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  1. #1
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    Default Bandsaw Adjustment Needed?

    Hi All, I've been a member for a while but this is my first post, so my apologies in advance if I break a rule or miss something out.

    I'm also a newbie woodworker, and have just acquired my first bandsaw, a little Hafco 255 which seems to work really well on some cuts.

    However I decided to try to cut a tenon on some 30mm thick jarrah and set up the rip fence where I wanted it, and away I went. The attached photo's show the result. It starts on the mark, then goes off on its own little journey.

    I've adjusted the tension and guide bearings according to the manual (there's no gauge on the cheapies) and lowered the guide to just above the workpiece, but maybe (obviously) I missed something. Help? Please?

    IMG_3444.jpgIMG_3445.jpg

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  3. #2
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    Default

    The basic thing is that the bandsaw is not a precision instrument. (maybe with a very good machine and a very good operator) You really need to mark your lines very carefully with a sharp scribing knife and then cut outside those lines with the bandsaw, remove the waste and then close in on the lines with a very sharp chisel using guide blocks - meaning nice square blocks clamped exactly on the lines so you can slide the chisel against them.

  4. #3
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    Have a look at Alex Snodgrass on youtube explaining his take on bandsaw setup.

    Link:
    https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...41MQ4q_CSpKyVJ

    Also, there have been a number of questions on this topic with many detailed replies but one thing that doesn't get much of a hearing is how hard the piece is pushed into the blade. I find that pushing just hard enough to make the teeth bite will give a straight cut. I believe this is because the set of the teeth makes the kerf slightly wider than the blade thickness so even if alignment is not perfect the teeth will follow the direction of workpiece travel rather than be pushed to 1 side by the back of the blade. Pushing too hard will cause blade distortion and it will go off course. If the blade is blunt then you are likely to have more problems because more force is needed.
    Cheers, Bob the labrat

    Measure once and.... the phone rings!

  5. #4
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    My advice is join a woodworking club, and get the local member who maintains their band saws to give you a hand sorting it out

    but to start...
    check whether it is cutting straight.
    I assuming you actually used the Fence to guide your cut, by making sure you held the piece firmly against the fence, and that the fence was solid and did not deflect, which may or may not be correct.

    Get a piece of scrap about 19mm to 25mm thick and bigger than 60mm wide. 400mm long, or a bit longer, flat on both sides. A bit of pine board or recycled pallet board is ok.
    Get a straight edge on it (by whatever means are at your disposal).
    Put an edge parallel to the straight edge on on it.

    Put a straight line on it parallel to the straight edge, and about 20mm in from the straight edge. It must be parallel, so use a gauge or similar.

    Cut freehand down the line, and stop the machine around the halfway point, ensuring you do not disturb board as it holds the angle the machine was cutting at. Carefully lift your hands without disturbing the board and stand back. The two parallel sides will indicate where your machine wants to cut. This might be straight in line with the machine or not (it does not matter much). Use the miter slot as your indicator of where straight in relation to the table is, bearing in mid that the table might not be straight on your machine, as there is usually a couple of degrees play when the mounting bolts are loosened

    Now get your fence, gently slide it across to get it close to the workpiece, but without touching the work piece, then lock the fence. Stand back and have a look to see if the parallel edge is parallel to the fence. If not (as I suspect) then the blade will deflect. Judging from the look of your tenon, the fence is pointing left as you look from the operators position. Either way there are adjustment screws on the fence, and the blade can be adjusted to aim a little left or a little right by the tracking control. Try getting the fence parallel to the blade first,asthat is alot easier than learning how to set up the entire machine before setting the fence parallel as the final step.

    Normally when I am setting up a saw, I track the blade so the gullets are just in front of the crown on the wheel, then I re-track the blade so it is cutting parallel to the miter slot, then I adjust the guides correctly, and retest, then I adjust the fence to parallel the cut.

    Anyway have a go and see if the above helps any.

    Oh yeah by the way...
    those coarse marks at the beginning of your cuts mean your blade is dirty, and will act like its going blunt. You will need to clean it. A quick wire brush in the drill chuck ensuring the direction of rotation is WITH the direction of the teeth will remove the pitch build upon the teeth. More detailed cleaning instructions are around somewhere. I use a 24hr white vinegar bath on our blades, rinse with the hose, then dry & WD40, before I re-sharpen.

  6. #5
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    If your blade is not sharp it will affect any attempt to set the saw so it cuts parallel to the fence so if you don't know if it is sharp get a new one and before going any more adjustments read this thread Bs-350. If the blade is a good known one then do the adjustments from that thread. Getting the mitre slot parallel with the blade is very important. Most bandsaw blade tensioners read low so add a bit more tension and make sure the blade is suitable for the job.
    CHRIS

  7. #6
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    So, thank you all for the mass of information. This gives me much to try, and I'll work through it all. FYI the blade is brand new, and seems to have a coating on it which is rubbing off on the timber. Perhaps I should have cleaned it with vinegar or alcohol before first use, but you know what it's like. New toy, you can't wait to turn it on. I'll come back to the thread with results when I have some. Cheers, Ray

  8. #7
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    I wouldn't worry about the coating it will have zero effect. If the blade is the one that came with a new bandsaw then it is generally a pretty useless thing to begin with and you need to get better ones. The supplied blades are usually a very fine tooth count and apart from any other problems they have the fine tooth count means that the gullet gets filled and the blade then wanders around in the cut. Imagine the blade gullet filled, this then means the blade effectively has no teeth to cut with.
    CHRIS

  9. #8
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    Default

    Thanks Chris, I did buy some more blades, of various TPI, but from H&F so not sure if they'll be any better. However I have had some success with the adjustments. See next post.

  10. #9
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    Default Thanks to all

    Can't thank you all enough. Bad picture, but this is the result of simply properly aligning the blade on the top wheel, and cutting more slowly. Same blade. I also checked the fence alignment and it was very close OOTB. Finicky to adjust the table, and the tilt mechanism has free-play that can't be prevented easily. But the difference already is remarkable. I am going to spend a lot more time reading older posts in this forum, because I've recently bought this saw, and a table saw, and a belt/disc sander, and they all have appallingly sloppy mitre guides. I'm betting there are already threads on this here somewhere. Thanks again.

    Ray

    IMG_3448.jpg

  11. #10
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    You're right Ray, that IS a bad picture but a good result .
    Cheers, Bob the labrat

    Measure once and.... the phone rings!

  12. #11
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    Agreed. This looks like a blunt blade and too much force pushing the wood. The poor blade is simply deflecting.

    Get a good blade/s made up by Henry Bros in Sydney. They are very good.

    Perhaps a very coarse thick one and a fine thinner one.

  13. #12
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    Gentlemen, the blade. It's all about the blade. Chris is spot on about the OOTB blade. It's only 9mm wide. The 3 and 6 TPI blades I bought are 12.5 mm ( except for the 3mm I bought specifically for small curves) and are obviously better quality. I imagine the extra width will also give me a straighter cut, with more stability in the tracking. Gunna try the 3 TPI now. It has a different tooth design as well, much bigger curved gullets. You guys rock! I wish I could have bought a 14 inch machine, but it's taken me 70 years to get this one.

  14. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by raycon View Post
    Gentlemen, the blade. It's all about the blade. Chris is spot on about the OOTB blade. It's only 9mm wide. The 3 and 6 TPI blades I bought are 12.5 mm ( except for the 3mm I bought specifically for small curves) and are obviously better quality. I imagine the extra width will also give me a straighter cut, with more stability in the tracking. Gunna try the 3 TPI now. It has a different tooth design as well, much bigger curved gullets. You guys rock! I wish I could have bought a 14 inch machine, but it's taken me 70 years to get this one.
    you will have upgraded within 12 months...money on it.
    I would love to grow my own food, but I can not find bacon seeds

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