Bandsaw blade problem

Re: Bandsaw blade problem

Joe in a Cleveland suburb

Someone here, maybe Dick Coers, told me about this guy a month or two ago. I was having similar problems with my Jet 14" with riser and a new Kreg fence.

I watch his video below and my BS works great now.

https://youtu.be/wGbZqWac0jU

I also came across this video and did most steps shown and it also helped.

https://youtu.be/9DzbJYIPPNE

My BS seriously has never been better.

Hope this helps.

Re: Bandsaw blade problem

Barry Irby

Joe's video's should help. I did not watch them all the way through, but I have seen Snodgrass both in person and on line several times and I think he is good.

Your problem sounds like one of two thing, or both. You have not adjusted for or compensated for drift.Take a piece of straight grained wood about the same length as the table on the BS. Draw a nice straight line down the center. Carefully saw the line about half way and hold it still and turn off the saw. If the piece is laying at and angle, adjust the fence to be parallel to the piece and try that. Or you can try to adjust where the blade runs on the top wheel to eliminate the drift and make it saw straight.

The other problem may be tension. If the blade is not tensioned correctly, you can get "barreling" where the blade cuts a vertically curved path with ahs the effect of tightening the blade. Also can be dangerous because the blade can come out to the side of the work and bite you.

Another thought is you are sawing thick stock with a fairly narrow 4 tooth blade. Generally, as the stock gets thicker you want wider blades with fewer teeth. Has to do with chip size and gullet loading and such.

some things

John K Jordan

Definitely check both the drift as described and tension, with a tension gauge if possible. Many bandsaw fences can be adjusted for a bit of drift. Proper tension solves a lot of bandsaw problems.

And regardless of what Snodgrass says, I tune my saws so the blade runs in the center of the wheel, top and bottom. If toward the front of a crowned wheel the blade can be deflected to the left.

The guides need to be adjusted for each blade size. The bearings on either side of the blade (or the solid guides if that's what your bandsaw has) should be set as close to the sides of the blade as possible but not touching. The front of the guides should be just at the back of the gullets. The thrust bearing in the back should be close but not touch the back of the blade until you put pressure on the blade with the wood. The bottom guides should be adjusted the same way.

Another thing that can cause cutting to one side is if the teeth are dull on one side of the blade. This can cause drift as the dull side gets more resistance. Dull on one side is unlikely with your blade unless you let the teeth run into the guides or something. (or make a lot of "skimming" cuts)

Dull teeth can cause drift since they may require more pressure to make the cut. Too much pressure can force the blade too hard against the rear bearings and bind and twist the blade a little depending on the other things like the alignment on the wheels and guide adjustment.

It's hard to check for sharpness - the teeth can feel sharp to my fingers even if they are getting dull. But if I slide my fingernail up the front of the blade sharp teeth will catch instead of slip, just as with a sharp knife or chisel. Maybe try it on a new blade to see what it should feel like.

A wider blade and thicker a little easier to keep cutting straight. People who resaw a lot sometimes use 3/4" or wider blades.

BTW, I almost always use 1/2" 3tpi blades for thick wood. I resharpen them several times before discarding. In fact, I'm headed to the shop right now to sharpen the current blade for the 3rd time. The cut can get a little less smooth each time, depending on how careful I am but it doesn't matter much with the thick turning blanks I mostly use the saw for. When the cut deteriorates too much I put on a new blade.

JKJ

Re: Bandsaw blade problem

Dick Coers

I've read a lot of reports that Timberwolf are not what they are meant to be. Some complain of them dulling very quickly. Is there any sawdust left in the kerf when you are through the cut? If so, slow down your feed rate. Have you ever had this issue with other blades? I run all my blades in the center of the wheels, I've done that for decades.

Re: Bandsaw blade problem

Terry Quiram

I have a 20+ year old Laguna LT16 and regularly renew 12" with a 3/8 3tpi blade. I get my blades at woodcraftbands.com.

Re: Bandsaw blade problem

Bill Blasic

I get all my blades from woodcraftbands.com also they have far outlasted any others that I have tried.

Re: Bandsaw blade problem

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

If the new blade, which is sharp, is pulling to one side, and the old blade cuts straight, assuming that you have the correct down tension with the new blade, then there is likely to be an issue with the set of the teeth in the new blade.

The other factor that is only possible if the "re-saw" blade cut straight, but not on the same board. If the wood was only sawn on the new blade, the question is whether this wood is moving. This would be evident in a widening kerf. If this is so, then the "thinning board" is due to the expanding kerf pushing the board away from the fence. This would result in a skewed cut. If this is the case, I have a solution. Let me know. If this is not the issue, then it is most likely to be set in the new blade, and you should send it back.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: Bandsaw blade problem

ebd

Thank you everyone. Loads of help. I'm going to check the new blade and probably send it back and order one from woodcraftbands.com.

I was cutting a thickish (6") burl to use for the top of a box. I tried cutting some zebrawood and encountered the same problem. Before I blame the blade I'm going to try once more and make sure everything is adjusted precisely right.

Re: Bandsaw blade problem

Don Stephan

For people who work with burl, is there a potential, like with tree forks, that a bit of gravel or other hard matter could have gotten trapped in the uneven exterior bark, and then dulled one side of the blade?

Before returning the blade, it would be interesting to hear how it fared cutting again the piece it cut perfectly well before encountering the burl. If it still cuts that initial wood well, perhaps there is something in the burl that it causing the cut not to be straight. If it no longer cuts that first piece well, perhaps there was in deed something trapped in the burl that dulled one side of the blade.

How to test for sharpness

John K Jordan

I always found it difficult to test for sharpness without using a strong magnifier. If I move my finger up the blade even a dull blade feels sharp.

However, if I slide the flat of my fingernail up the teeth the fingernail will slide on dull teeth and catch on sharp teeth, a little like scraping a knife or other blade against the fingernail.

It seems the fingernail test could tell if one side of the blade were sharper than the other.

I can also use a strong magnifier and look for light from the cutting edge of the point, just as you can see light from the edge of a dull knife blade but none from a very sharp blade. This is easier if the blade is off the saw. This could also show if the set is bad on one side.

Are there other ways, besides of making a cut and subjectively "feeling" it doesn't cut as well as it used to in the same wood and thickness?

JKJ

Re: Bandsaw blade problem

ebd

Nothing in the burl to dull the blade and it didn't cut anything perfectly. Resawing the the 4" wide macassar ebony it pulled some but not as much as on the 6" wide burl. I put the 1/2" blade back on to cut the burl.

Re: Bandsaw blade problem

ebd

I put the 3/8" Timberwolf back on, ran the blade so the teeth were just a wee bit in front of the crown and the gullet was centered on the crown, adjusted the guides as perfectly as I am able. It seemed to resaw a 6" wide zebrawood board fine and it cut a 2" poplar piece with no saw marks.

I'm guessing I had something out of alignment. Maybe the teeth too far forward of the crown? Maybe that and the guides out of whack? I will look at the links you guys provided and get OCD about the bandsaw before I do any more critical resawing.

Thanks again for all the help and advice.