Band saw tune up

[TORB]

Hi Good Peoples,

Bought a new Hafco BP-355 band saw and have been playing around with it. I think haemorrhoids would be less of a pain in the ass than getting one of these accurately set up, and every time the blade is changes, its more adjustments. The results had better be worth it.

I think I have most of the tuning figured out but I have one question I need to resolve. The blade is is parallel to the fence and 90 degrees to the table, so that's good. However, If I put a square at the back edge of the blade it is not parallel to the square. There is a slight gap which means that when I am sawing, the blade will make contact with the top of the job before the bottom. Is this a problem? I have tried a million different adjustments but can't seem to get this one sorted out.

Also, as an aside the fence has an interesting problem. The left side of the fence is fine i.e. 90 degrees to the table top, but on the right side, there is .5mm difference between the bottom of the fence and the top. So, when resawing, when the wood is pushed against the right side of the fence, it causes the right edge of the base of the wood to lift of the table slightly, resulting in a cut that is thicker at the bottom than at the top. Will have to contact Hare and Forbes about that one tomorrow.

[NCArcher]

The fence is a replacement job or make up a face to fit on the fence that corrects the problem.
As for the blade, first check that the wheels are coplaner. this can be done with a straight edge across the two wheels. If the top wheel is slightly further out than the bottom wheel you need to pack out the lower wheel or remove packing from the top one to get them in the same plane.
If the wheels are ok you may need to shim the table. Place some fine shims, I used a cut up coke can, under the rear trunion where it mounts to the table. This will raise the back of the table and bring your blade back to where it should be.
It's worth spending a bit of time getting the bandsaw set up properly as it is a very versatile machine that you will wonder how you ever got by without.

[rustynail]

Have you set the tracking of the blade and let it run for a few minutes before trying to fine tune?

[Hermit]

Also, as an aside the fence has an interesting problem. The left side of the fence is fine i.e. 90 degrees to the table top, but on the right side, there is .5mm difference between the bottom of the fence and the top. So, when resawing, when the wood is pushed against the right side of the fence, it causes the right edge of the base of the wood to lift of the table slightly, resulting in a cut that is thicker at the bottom than at the top. Will have to contact Hare and Forbes about that one tomorrow.

Are you sure it's the fence, or is the table bowed?
I ask because I bought a BP-305 last week and the table is bowed. I'm trying to sort out a replacement.
It's worth checking with a straight edge.

As for the blade, first check that the wheels are coplaner. this can be done with a straight edge across the two wheels. If the top wheel is slightly further out than the bottom wheel you need to pack out the lower wheel or remove packing from the top one to get them in the same plane.

Shouldn't a new bandsaw come with the wheels already set co-planar? Aside from basic tuning, setting guides, thrust rollers, tracking and tension, the bandsaw should be ready to use 'out-of-the-box'.
We shouldn't need to go hunting for shims or other extra parts to get the thing working.
I had a range of problems with mine too.

[TORB]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I will check the table, but the fence is a definite problem. A square showed the problem and it was confirmed when I measured the fence with callipers. The top is .5mm thinner than the bottom.

I did let it run, but possibly not long enough, so I will do that next. Not sure about the co-planer bit, but will check it out and research the topic.

Now I have somewhere to start.

[NCArcher]

Shouldn't a new bandsaw come with the wheels already set co-planar? Aside from basic tuning, setting guides, thrust rollers, tracking and tension, the bandsaw should be ready to use 'out-of-the-box'.
We shouldn't need to go hunting for shims or other extra parts to get the thing working.

You would think so wouldn't you. But I wouldn't take it for granted. Check and tighten everything.

[rustynail]

With the op edge of the work entering the teeth first is preferable to the bottom At least that way you can see exactly where the cut is in relation to the line mark. But, when cutting tennon cheeks etc it's nice to have an even plumb cut. Tracking the blade would sort this out.

[TORB]

I spent most of yesterday ****ing about becoming a band saw set up 'expert.' And we all know that an 'ex' is a has been and that a 'spert' is a drip under pressure.

I now almost feel I know what I am doing with all the adjustments. Spoke to George the technical guy at Hairy Forbes and they will replace the defectively milled fence however, the square of the blade problem is 'interesting.'

No matter how many times I adjusted it, and how well its adjusted, or how often the tracking is changed, the blades teeth at table level are always closer to the timber than at the top of the job.

If the blade is tracked so that the deepest part of the gullet (gap between the teeth) is on the crown of the wheel (that supports the teeth and is the prefect position according to Alex Snodgrass of Carter products, manufacturer of band saw products and accessories) the blade is about .5mm away from the work piece at a height of 150mm above the table.

Here is where it gets interesting. According to George at Hairy Forbes, the machine they have on the floor has about a 2mm difference, and he thought that was 'normal.' When I mentioned I had conflicting info from the internet, he was not very complimentary about the quality of advice available here, however he had a different reaction when I mentioned that other manufacturers who produced nothing but band saws and their accessories said the same thing as the people here. He stated he would check with their quality control people.

When I tracked the blade so that the middle of the blade was on the middle of the tyre, the gap went from .5mm over 150mm to a gap of 2mm; the same as the H&F floor machine. So, if I follow the H&F destruction manual, the result is worse than if I follow Carter Products video advice. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU]Band Saw Clinic with Alex Snodgrass - YouTube[/ame]

"Interesting!"

[_fly_]

Is good, I like.....

[rustynail]

Rick, you may like to ask George at Hairy Paws how much time he has spent tuning bandsaws. Gullet on edge of tyre is good as this causes minimum wear to the tyre. Have you checked the coplaner of the wheels? Also check distance from front edge of wheel to front edge of tyre. If the tyres are set differently to each other the coplaner of the wheels is compromised,. Also check the table for level, once the wheels have been set to plumb. This doesnt mean moving the wheels in relation to each other,thus altering the coplaner, but instead, leveling the saw frame base so that the coplanered wheels are plumb. I know this is a lot of stuffing about, but it will be worth it in the long run. There is nothing more pleasing than to work with a well tuned bandsaw and nothing worse than one that is not. These tests should show up the problem and we can look at a remedy.

[TORB]

Rusty, Once again, thanks for the advice. I have done all that and it is a co-planer issue.

George from Hairy Forbes rang back and could not have been more helpful. I am really impressed with their service. He admitted that the blade should be square as I had outlined to him (from info here and on the Snodgrass video. (You gotta love that name ) George offered to send a service man out to the Southern Highlands (a 3 hour round trip drive) to fix the co-planer adjustment.

He also explained how to do it and I said I would give it a shot myself. If I stuff it up, or can't manage to adjust it properly, then he will send the service guy. He is also arranging a fence replacement.

[Hermit]

Rusty, Once again, thanks for the advice. I have done all that and it is a co-planer issue.

George from Hairy Forbes rang back and could not have been more helpful. I am really impressed with their service. He admitted that the blade should be square as I had outlined to him (from info here and on the Snodgrass video. (You gotta love that name ) George offered to send a service man out to the Southern Highlands (a 3 hour round trip drive) to fix the co-planer adjustment.

He also explained how to do it and I said I would give it a shot myself. If I stuff it up, or can't manage to adjust it properly, then he will send the service guy. He is also arranging a fence replacement.

How did you go with the adjustment? I'm still doing battle over the problem with my BP-305, but I think I'm getting somewhere. George keeps saying all the right things to me too, but actually does nothing. Dean is handling it now. I'll see what happens.

[SAISAY]

Shouldn't a new bandsaw come with the wheels already set co-planar? Aside from basic tuning, setting guides, thrust rollers, tracking and tension, the bandsaw should be ready to use 'out-of-the-box'.
We shouldn't need to go hunting for shims or other extra parts to get the thing working.
I had a range of problems with mine too.

Anything can happen in shipping. OR, maybe the manufacturers are sloppy?
Mine arrived with 2 broken tyres on the wheels and the tension arrow bent 40 degrees.
Even in a wooden crate it depends how the shippers are handling the cargo.
H&F were very quick to send me the parts.
Cheers
Wolffie

[Hermit]

Mine arrived with 2 broken tyres on the wheels and the tension arrow bent 40 degrees.

So much for H&F quality control and testing.

[SAISAY]

So much for H&F quality control and testing.

I can't say whether this happened on the ship coming over here or on the semitrailer bringing it up here.
Guess it was the semitrailer because part of the crate was broken as well
Can't really blame H&F if it happened AFTER it left the warehouse.
However, their after sales service was first class
Cheers
Wolffie