sawduster may have corrected that, I don't know.

 

[boxxmaker]

Woodcraft has those roller guides and they work great,BUT you should call the warehouse and talk to a tech to see if they will fit your saw.Iv used them before and will be getting a set for my Walker turner I restored.Like said you want the widest blade that will fit you saw.I have a 105 x 3/4 x 032 and it is the thickest blade olson makes for the 3/4" Its called the all pro and there tech told me that was the best for resawing.

 

[Mike Davis]

Olson blades are the best I have used so far.

 

[danmart77]

Olson blades are the best I have used so far.


Have you tried the Lenox stuff? I've been using the Lenox BS stuff for years and finally bought a couple Resaw Kings from Laguna. I bought the first generation carbide resaw kings at a dramatic sale reduction they were having to clear out their stock(75.00 for 141") of carbide 1" resaw blades.
At this time it feels like the Lenox TriMaster is still in 1st place but the Laguna would water your eyes going thru 13" curly maple. I got 6ea slices 1/16 thick sheets 9'long x 13" wide. The surface from the saw is about what I like to get with my toothing plane before I hammer glue the veneer to the substrate.

The good news on the Laguna is they sharpen their carbide blades and from word on the web- they do a good job. Laguna claims they put so much carbide on the blades they can resharpen 4 times in the life of the blade. I don't think I am going to be sending a blade back and forth from NC to Calif 4 times but it is nice that they offer that service. On the other hand, get Lenox blades sharpened is a chore. When I called Laguna about the RS King, I told them about my frustration with getting my 1st Lenox TriM sharpened. They said hey send it out and we'll do it for 50 bucks(that beats 180 for a new blade). I got the BS blade back and I couldn't be happier. Sharp as day one and plenty of carbide left. Happy.

I used the Timberwolf and loved it but... it was a short life of hard work. Suffolk is not in the league with Lenox in my experience. Over the years I have envied the guys with TriMasters and finally broke down and bit the bullet .. or should I say artillery round. It has been worth every penny in time and quality. I push mine on an old Delta 28-350(20") saw. So far so good.

I hesitate to give advice/recommendations on smaller saws as I don't have experience doing resaw work on the smaller saws. Like I said, I use the 1"/2-3tpi hook on the delta and it is a good fit.

Well hope this helps someone out there. Keep workin' and stay off the couch

dan

 

[gator]

To all of the good advise given already, I will only add that you may need to put more tension on the blade (even after putting on a wider blade).

George

 

[MrAudio815]

You May also want to make sure that your table is not moving on you~! If the nuts or bolts are old and warn they just might give and your table may move. Try checking the table to the blade when this happens.

Also the wood we resawed at my place I used a 3/4" woodslicer blade from highland woodworking, the link is on this site under the shop tab.

Have a good one~!

 

[Mike Davis]

If that is the saw I'm thinking it is, it has new trunions and bolts.

 

[Howard Acheson]

>>> I am using a 1/4 8 TPI blade which I think may be my first problem.

That is a big part of the problem. You want to use a 1/2" blade with no more than 3-4 tpi for resawing. There is no such thing as a "general purpose" bandsaw blade. The saw will perform much better if you use the blade appropriate for the type of cutting you are doing.

The way you describe how it is cutting is the result of the blade not being sharp. It was probably dulled by using it as a resaw blade. A 1/4" blade just does not have enough gullet space to carry away the sawdust. That causes the blade to get how which causes it to wear rapidly.

 

[dlrion]

Thanks guys!

Mike, yeah I think it is your saw, I worked to get the wheels in line when I installed the riser block. They seem to be alright, but is there a good way to check this out? I was just checking to make sure nothing rubbed, and the blade stayed centered on the tire.

I think I definately need to get a new blade... or two. I don't know if I can load a 3/4 inch on this saw, but I will try for a 1/2 inch at least.

I tensioned the heck out of the blade so I don't think that is the culprit, and I think the table is just fine, it has all new hardware, and I paid a lot of attention to it when I redid the machine.

Dan

 

[Mike Davis]

You'll need a good long STRAIGHT edge to check the wheels. Check up and down on both sides of the bearing and also diagonally chris cross the two wheels as best you can. The straight edge should touch both sides/rims of both wheels in all directions.

 

[Gofor]

Dan

I have a spare 1/2" blade 4 tpi Timberwolf (105" for a 14" saw with riser if that will work) you can use to check it out, as well as a 6' level (straight edge) to check the wheels. If the wheels need some adjustment, I got some shims at TSC (tractor supply) in Goldsboro.

Go

 

[dlrion]

I may do that Gofor, I was gonna call you on saturday, but thought better as it was Mom's Day.

Thanks