Thread: Problem taper cutting on bandsaw

I put the angled fence on the other side of the blade. This time the blade was pushing hard against the left guide, and the workpiece still pulled away from the fence after a 1" long cut

It's impossible to cut a taper that way.

Think about it - to cut a taper the distance between the blade and the edge of the wood immediately adjacent the blade MUST change as the wood is pushed though.
In your setup it's fixed and doesn't change.

To create a taper its better if the fence remains square and another piece of wood (A) with the correct taper angle is attached to wood that needs to be cut (B) - then A+B (joined)are pushed past the fence.

There's a bit of chicken and egg involved in how you get your "A".
This is where taper cutting jigs are handy - they allow you to set any angle and the jig and the B piece are joined before cutting.
Look up "taper cutting jig"
Try https://youtu.be/FOVhDBE2kIk

Thanks BobL, most embarrassing. I am thinking, but still not sure why the original method doesn't work. The blade just had to follow a straight line.

Will make up a jig and have another go

Originally Posted by Dengue

Thanks BobL, most embarrassing. I am thinking, but still not sure why the original method doesn't work. The blade just had to follow a straight line.

The blade willingly follow a straight line if you push directly onto the teeth.
In your setup you are pushing the blade slightly sideways so the band will twist and not follow a straight line.

I agree it's not intuitive - its only when you see the jig working and then go back to your old setup that you will understand why

Originally Posted by Dengue

Thanks BobL, most embarrassing. I am thinking, but still not sure why the original method doesn't work. The blade just had to follow a straight line.

Will make up a jig and have another go

It is as BobL said ... with your jig the distance between outer edge of the piece and the blade at the cutting point is constant, as it doesn't change the cut will always try to be the same distance in from the outer edge. By having a static angled fence all you are doing is forcing a twist in the blade... and a 19mm blade will exacerbate the twist.

Have a look at how the tapering jigs work on a table saw .. the jig cradles the work and moves with the the piece through the saw blade.

Good luck .

Rob

Thanks for your support. I ended up making a jig to run along the fence, and put rails on the jig at an angle. These jigs are for cutting a Vee in a broken cricket bat and fitting a new handle. The angle of the Vee on the handle is 9.5 degrees. Turned out quite well.

The two rails on each jig are to hold the bat steady, and most of the surfaces on a cricket bat are curved. But the sides are thick in parts, and parallel, and the rails hold it nice and steady, together with the toggle clamp

Good work! Glad to see you got the idea!

Here's a little jig I just rigged up on the Compi saw I'm making small wedges with.
Good to see the cam hold down on your rig.
I made sure I had my face shield on whilst using mine.
H.

Hey clear-out, here is a pretty safe wedge making jig:
Jig for making small timber wedges

his video has some good tricks and tips for BS's including taper cutting. The audio is in German but that does not matter.