Thread: Grrrrrrr!!!

Well, I have finally gotten to the stage where I am using my machinery again!

After a couple of years of traveling, accidents and health problems, and getting the new abode in order I decided to tackle the bandsaw as my next job after getting the tablesaw blades sharpened and put to work on some repairs.

Part of yesterday was spent cleaning the beast and putting it back together. Today I tackled the problem of setting up the blade using Alex Snodgrass's method as my guide.

I found one big problem. The Hafco instruction book is damned near useless in some respects. For instance,
on the inside of the top door is an illustration saying there should be a 1/8 to 3/16 gap between the bottom of a screw and the top of the wheel hinge. I tried to achieve this but it seems obvious that the screw goes into the aluminium extrusion for some distance and was meant to be that way. I could not see what difference it would make, as it has always been this way.

Secondly the problem of setting the guides is not helped by the fact that there are literally no instructions on how to do this. My previous efforts had met with less than satisfactory results. So, I twiddled and fiddled with every Allen key bolt in sight and eventually worked out what did what. I stillhave a problem with the bottom thrust guide; I cannot move it backwards as this is what it needs.

I set the blade and guides, test spun everything and it looked great! Just a small problem with that bottom guide.

Fired her up and everything went well for a couple of test cuts. Bewdy!! Decided to cut a round blank I needed from pine and that's where the fun began. Sparks flew and blade jumped off bottom wheel.

Result was a slight kink and a few blunt teeth.

Without adjusting anything further I remounted the blade and did a test spin by hand. I decided to adjust the cant on the top wheel and things were fine. I managed to cut the blank but it was an effort as those blunt teeth and the kink don't help.

Tomorrow I will ring H&F and ask about the bottom guide and that screw adjustment.

I will also look for a new blade!!!