Thread: bandsaw size

G'day benzy

14" is the size off the wheels that the blade runs on.

Have a look here on tuning your Bandsaw

Benzine
I have a BAS 316 and 3 tips that worked for me for resawing are:
Use a 1/2 in 3tpi blade
Make sure the blade is running in the centre of the top wheel
Don't put too much tension on the blade
Happy Bandsawing
Shep

Originally Posted by benzine

How are bandsaws sized? eg: 14" bandsaw means what exactly?

A 14" bandsaw refers to the maximum width of rip cut it will make (distance from blade to fence when set as far back as the fence will go).

Ray.

Hi Benzine, what do you mean by 'run true' ?

By run true I mean that it doesn't cut straight - especially when I use the fence. The blade bends out to the right.

Have you tried using a different blade? If the set is off on one side, it'll always run off regardless of how well the BS is set up. Most blades that come supplied with a BS are pretty pathetic and worthwhile replacing as soon as the BS is unpacked.

Also, IMHO a fence is pretty much useless for wood on a BS, unless you're cutting homogenous materials such as MDF or softer cross-grains. When cutting with the grain, the blade's prone to follow grain direction so a more practical solution is a V-guide to allow you to maintain a set distance yet still adjust the direction of cut.

Originally Posted by benzine

By run true I mean that it doesn't cut straight - especially when I use the fence. The blade bends out to the right.

Have you adjusted the fence to suit the drift of the blade. You will find that just about everytime you change the blade you need to reset the fence to suit the blade

Have a look at the section on Blade Drift about halfway down the page here Ray.

Well the good news is that small bandsaws never cut straight but you can get a straight cut out of them.
The blade needs to be clean and sharp and running under quite a lot of tension, it should hum when plucked just like a bass guitar string. It doesn't matter where on the wheels it runs so long as it doesn't foul the edges of the wheels and doesn't run off when the machine is started. In fact you use the variability of where the blade sits on the wheel in order to make the blade run square to the table.
To tune it first back off the guides so they are well clear of the blade.
Next make sure that your blade is truly square to the table. Do this by simply adjusting the table tilt so that it is square left to right then you make sure that the blade is square front to back. This is done by a simple tilt adjust on the back of the machine behind the top wheel, just rotate the blade by hand and tilt the top wheel back and forward until the blade is running straight up and down. Sometimes you also have to adjust the tilt on the bottom wheel which is a little more complicated but I am sure you can figure it out. Careful here as it is very easy to bring the blade too far forward and it will bite into the casting so take it easy.
When the blade is running square then you can bring the guides back in. The guides should barely skim the sides of the blade and be just behind the teeth. If you are not sure you can put a bit of paper around the blade first and then bring the guides in to touch the paper. The guides mustn't press on the blade. The back bearing is set with a tiny bit of pressure against the blade. Same for the guides below the table.
Now the blade should rotate freely and smoothly and you can turn the machine on. If there is a ticking noise it will be the join in the blade going through the guides and you will need to sand it off a bit until it runs smoothly.
Bring a flat board up to the blade and try to cut a straight line up the middle of it. If the line wavers one side to the other increase the tension. You should be able to angle the board slightly so as to follow a straight line straight up a board. Every blade will cut slightly differently but generally they will favour a path just a few degrees off perfectly straight either to the right or the left. If you bring the guide arm down so it is close to the material you will get a better cut.
You can also set up a guide on the table for the material and you just have to angle it to adjust for the angle which the blade is cutting at. I find them of limited use unless cutting very thin stock and lots of it. The best thing to do is follow a pencil line with a nice steady pressure feeding the material into the blade. Also wider blades cut straighter and more consistently, thinner blades are better for curves. Remember to let the bandsaw do the work and don't try to force it and never ever have your thumb on the back of a piece while you are pushing it toward the blade, grip the piece from the sides. Good luck with it, there is really not that much to bandsaws and they are one of the most useful tools you can have in the workshop.