Thread: Bandsaw tuning hell. Please help!

I'm sure we can work it out Cam.
PM on the way
I'll confiscate it if necessary to stop you from

Have you tried a brand NEW blade?

What timber are you cutting and how is the grain pattern in relation to the direction of cut??

What is the thickness of the blade, not the width front to back, but the actual thickness of the blade inside to outside???


I am thinking 2 things,
1 blade is a hobbyist blade very thin , and too flexible
2 blade tension ??

These are not concrete , but with the symptoms you describe , No 1 seams most likely,.

Try a new blade .

what condition are the wheel tyres in???

Jeff

Thanks for the reply's and vk4.

I started with the blade it came with,...then had that sharpened and then today put on a nice new bi metal blade. Its eats through my Douglas Fir beams,....just not straight! Its a 1 inch deep blade, and there are two teeth per inch. width from out side to outside of teeth would be about 3mm.

I am cutting through old Douglas Fir roofing beams, ripping them down from 220 wide to 160 and then through the guts to give me two boards about 25mm thick. So I am cutting with and through the grain.

I thought it could be my tension, however after going through every page on the internet with everyone's different opinions and trying them all I had to discount it.

Wheels tyres are good, as long as I keep them out of the rain!

Its making me grey, bald and whats left I feel like pulling out!

Have you looked through this thread:

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f27/bl...g-here-142618/

Several suggestions for fixing the problem.

Two things pop to my mind.

Firstly: how rigid is the 'spine' of your BS? Does it have an after-market riser extension?

Because under load, if the spine isn't stiff enough, the effort of the blade cutting thru the timber can "pull down" the top wheel. In effect, decreasing your tension, which makes the blade bunch up in the cut and causing all sorts of grief; serious deflection and vertically curved cuts among the worst.

Many BS novices feed the timber thru too fast and cause just this effect. Especially if they have risers added... the first step to a cure is to feed slowly, letting the blade dictate the rate at which it cuts best.


Secondly: are you ripping while using a long, straight fence?

Not really a good idea, as you can't 'steer' the timber thru it's cut. You're much, much better off with a vee or point fence for rips. Even just a pointy offcut clamped to the table will work nicely.


Here's to hoping it's something simple you're overlooking and not a sign of major problems with the BS!

Originally Posted by Chief012

deflecting off up to about 5mm. At some stages it pushes on the guides so much it sparkes and spins the disks out of adjustment!

Is this a cyclic thing? Does it do it in sync with anything? (wheel rotation, a point on the blade)

If you open the machine up and rotate the wheels by hand, does the blade still drift? (yes, do disconnect the power first)

5mm is extreme. Normally, I would look hard at the blade but it sounds like you have done that. Have you checked the runout on the wheels?

What does the previous owner say?

woodbe.

Thanks for the replys.

Mr Brush, I did read that post - I have checked my blade with my square and it is vertical.

Skew, all appears to be rigid. Initial problem seemed to be "play" in shaft related however I fixed that yet now have the same problem,..hmmm obviously didnt fix would be a better comment.

I found with the old blade, even when it was resharpened it took a lot of pressure to cut. Thought this would be tied to the deflection. New blade cuts brilliantly, it just still deflects. Thanks for the tip on the fence as well. I honestly think its something really simple, just something I cant see!

Woodbe, it doesnt seem to happen with any reason just wanders off. If I open it up and run it by hand (power off I like my fingers) it all looks fine, blade is nice and straight. I think I have tuned it perfectly, however when I turn it on and try to cut,..fail. Its like my golf swing, my practice swing is perfect - the ball would have gone 300m straight down the middle of the fairway, yet when I line up the ball and have my proper swing I slice and end up three fairways across!

All I can think is its something to do with the wheels. Unfortunately I have no access to the previous owner - I bought it through a third party.

NCArcher has been kind enough to offer to come and have a look for me this week, hopefully this will sort it out and I will be back on track!

Thanks again

NCArcher has been kind enough to offer to come and have a look

Straight out of the blocks as well Cliff - there are some great people on these boards,...

Originally Posted by Chief012

Woodbe, it doesnt seem to happen with any reason just wanders off. If I open it up and run it by hand (power off I like my fingers) it all looks fine, blade is nice and straight. I think I have tuned it perfectly, however when I turn it on and try to cut,..fail. Its like my golf swing, my practice swing is perfect - the ball would have gone 300m straight down the middle of the fairway, yet when I line up the ball and have my proper swing I slice and end up three fairways across!

How frustrating. Hopefully NCArcher will turn something up!

If it all checks out perfect when run by hand, but falls to pieces once switched on and load applied then something is moving that shouldn't be. Could be the tension adjuster or spring (lost it's tension or even broken), the bearings or mounts on the wheels, or even the frame flexing.

Just keep in mind that a bandsaw in good condition with a good blade cuts straight. Heck, I think mine would even cut straight without any guides at all.

You'll get there!

woodbe.

Thanks woodbe,..yes very frustrating. Been fighting with it for a few weeks now.

Definitely hoping its a tweak and not a new machine thats needed! Fingers crossed,...

Hi,
someone wrote in a recent thread on here about a problem they had with their Carbatec bandsaw where the upper and lower wheels did not have the centre hole exactly in the centre - hence the blade wobbled side to side.
The other thing to check is if the wheels are truly circular, and don't have bumps on the tyres.
Paul.

We are all very keen to see what NCArcher discovers. Many of us have a similar problem, to a lesser extent