Thread: Cannot remove drift on blade

Some years ago, I bought a 8" bench-top Ryobi BS for $100 (what could go wrong with a BS?)
Wonderful thing until the blade started to seriously drift.
I tried everything I could think of, even new guides.
Last but not least, a new blade. 100% fix.
Maybe use it 30 minutes, less than once a week. Ideal for the cutting jobs I want to do.
Since then, the only thing that I know about the beast is that it is insanely sensitive to a dull blade.
So I buy blades, 3 at a time. Even then, some blades last far longer than others.
Never have expected a blade to last forever.

Good news at long last, thanks to Derek. I put a new 1/2" 3tpi bimetal blade from Henry Bros on. I tensioned the blade and adjusted the racking knob so the blade sat in the middle of the tyre and put the peg on the blade to determine the amount of twisting, and it was minimal. In fact, the only twist came when the weld passed through the peg.

Q1. Should I put a carbide stone on the flat of the blade to remove this, as this unevenness click every time the blade passes through the ceramic guides? Don't want to chip them.

I then set the table to right angles to the blade.

I passed 70 x 35 mm pine stud through the blade freehand, following a straight line drawn on it on the flat side. This showed a drift angle of 15mm in 400mm table width. Tried to set this to zero using the tracking knob, but without success, so I adjusted the fence angle to suit. This means nothing on the saw is parallel to the mitre slot, so it cannot be used Did another rip down the 70mm high stud, but very very slowly as advised by Derek above, and got a nice smooth finish, better than I have ever seen before.

I then moved the fence and did another rip on the same piece, this time a veneer, and was able to cut a 0.5mm thick x 400 long x 70 high veneer on the stud ( yes, zero point five mm thick), and it was uniform thickness throughout. I didn't believe it!! And with an ordinary bimetal blade !!

I then put the offending 3/4" 1.2tpi bimetal blade back on, which also is new but cut something terrible. I found that the amount of twist I was experiencing before with this blade had been greatly reduced. So I went through the above setup procedure, and ripped another 70 x 35 mm pine stud on edge, but very very slowly !! The result was a fairly smooth cut that could be smoothed with a couple of light passes with a sander. I was able to cut a 2mm wide veneer with this coarse blade without any trouble, haven't tried anything thinner yet.

I must admit that going very slowly has made a huge difference with these sharp blades. Also, I have given up on ever getting zero drift with this saw, meaning the fence will have to be re-adjusted every time I change the blade.

Next step is to try resawing a 180mm wide piece of hardwood, and if successful, cut a veneer to see how it goes

So the new 1/2" 3 tpi blade and the change in technique has made a huge difference!

Thanks everyone for your support, looking forward to your responses on dressing the flat sides of the blade to smooth the weld

Great to hear Dengy.

What we both have discovered is that it matters not at all how good the saw is, the darned thing won't work well without a good blade. My plan is to use only bimetal blades on my old saw (curves etc) and only CT blades on the new saw, which will operate pretty much permanently in re-saw/veneering mode.

As I said earlier, I have never had a widish blade cut exactly parallel to the mitre slots. I thought this was normal ... but maybe I am wrong.

Definitely dress the weld with a stone. The manufacturer says this is a must ... for good reasons. I've only done this once, so I'll allow someone more experienced fill you in on the "how to".

Before you try a wide cut, you might try a cut of about 70 - 100 mm deep in hardwood. My crook blades drifted much more in hardwood than they did in cedar.

Generally, a wider blade works better for veneer cutting and similar, so you might like to consider putting a good CT blade on your machine. I ordered a 1" CT blade from Henry Bros yesterday ($153 incl GST), the widest my saw can take. Not sure what the upper limit for blade width is on your saw, but whatever it is, it is likely a good idea to go for the widest blade the manufacturer recommends, or close to it. In addition, the wide blades usually like more tension that you would normally apply.

Good luck!

John

Thanks for your comments John, you were right all along about the blade, from the first post!!

The widest blade that the Laguna 14-12 will take is 3/4", and Henry Bros or Superior Saws don't make a CT bade for that width.

Good advice about trying on a 100mm bit of hardwood first - will do that tomorrow

I'm really pleased that you got the drift sorted out Dengue.
Finally you can start using the saw rather than working on it.

0.5mm veneer isn't too bad - that's thinner than you'll ever need.

A bit of a pain that the blade isn't dead parallel to the mitre slot, but you might be able to sort that out in the future, after you're more used to setting up the saw. Maybe by slotting the table mounting holes for more adjustment.

When I fit a new blade I always run a stone on the sides a bit, then smooth/round the rear edge slightly, to reduce blade guide and thrust bearing wear. Avoid the teeth, of course, they don't need any smoothing.

Put the third Laguna re-saw king blade on my saw this morning. After two crook blades in a row I was full of trepidation.

But this time we hit pay-dirt ... this is a 0.6 mm thick veneer taken from a 260 mm high board that was 600 mm long.
0.6 mm veneer.jpg

Now, Dengy had already cut a 0.5 mm veneer. It was only 70 mm deep, but still, that's thinner than my 0.6 mm veneer.

Just so we can start a good old-fashioned d1ck measuring competition, here is a 0.4 mm veneer, 260 mm wide. Who will cut the 0.3 mm veneer? Play fair, it must be 0.3 mm all the way around ... all four sides.

0.4 mm veneer.jpg

My old adviser was right. Worry less about the machine until you KNOW you have a good blade.

It gets better. The drift adjustment on the fence is tiny.

OK John, you started it

Would you believe 0.2 mm x 70 x 300 in radiata pine, cut with a $50 bimetal 1/2" 3tpi blade?

In accordance with the conventions of this forum, I will get a picture of it and the vernier caliper reading

Originally Posted by Dengue

OK John, would you believe 0.2 mm x 70 x 300 in radiata pine, cut with a bimetal 1/2" 3tpi blade.

In accordance with the conventions of this forum, I will try and get a picture of it and the vernier caliper reading

Awwww ... Dengy ...

A 70 mm wide board does not count. We could do that on our table saws. I cut a poofteenth smaller than 0.2 mm in cedar this morning, but it was only about 60 mm deep cut. Not even a challenge.

Lets decide on a standard width of board ... 250 mm ... 300 mm ... 350 mm whatever floats your boat, so long as it is WIDE. Next rule, both sides of the veneer being measured must be cut on the saw. Not cut one side and thicknessed/planed on the other. Final rule, one must cut three consecutive veneers and the variation measured will be the delta between the thinnest and thickest measurements on all three boards. Being able to cut thin veneers is one thing, but the real test is being able to do it in a repeatable way, veneer after veneer.

By the way, I intend to have an unfair advantage. See this post for details. https://www.woodworkforums.com/f27/re...6/#post1745427

Let the d1ck measuring commence!

Have fun!

John

Originally Posted by Dengue

OK John, you started it

Would you believe 0.2 mm x 70 x 300 in radiata pine, cut with a $50 bimetal 1/2" 3tpi blade?

In accordance with the conventions of this forum, I will get a picture of it and the vernier caliper reading

Not necessary Dengy. As an honourable man, your word is good enough for me.

Cheerio!

John

Well, I have one of 0.0000mm .... AND a photo to prove it!!

Regards from Perth

Dereh

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Well, I have one of 0.0000mm .... AND a photo to prove it!!

Regards from Perth

Dereh

All woodies are honourable men. We can take Derek at his word. Therefore he wins the d1ck measuring contest almost before it begins.

For those of you who were wondering:
FIRST PRIZE is a day in my shop.
SECOND PRIZE is a week in my shop, fixing my stuff-ups.
THIRD PRIZE is a month in my shop, teaching me how to use tools.

Any more entries?

Originally Posted by Dengue

The widest blade that the Laguna 14-12 will take is 3/4", and Henry Bros or Superior Saws don't make a CT bade for that width.

Dengy,

Pat just put me onto the Woodslicer blades from the USA ... here ... Wood Slicer Bandsaw Blade | Custom Length Bandsaw Blades

They look very good, At about $45 (for your saw) plus postage, you will get what looks like a first class veneer cutting blade. I am going to order one. If they are as good as folks on this forum are saying, they are a very good deal indeed.

Cheerio!

John

Originally Posted by John Samuel

All woodies are honourable men. We can take Derek at his word. Therefore he wins the d1ck measuring contest almost before it begins.
....

Wait a second - were you measuring the size of the veneer or dick?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Wait a second - were you measuring the size of the veneer or dick?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Well ...

We were measuring veneer ... not so sure about you Derek ... and that's a worry!