Bandsaw Nightmare

[Kevin2003]

G'day all

I need some help!

I've just got the Carba-Tec 14" Deluxe (SBW 3501) with the professional rip fence and can I get this thing to resaw straight, I wish.

I'm trying to resaw 100mm hardwood at a width of 15mm using a 3/4" 3tpi blade. The problem, the wood pulls away from the rear of the fence by about 5-1Omm, it feels like the blade is trying to cut into the wood.

I've spent a lot of time trying to get this machine to run right and this is the situation:
Tension-taken this to the max
Guides- adjusted and realigned
Wheels- checked alignment
Fence- this is square to the blade, even marked a line on a piece of 15mm wood and cut free hand (nice cut) and aliened the fence to this and guess what, the fence is spot on!
I've even been back to Carba-Tec and swapped the Blade and picked up a set of new guide blocks, just in case.
Checked my technique over and over again

Now this little machine will cut 15-20mm wood as straight as and cuts ok with out the fence but I would like it to resaw at least 100mm and over, for door panels etc, I would also like to cut my tenons on it too.

I'm starting to wish I bought the cheaper model and saved my self about $300.

Any advice would greatly appreciated, as I don't have much hair left.

Thanks,
Kevin

P.S I've ordered a copy of the Bandsaw Book by L Bird, it will take about week to arrive

[Toymaker Len]

I use a bandsaw nearly every day Kev and rarely use the rip fence at all. You'll find that it is just in the nature of bandsaws to wander a bit given that there are tiny variations in the timber and the blade is flexible and able to deflect. Also you will rarely find a bandsaw blade that actually cuts dead straight, they will always track slightly to the left or the right, after all they do have a weld in the middle That said I have no trouble cutting 1mm veneer off blocks up to about 150mm thick but i do it freehand following a fine black line and use a new blade. (blades might last for hours but it is really the first half an hour when they are really sharp) If you want to resaw planks against a fence you are much better off using the table saw where the circular blade strongly resists deflection. Good luck.

[journeyman Mick]

When you say you've aligned the wheels, do you mean you've pulled all the covers off the machine and put a straight edge against them to check that they're on the same plane and absolutely on the same centreline? Have a look at the June issue of Australian Wood Review, it has an excellent article on tuning bandsaws. Good luck.

Mick

[Kevin2003]

Thanks for the advise Len, I called Carba-Tec today and spoke to one of their “bandsaw experts” I’m cutting Amoora and he said that this is a particularly difficult wood to cut on a bandsaw because of the interlocking grain. I’ll see how well it copes with a different wood on the next project. I think freehand is going to be the way to go as I only have a 10” table saw (need a bigger workshop)

Thanks Mick, I did take off the covers and use a straight edge to check the plane, however I didn’t check the centerline (will do that tomorrow). I’ve got the June issue of Australian Wood Review and it is an excellent article.

One thing I did notice is, that after centering the blade on the two wheels and taking up the tension, when I track the blade the top wheel has to lean to the rear of the machine quite a bit to get the tracking right, thus the blade is sitting centered on the top wheel and towards the front of the bottom wheel. Is this normal?

Thanks again
Kevin

[barnsey]

Kev

Was using my old man's bandsaw the other day to cut up a piece of rather green camphor laurel using the fence.

Found that cutting in one direction the grain in the timber caused the blade to wander and I wound up with more of a wedge than I was after. Next cut, swapped the stock end to end to run the other way through and got a better result.

To my (and the old man's) knowledge bandsaws and trying to rip as you would on a circular saw is a bit hit and miss depending on the timber. The blade will follow the grain.

I used the bandsaw because I didn't want to lose the 3mm per cut the circular saw uses and in this situation I could use the more timber at the sacrifice of the accuracy. If I'd wanted good even slats I would have used the table saw albeit more wasteful.

My tupence for what it's worth.

Jamie