Thread: bandsaw alignment video

Many thanks for the link. Very interesting video, I had never considered aligning the table, always fiddled with the fence alignment.
We have a large Carbatec bandsaw at the woodclub, and it never cuts straight, despite numerous attempts at aligning the fence.
I can see a bit of surgery coming up next time I am down there, hopefully the problem can be resolved.

Alan...

Surely setting the tracking is a whole lot easier that moving the table for every blade change. I am afraid I don't get what the problem is with tracking a blade to cut parallel with the fence, sure it takes a bit of time but it works unless the blade itself has an issue like being blunt. Have a look at this video which most people swear by but it only applies to saws with crowned wheels, European saws have flat wheels so are tracked with the blade teeth off the wheel.

You don't change it since 1974 according to the video. You just make sure the blade is in the right position after you change it.

I just made the adjustments to my bandsaw as per the video, and the result is brilliant! Very straight cut.
I found my fence wasn't quite at right angles to the groove, but the bigger deviation was the table to the blade.
My bandsaw setup instructions tell me to place a straightedge along both up and down back edges of the blade (with the blade centred on the upper wheel) and then to move the table until the straightedge is at right angles to the groove. This avoids the Fortune method of making a number of adjustments - same result.

Perhaps I'm a bit slow today but I'm struggling to see the benefit of having the fence parallel to the mitre slot. I figured they were two different operations. You either used one or the other. Can someone please explain? I can understand why you'd want the fence parallel to the blade (unless you subscribe to the blade drift theory) and the mitre slot parallel to the blade. If that means by definition the fence is then parallel to the mitre slot then I get it.

Originally Posted by Uncle Al

We have a large Carbatec bandsaw at the woodclub, and it never cuts straight, despite numerous attempts at aligning the fence.
I can see a bit of surgery coming up next time I am down there, hopefully the problem can be resolved.

Alan...

Same problem with mine, an older Carbatec branded 18" saw. Maybe the mug who keeps moving it around the workshop by grabbing the table is part of the problem? I'm giving this a go in desperation. Alex Snodgrass may well say that you should never have drift in a bandsaw, but I'm buggered if I've ever been able to get rid of it. Chrism3's post AFTER completing the alignment gives me hope. A big THANK YOU!

I think you've got it perfectly tccp123.

Originally Posted by aldav

Same problem with mine, an older Carbatec branded 18" saw. Maybe the mug who keeps moving it around the workshop by grabbing the table is part of the problem?

Not sure if ours is a 19 inch or a 21 inch jobbie, but i know it has been moved around a bit, and the obvious way of shifting it is by pulling / pushing on the table.
Looking forward to fiddling with the alignment tomorrow, with a bit of luck, this saw might actually work they way it was intended.

Alan...

Didn't know the European bandsaws have flat wheels, but then I've never owned or used one.

This is a great video. I've seen it before. This guy is very clear. If you follow these instructions, you pretty much can't go wrong.

I independently discovered the gullet in the centre of the wheel rule out of sheer frustration and an inspired noodling session. It sure is frustrating the amount of misinformation on how to set up a bandsaw there is out there.

Originally Posted by Uncle Al

Not sure if ours is a 19 inch or a 21 inch jobbie, but i know it has been moved around a bit, and the obvious way of shifting it is by pulling / pushing on the table.

Alan...

I have a Sheppach Basato, which comes equipped with a handle for moving it.

There is no benefit to having the fence parallel to the mitre slot unless you are using the slot to guide a jig and your saw is tracking parallel to the slot. Bandsaws work more like a router than a table-saw. The only point of contact is at the teeth. This is why many re-saw setups have a simple bump on the fence. You can make minor adjustments to your feed angle on the fly.
I have 2 bandsaws, neither has a mitre slot. My 14” shares a fence with the table saw. So alignment of the fence is governed by the table saw. I adjust the bandsaw tracking to match the fence.
My 36” band saw is about 100 years old and, as far as I know, is still running on the original babbitt. The fence is an MDF right angle which is held somewhat in place with a couple of Magswitch 150’s. The tires are flat so the blade rides on the leading edge, the teeth slightly proud of the wheel.
Both cut nicely.
Before I read Michael Fortune’s 5 tips for better bandsawing in 2004, I did not like my bandsaw. Since then it has been a true asset. Everything I learned about the 14” applies to the 36”.

I must qualify my comments above as this has come up before and I had forgotten about it. If the BS has drift that cannot be controlled by changing the tracking then the fence is simply outside the range the tracking will correct. The fence being attached to the table could then be bought back within the range by moving the table and the fence. I forget where I read it, possibly here but someone had a similar problem with a Jet and there was a hidden adjustment only found by removing the table. If the blade is parallel with the fence drift cannot exist except if the blade is blunt or bad technique is used or so we are told. I have played with a gadget to visually see the angle difference between the fence and the blade but it has limited use for a whole lot of reasons.

Having posted a link to a video that seemed to provide some good advice from an expert, promising a once in a lifetime adjustment as long as you don't move the saw by the table, my advice is this:
If you already have your saw working to your satisfaction, then do nothing. If you don't, then why not try the advice in the video before offering counter advice and possibly confusing people?

My apologies for any confusion, the video I posted has been found to be good solid advise in the past and followed by many with excellent results, my error was not allowing for the fence AND table assembly to be so far out as an assembly. If the table is within the parameters it should be then there is no necessity to move the table and tracking is the only necessary adjustment. Do you think the video I posted is wrong and should be disregarded?

No, i think that is an excellent video, and I have posted it in the past. But he says nothing about alignment of the table, and his demos aren't concerned about using jigs or the mitre slot. So if they aren't a concern to you, (they obviously are to Mr Fortune), then I have no reason to doubt the Snodgrass advice. I don't think the two videos are necessarily incompatible, although they do plave the blade at a different point on the wheel.

Advice that I have seen in publications that I do question includes adjusting the fence for 'drift', and ensuring that the top and bottom wheels are coplanar.