Thread: Bandsaw problems solved...

I've been having bandsaw problems for a long time now, and I finally solved them, so I wanted to share my happiness.

I bought my bandsaw new, but for a long time, I could not get it working well. I could cut thin wood, only up to about 10mm, and could generally follow a basically straight line, but thick wood would twist the blade and jam, and any radius tighter than about 15cm was just not possible - the blade would just twist as the wood was turned. :mad: The saw was also really noisy to use. Bringing it back to the shop was never an option, because I bought it in a closing down sale.

I've mucked around with the blade guides, tension, top guide heights, and nothing helped. So the other day, I had a real good look at the blade and compared it to a replacement blade that's been sitting on my shelf for a year. Same blade, same TPI, but on close inspection, the teeth of the old blade were not splayed out anywhere near as much (the "set" of the teeth?). Basically, the teeth weren't cutting a wide enough groove to allow the blade any freedom.

So I installed the new blade, and WOW! I can cut 2" thick hardwood no problems, and cut 20mm radius turns with a ripping blade, and it's much quiter too. I can even use a ripping fence for long cuts without the whole machine jamming! After sitting on my bench for 3 years, I'm now very happy with my new bandsaw, and it's going to see some serious use now.