Thread: Carbatec 14" Bandsaw?

Originally Posted by Mooncabbage

Not having had a bandsaw before, not really sure what I should be looking for in a blade, or where to get one from. I know carbatec sells them, but I don't see any brand names, so I don't know if they're any good. Obviously the length of the blade is determined by the size of the saw, but what about the TPI, and blade width? I suspect I would need two blades, one for resawing, and perhaps one for curve cutting work. Any thoughts on that?

Blade selection is vital.

For re-sawing and veneering a TCT blade at least 1/2 inch wide (and probably no more than 3/4 inch wide) with no more than 2 TPI will likely do the job. For general work I use a 10 mm bimetal blade and am very happy with it. I got a TCT Lennox blade and a bimetal blade from Henry Bros, because that business was recommended here. Give them a ring and they will look after you.

Cheerio!

John

why does a blade have to be wide for re-saw? I have a Hammer N4400 and use a 12mm bimetal. works just fine and I've run quite a bit thru it including wet camphor laurel, dry and wet english oak and many oz hardwoods. a wider blade just makes the machine have to work harder due to friction against the timber and on the wheel rubbers. whats more important for a weekender is to get the tension right, adjust the blade correctly and ensure its sharp.

unless you are doing 100's of metres and an 8 inch cut why bother?

its funny how everyone wants a thin kerf blade on their tablesaw but a massive blade on the bandsaw.

Not an expert, but I assume the reason for the wider blade is for less deflection?

Also I note there is not a lot of call for a dovetail saw with a 1/4" depth of cut :P

Originally Posted by Zed

why does a blade have to be wide for re-saw? I have a Hammer N4400 and use a 12mm bimetal. works just fine and I've run quite a bit thru it including wet camphor laurel, dry and wet english oak and many oz hardwoods. a wider blade just makes the machine have to work harder due to friction against the timber and on the wheel rubbers. whats more important for a weekender is to get the tension right, adjust the blade correctly and ensure its sharp.

unless you are doing 100's of metres and an 8 inch cut why bother?

its funny how everyone wants a thin kerf blade on their tablesaw but a massive blade on the bandsaw.

Zed,

You are absolutely right about adjustment, blade tension and sharpness. Most band saw issues can be traced to these three aspects.

You don't always need a wide blade for re-sawing. I too have re-sawed timber with a 10 mm bimetal blade.

However, as thicker and thicker material is cut, two things become advantageous: Fewer TPI with a bigger gullet and a wider blade.

For instance, a few days ago I was cutting 350 mm wide camphor veneers. A wide blade (I use a 25 mm wide TCT blade with a 1.2 mm kerf) has greater beam strength, which helps stop deflection. If I was not using a blade with low TPI count with big gullets, the dust can't get away fast enough and it starts to force itself around the sides of the blade, causing the blade to wander.

On the other hand, if you are seldom cutting anything much bigger than, say, a 4 inch depth of cut, lots of blades will do a reasonable job. Nevertheless, my thin kerf re-saw blade produces beautifully straight, smooth sided cuts. It's just a delight to use.

Cheerio!

John

I bought the bullet and put in my order with carbatec on Friday evening. Unfortunately due to the long weekend I haven't heard back from them yet, so I'm twiddling my thumbs waiting to find out if they have it in stock and what it'll cost to get it delivered.

For now I think I will just use whatever stock blade comes with it (assuming it has something), until I have used it. Should give me a better idea of what I'm looking for.

To be honest, the blade that comes with the Carbatec is not exactly premium. I was told this by my Carbatec dealer before I purchased the saw and my own experiences proved it. It ran and tracked very well, and ripped 75mm hardwood quite well, but that was its limit at 150mm it did not want to play the game at all. Too wide to cut curves as well.
I bought Carbatec branded blades with my saw, one a 1/2" 6TPI and the other a 1/4" 6TPI. They are much better.
I think I will also get something like a 2 or 3TPI blade for when I am doing some serious resawing.
I am impressed with how well the little BS350 runs.
On a side note. Does anyone know who makes the Carbatec blades? Machinery House seem to use Starrett, but not sure about Carbatec.

Originally Posted by Mooncabbage

I bought the bullet and put in my order with carbatec on Friday evening. Unfortunately due to the long weekend I haven't heard back from them yet, so I'm twiddling my thumbs waiting to find out if they have it in stock and what it'll cost to get it delivered.

For now I think I will just use whatever stock blade comes with it (assuming it has something), until I have used it. Should give me a better idea of what I'm looking for.

Congratulations. Hope you enjoy the saw.

Often, the stock blade is cheap and narrow ... that's how my saw arrived anyway. Because I had never used a band saw before, I struggled for a while before figuring out that I was never going to get good cuts, especially on stuff like 4 inch thick material, until I got a decent blade. A good blade transformed the performance of the saw.

Have fun!

John

Finally got my saw! It was MUCH bigger than I was expecting. Manhandling that thing down stairs and onto it's stand was pretty backbreaking. Also seems fairly difficult to build completely solo, but doable.

My first impressions are fairly positive, although I haven't actually run it yet. The stock blade seems to be about 1/2", 6tpi or so if I had to guess. The instructions weren't exactly clear, pretty sure they're for a similar but different saw. A lot of guesswork has been involved so far. My only real concern so far is the slight cupping of the table. Supposedly you can correct for this with the fence guide, but it's still something of a concern. The blade does track quite well, but the tension crank has no markings at all. I suppose most people ignore these anyway, but it would have been nice.

The stand is fairly impressive honestly. It came with 0 instructions, but it goes together fairly easily with a bit of head scratching, and it bolts together very solidly. The way the cross rail pieces are designed, I'm pretty sure I could put a little shelf underneath, to store spare blades in. It also has some holes further down the legs, not really sure what they're for, but I might see if I can work out how to mount some kind of flip down castor system, to make it possible to move the bandsaw around.

I would like to know how to protect the table surface properly, as things in my cellar workshop have an annoying tendency to rust. An early Wood Whisperer video on tablesaw setup recommends a combination of paste wax over a T-9 Boeshield spray film. T-9 Boeshield seems relatively difficult to get a hold of in Australia, and I'm not sure what kind of paste wax to use on a metal surface, not typically being a metalworking kind of guy. I'd really like something I can get easily, from like, Bunnings or whathaveyou, without having to order it online and wait. Also, Carbatec is out of the question as I can't drive at the moment, so it's just too far away.

Anyway, hoping my comments help people considering this saw, and looking forward to hearing from you all on easy surface protection stuffs.

PS. Turns out I misread the instructions, and the crank handle is for tensioning the belt. Even so, the belt tension handle has no markings or gradiations either. Also, the tabletop only attaches to the trunion in one point, and there is an aweful lot of slop. Trying to turn the table to an angle and back to 90 degrees accurately is very difficult and requires repeatedly checking for square. Not sure if that's normal or there are any solutions, but it's something to be aware of if you're wanting to make a lot of cuts at different angles. Finally, there doesn't seem to be any reliable way to adjust the fence to make it square with the table, or allow for drift. Maybe I'm missing something, or maybe I'll need to look for an aftermarket replacement.