1/8" Blade

Just purchased a tiny, cheeep bandsaw. Always reluctant to buy cheap tools, learned in the course of cabinetmaking over 35 years when quality mattered very much, life is different now, in hobbyland. I make automata, which involves a lot of carving. The scrollsaw is not big enough, nor powerful enough to cut large pieces as the beginning of the carving process, hence this purchase. Surprised by how well it cuts, ordered at no small expense a thin blade, essential for the intricate cuts needed. To cut to the chase, my cabinetmaking made little use of a bandsaw, so no in depth experience, knowledge of, such a machine. The blade refuses to stay on the crown. The smallest, tiniest adjustment to the tracking adjuster sends it scrambling to the opposite side, sometimes off the wheel. I have yet to try a cut, since I cannot get it mounted properly.
May I ask members with experience with thin blade use, how using this size differs from the more common sizes used for most jobs, particularly related to setup. Already, I have voided the warranty by modifying the bottom guide, which did not go back far enough to clear the teeth, and am willing to go further with mods if that is what it takes.
Grateful for any input/advice !

Thanks,
Gus

My first suggestion would be to get the saw behaving with the blade supplied with it. You suggest that it is tiny and cheap, which also suggest that it would be folded sheet metal, quite flexible in the frame, and roughly assembled without a lot of attention to alignment of wheels, guides etc. Therefore I would be getting it to behave with the supplied blade first, doing the alignment and guide tweaks with that,since while likely to be poor quality, will be stronger than a 1/8th blade. I wouldn't try to mount a 1/8th blade until I was confident that the machine was well enough aligned to competently handle wider blades. I would also not be surprised if the wheel alignment changed with tension, sheet metal machines can be quite floppy compared to a cast frame machine.

I would also be checking the 'manual' that came with the saw to verify whether the manufacturers claim it can handle such a narrow blade. I have known some small units to come with a very limited recommended blade width range, like 3/16 to 1/4 because the machine hasn't the capacity to handle wider blades or the stability to handle narrower blades.

Finally, I would be very shy about bagged off the shelf blades in general, and narrow ones in particular because they are also produced to a price point and are often lacking in material and assembly quality. Tooth set can be uneven, making them try to cut curves rather than straight, and the joints can be iffy as well. A minor bend in a short blade at a weld may not be very visible to the naked eye, but be enough to start the band wandering off the crown as it rotates in the saw, resulting in the crown leading it over the edge of the wheel. I would suggest sourcing blades from a reputable saw specialist like Henry Brothers, and explaining exactly what you want the blade to do, and following their recommendations. Costs more initially, but cheaper in the long run. Also be aware that band stock has minimum bend radii that varies depending on the type of stock, width and thickness, and a small cheap saw may have wheels with smaller radii, resulting in a recommendation to not use that material in a saw that small. Personally I have 8" and 12" bandsaws, but do not use narrow blades on the smaller unit for these reasons, it works well enough with normal 1/4" blades but narrower would be a risk because of the tighter bend radius and frame flexibility.

Malb,

Thank you for all that information. Have managed with a couple of modifications to the machine to get the blade to stay on, even though not near the crown, even process a bit of not too demanding work. It does work well with the supplied blade, but no sharp bends. I will keep on keeping on. I did discover that for the 1/8 blade, the tension must be a lot less than with wider blades, made a big difference. Cost of blade, $45... :o
Regards,
Gus

For a blade that small take off the side guides and run on just the back bearing. I did this when using a small blade as like you have noticed the side guides do not go back enough.There are special guides used by bandsaw box makers thats just the back bearing with a groove in it. Someone into bandsaw boxes may be able to point you in the right direction for getting one. As to the blade staying on are we talking about a 3 wheeler here?
Regards
John

Thank You John,

I did modify the guides to go back enough, so now clear the teeth, the top were ok. The back bearing is mounted on its side, and its method doesn't allow alteration, at least not without re engineering in some way.
By three wheeler, are you referring to the blade carrier wheels ? Early days with it, I may get a 3/16 blade if this 1/8 can't handle the tight curves, a slightly wider may.

Regards,
Gus

A three wheeler is a bandsaw where the blade goes not around 2 [large] wheels, but around 3 smaller wheels - the idea being that you get a much larger throat that way.
Used to have one, many years ago. It cut like a dog and, due to the smaller wheels, broke blades frequently at the weld. Brass bushes rather than bearing guides. Yikes.
Think it was a Masport. Replacing it was a relief!

Have a look at Carter products Saw Blade Stabilizer

Quote:

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Originally Posted by P.W.H.

A three wheeler is a bandsaw where the blade goes not around 2 [large] wheels, but around 3 smaller wheels - the idea being that you get a much larger throat that way.
Used to have one, many years ago. It cut like a dog and, due to the smaller wheels, broke blades frequently at the weld. Brass bushes rather than bearing guides. Yikes.
Think it was a Masport. Replacing it was a relief!

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About sums up my experience of the contraption. Keeping the blade tracking was very hard.
Regards
John

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pat

Have a look at Carter products Saw Blade Stabilizer

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The Carter stabilizer for small blades looks interesting but the price is a lot more than I wanted to spend. Really the Carter product is just a holder with a single grooved top bearing to support the blade.


My bandsaw uses 6x17x6 bearings and the top back bearing is the right orientation so I looked for a grooved bearing to drop in. No luck, I couldn't find a 6x17x6 grooved bearing. I did find a 6x19x6 with a 2mm v groove on ebay, just enough clearance between the top guide and the lower guide holders to accommodate this. Had to wait for two weeks while it was sent from China but it was 20 times cheaper than the Carter guide.


It fitted in place of the existing top rear bearing. I haven't done a lot of curved cuts previously so it's difficult for me to to gauge if it's better or can cut tighter curves than a 1/4 blade supported by all the guides. It certainly makes it easier to switch to a narrow blade from re-saw, swapping in a single grooved bearing and backing off the others is faster than adjusting all six bearings - plus the position of the side guides doesn't need changing from the re-saw blade setting.


Anyone have any opinions on leaving a rear v groove bearing in place all the time, using it as a backstop for a re-saw blade. It would make it easier to swap back from curves to re-saw but would the groove change the alignment of the re-saw blade as it presses back against it?