Keeping it straight

[Taffy]

ok you guys, if there is anyone out there that can tell me why my bandsaw INSISTS on running its own line please tell me. I have done the fixaguide to the table trick, smoothed one face of the material , tried rougher/thicker blades. thin stuff like 6mm ply is ok but trying to straighten a piece of 50mm square is a chore.
is this tension or crappy blades (bought at carbatec) or just me. I can get on with all the other tools in my shop but am dissapointed with the restrictions on this tool.

Taffy::(

[Dan]

When in doubt, crank up the tension and slow the feed. Also, loosen the guides and with the saw running, watch the blade, if it looks a bit blurred (ie, fluttering from side to side) add tension till it stops, other than that I can't really help much.

[Iain]

Sounds like your fence is not as square as it may appear, I encountered the same problem.
Thin matrerial not a problem but once we got into someything a bit thicker it was like a shopping trolley and went where it wanted to go.
What makes it worse is that it appears to be square and it is only probably a couple of degrees out and the blade started running at a very noticable angle from top to bottom once well into the cut.
A little persuasion with a file and emery cloth on the inside of the fence cured the problem, it took a few days but I did get the bugger square.
I am also inclined to cut freehand now on long runs using a scribed mark and rely on the planer to clean up the uneveness.
Not as much wastage as you would think and a lot of time saved.

[Neil]

This might help a bit. Firstly, it is almost impossible to put too much tension on the blade and the higher the tension the better it will run. Secondly most blades will tend run out a little unless you have a top of the line or close to it saw.

This should help you get a straight cut with a fence. Draw a straight parallel with a straight side on a piece of scrap wood. Follow this line freehand with the blade to see if the cut is running true. You will most likely find that the feed line will be slightly skewed as in the illustration below.

Draw a line along on edge of the timber with a pencil. This will act as a guide for setting a fence which should in turn enable you to get straight cuts all day every day. Clamp a straight piece of timber to the table and use that rather than a fence that was supplied with the saw (unless the supplied fence has an adjustment that allows you to skew it). I have a couple of fences made using MDF with one piece horrizontal and a second vertical piece attached to the first this gives me a good straight guide with height for doing long acurate resawing etc. The horrizontal piece is held in place on the table by way of a couple of cheap quick release clamps.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers - Neil :)

PS you will sometimes get a better cut with a smaller blade. ie instead of a 25mm blade use a 10mm and less teeth per inch is better than more - 3 tpi rather than 7 tpi.

[Gino]

There are a few good books around on the subject which get into great detail. I purchased two books one by Mark Duginske and the other by Lonie Bird.
Both were excellent.

Gino

[AlexS]

As well as having plenty of tension on the blade, you should also ensure it's running centrally on the crown of the wheels. Do this by turning the wheel by hand and turning the adjusting screw at the same time. This tilts the top wheel and the blade will move across the crown. When you have it centred, replace the wheel cover and run the saw under power. Check that the blade is still central. Adjust and repeat if necessary.

[Taffy]

Thank everyone I will give some of the suggestions a try this weekend. As for The Guide, I used a piece of 40/40 aluminium angle fixed to the table with two G cramps, measured from the outside of the table, maybe that was the trouble I should not assume the table is square, (silly me).
I will let you know how I get on.
Thanks again

Taffy

[JackoH]

There is a good article on tuning bandsaws in the current issue #39 'Australian Wood Revue'.;) It's a good magazine too!
<
I posted this in answer to a similiar question on this forum a couple of weeks ago.
I wish some of you guys would have a look
in the archives, as we seem to spend lots of time reading and answering the same queries.:mad: