Thread: What am I doing wrong?

Is the log fixed (screwed) to the board underneath, or is the board a table?

I suspect the latter, in which case (keeping in mind that I have not used as wide a blade myself) the blade is binding in the green wood. This would be minimized if you screwed the log to a board and ran that through against the fence.

Incidentally, out of interest, what size bandsaw is that, and how much hp do you have?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by Wongdai

I've got the speed on the slowest setting.

The slower speed setting is usually for metal cutting, for timber cutting you usually need it running as fast as possible.

Would also look at how you're going to support the log once it clears the blade, what to stop it falling?

If the log is rolling even slightly, then the blade will jam.

Personally I wouldn't screw the log to a base board, as that's not as safe as it sounds. Instead I'd either:

• attach another panel to the side of the baseboard with a few braces, rather like a fence, and screw the log to that instead. This way the whole log's well supported and at the end of the cut you only have to catch the half that's not screwed down, instead of worrying about both halves.
• cut a series of timber wedges and hot-melt glue them between the log and base-board, about 12" apart. It's a good idea to strip bark from the log so the glue gets a good bond.

I've used both methods successfully depending on what materials I had to hand. (Although I must admit: not for a 12" log... my BS will handle maybe 8" max under duress)

And you definitely want both in and outfeed tables/rollers/whatever of at least 3/4 the log length... you don't want to do any manhandling of the log during cutting, except for pushing it through!

The pics you show indicate an accident waiting to happen. A ruined log and broken blade at least with possible damaged saw, personal injury at worst.

When feeding wood into any saw the only role you should have is the even forward pressure towards the cutting blade. The timber should be guided and supported by other (and secure) means. With rough and raw timber such as logs this needs some thought and care and some flexible and imaginative work, but it can be done as other have described.

It might be just the angle of the shots, but it also seems to me that you do not have sufficient room on the out-feed side either. Jobs like this are often made easier if you have another person to act as a tailer-out, but they have to know what the possible issues and dangers are too. As I learnt from a brief stint as a tailer-out in a forest mill many years ago 'ya gotta learn when to hold and when to fold - and when to run!'.

Hi there

Yes, the log is nailed to two pieces of chipboard beneath, with a gap in the middle. It can not and does not roll from side to side.

Plenty of room on the outfeed, but no support at this stage. I was just iniitally seeing how the cutting would go.

The bandsaw is a TBB-14 which has a two HP motor.

The blade does not seem to be binding, but "catching" on the top where it cuts.

Perhaps more blade tension? (It is pretty tight already.)

When purchasing the unit the fellow said I should run it at the slowest speed for resawing.

When purchasing the unit the fellow said I should run it at the slowest speed for resawing.

Aaahh.

He did not mean "use the slowest motor speed". He meant "push the trunk through the blade as slowly as possible (using the motor at its highest speed)".

Regards from Perth

Derek

But surely at the slower speed, the blade would have more leverage, and thus be less inclined to stopping?

It'd depend on the pulley sizes but I'd be guessing that it'd have its max torque on the higher speed as that is how they're designed to work

OK, I'll give that a go and see what transpires. Not this weekend though - I've had beers now.

Wow, cut the log to minimum length required, take the bark off first! Flattent the base over a buzzer if possible, end tables are essential, you are working big stuff with kids toys, stability is the word! Set yourself up well in excess of what you might feel you will need! sorry about the spelling. Move your rig so you have maximum room lengthwise and that also means clear movement for yourself and your buddy, tailing out as it were! It should feel and sound sweet all the way, no fingers please!

Agree with Oddjob - get rid of that bark, it alone can be a source of jamming (try using a handsaw on an unbarked log). I use a home-made drawer knife or hatchet. You can also use them to work a flat on the log. You don't need it to be perfect, just enough to make the log solidly stable. If the log is much bigger than the one you show, it's better to prop it up & chainsaw it down the middle. I also agree with the general concensus that it's probably rolling on you. The other common cause of jamming that I encounter is pinching, which happens when the outside of the wood is much drier than inside. The kerf behind the blade seems to be opening rather than closing, so that doesn't appear to be your problem.


Sawing can be easier as a two-person job, but I usually find an inexperienced tailer-outer is worse than doing it by myself - they always seem to pull things off line instead of supporting the out-feeding wood. Just chop the logs into manageable lengths (& if you're anything like me, you'll still end up with bits that are about twice as heavy as they ought to be!).

As Derek says - feed speed is the key. A blade like that ought to sail through that thickness pretty easily. It's hard to explain, but once you get used to your saw you can tell by the sound of the motor when it's loaded & cutting at the max, but not over-loading. Too slow a feed is almost as hard on the equipment as too fast. You want those teeth whizzing by the cut at max speed, so that the sawdust is cleared quickly, as well as cutting. The main reason for slowing down saws for metal cutting is to reduce heat buildup - that's not a problem with bandsawing wood, usually.

I'm not sure what other people's experiences with bandsaws have been, but there seems to be a lot of unnecessary fear of what is a pretty innocuous tool if used with a modicum of common sense. Contrary to popular belief, the blades don't come snaking out when they break, they have very little momentum & usually stop dead in the cut, in my experience (& I've busted one or two blades in my time). The hulking great things used in sawmills are another matter, & you certainly need safety shields & fully-paid-up life insurance to hang around those things!

Cheers,