Bandsaw drifting when resawing white oak

I am a newbie with a bandsaw. I am remodeling a house outside of Chicago and I need to resaw some 5/4 quartersawn white oak. I just purchased a Delta 14 inch bandsaw, and thought it would be a no-brainer to resaw some 6" x 48" x 5/4" white oak right through it... well, then I discovered that my blade was drifting off center as I pushed the board through. I built a right angle jig that I ran parallel to my fence, thinking this would fix the problem.... nope. It seems that the blade twists as I push the board through the path created between the fence and my jig now. How do I fix this? Matt

Reply to
mattzach
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Charlie B did a nice job in describing and information on overcoming this problem at the following URL:

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Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

Reply to
Nova

Reply to
Thomas Satrom

Nothing that simple can satisfy a true tool nut.

I use a pivot board on the right side of the blade because I'm right handed, and I want my best hand directing, my clumsy hand merely holding the wood against the fence.

Reply to
George

Read the manual. Use the adjutments screws that will help align the cool blocks or whatever. There are adjustments above AND BELOW the table.

Reply to
Lawrence A. Ramsey

Yeah, I thought that also. There are a few steps to take not just for re-saw, but all your work.

The right blade. The best are Timberwolf from Suffolk Machine (buy direct for best prices) or Wood Slicer from Highland Hardware.

Saw set up. The blade must track on the center of the wheel. The guides (get Cool Blocks) must be set for the blade; I like them just couching the blade but set in back of the teeth. The bearing should be set just behind it. Leave about the thickness of a dollar bill. Blade should be tensioned properly

Table should be 90 degrees from the blade. Use a good square to check it. Same with the fence. Keep pressure against the fence while pushing the wood through the blade.

Take your time with the setup. You'll learn more about how a bandsaw works and your end results will be much better. Consider a Quick Crank for the tensioning. It is essentially a handle that replaces the knob on top that makes it very easy to back off tension at the end of the day and put it back exactly when needed.

Get the setup right and you can reliable slice very thin wood. Ed

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Reply to
Bob Bowles

If you use a good quality resaw blade, 1/2" wide you don't have to compensate for "blade drift". I do it on a 12" 1970's vintage Craftsman all the time.

-- Bill Rittner R & B ENTERPRISES

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"Don't take this life too seriously.......nobody gets out alive" (Unknown)

Reply to
Bill Rittner

...OK.I don't have this particular blade yet, but I have a couple of brand new 3/4" 3tpi blades from a very reputable saw sharpener here in Oak Park, IL.

OK... I seem to be having a problem getting the blade to stay on the center of the wheels. It wanders to the edge where the teeth slightly hang off the edge. This is what I'm trying to fix now...

It seems to be right at 90 degrees.

Thanks Ed....

Reply to
mattzach

Reply to
Lawrence A. Ramsey

Get Lonnie Bird's Band Saw Book. It will explain how to setup your saw for resawing.

The blade will drift much more dramatically when it's dull. It is very easy, even with the imfamous Timberwolf blades, to overheat a blade and make it useless, especially on a hard wood like white oak. If you smelled any burning, you may have toasted the blade already.

I started using Timberwolfs at first because everybody says they are the best. I found that they just have the best marketing. They cut well at first, but became dull very quickly. I switched to a Lenox

4tpi bi-metal blade for most of my work and life is much easier. It stays sharp much, much longer. (BTW, Bird suggests a carbide or bi-metal blade for re-sawing, even on poplar.) The carbon steel Lenox blades I have are just as good as Timberwolf and cheaper, too.

You can buy Lenox blades from

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Their website is a little buggy, but I got my order quickly.

Mark

Reply to
Mark Wells

Reply to
Matt Zach

On Fri 31 Oct 2003 10:39:42p, Matt Zach wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net:

I don't think I qualify as a serious bandsaw user, unless you define it as seriously intending to get serious. But everything I read and every experienced woodworker I talk to says, yeah, you've got a saw that *should* be capable of decent resawing when properly tuned and wearing the right blade. Delta 14-inch, no riser block yet, right? Is it possible your fence isn't canted correctly to compensate for the drift in the blade?

The only person on this group I've ever seen post anything bad about Timberwolf is Mark. He might have a point about dulling quickly, I haven't run mine through enough wood to know myself. But right now it cuts oak like butter. Maybe a little slower than butter, but pretty smooth. The weather, work, and family have combined to keep me out of the shop lately so I haven't had a chance to try resawing.

I've got Lonnie's book. Like it. Good basic stuff, lots of pointers. Just about all the photos are of Deltas :-) but there's one that looks like the same model of Jet I bought used last month. It seems to be written early enough so he doesn't talk much about low-tension blades like Timberwolf. Otherwise it's great.

Dan

Reply to
Dan

Reply to
Matt Zach

My Jet 14" can take a 3/4" blade, but the folks at Suffolk recommended a

1/2" and it woks just fine. I've resawn Jatoba with it as well as other woods. Ed
Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Interesting. That was my experience, too. All in all, I'm not convinced that they work all that much better than the Lenox blades that cost a little more than half as much.

I'm currently using a Highland Hardware Woodslicer and I have to say it's mighty impressive. It goes through 6" maple like it was soft pine and the cut is incredibly smooth. But it's brand new and I don't yet know how it will hold up over time. It cost about 4 times what the Lenox costs so I've got to see whether it lasts 4 times as long.

-- jc Published e-mail address is strictly for spam collection. If e-mailing me, please use jc631 at optonline dot net

Reply to
john carlson

Okay, I have some clarifications.

I am a hobbiest as well. My bandsaw use is probably different than most because I don't own a table saw. That means every (powered) cut I do is on my bandsaw or compound miter saw. In that setting, I felt like my 1/2", 3tpi Timberwolf blade dulled too quickly. After doing more reading and Google searching, I found some other folks with the same complaint. I also found some statements by Iturra Designs and others who think this "low-tension silicon steel" craze is just that

-- a craze. Steve Knight on this group said that he switched to bi-metal and was happy with them. That's why I tried them and I have been pleased. If you don't find your blades go dull too quickly, then I see no reason to switch to bi-metal.

A bi-metal blade is about $30, and will last much more than 3x as long as a carbon steel blade. I don't have a carbide bandsaw blade because a) they are expensive b) I'm worried that they are fragile c) they require a lot of HP because the kerf is much wider than carbon steel or bi-metal blades d) I haven't run through 3 bi-metal blades yet.

I'm not a Lenox zealot. I'm not saying the Lenox are better than Timberwolf -- I think they are about the same except that Lenox is cheaper.

Mark

Reply to
Mark Wells

I don't know the 299, I have the Delta 28-240 and I have never seen what is termed as drift. I have resawn quite a bit of 8-10" Q/S oak with really good results. Since my saw is only 2hp it will struggle (slow down) if you really rush it. I also use exclusivly carbid blades. I have a dozen or so metal and bi-metal blades from 1/8" to 1" but they just collect dust. I could see using ones in the 1/8" -1/4" range because they don't make carbide that small. I bought four Lennox blades from 3/8"-1" and have been using them for two years (probably a couple thousand feet of resawing) , the cut just as if they were new. I've also cut my share of nails and screws with these but it seems to just wizz right through them with no ill effects that I can tell. They also leave the nicest finish and before I bought a drum sander I would resaw figured wood like birdseye and it only required light sanding when done. This was after ruining a bunch on the planer. So, carbide costs a lot more but I think it's well well worth it. I would suggest getting them as long as you can and still have your saw tension so if you break one you will have a better change of getting it repaired. I broke my 3/8" trying to back out of cut and because of the teeth they can't just weld them anywhere. As for Timberwoolf, tried them in the beginning thinking I could get away with only spending a little more. Haha, it's hype, I could not see any difference between these and any of the other cheapass blades. They just keep getting dull and duller.

mark

"Matt Zach" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net...

and the blades I'm

either the Lennox or the

the price difference.

thinking that if I found

my resaw where it

blades? Do you think the

quartersawn white oak,

Reply to
Markm

I just bought the 17" Grizzly bandsaw two weeks ago (10/18). I make basket parts for a bunch of people who make hand woven baskets. I was asked to bend them some handles out of Red Oak. The blanks are 3/16th. thick, 1 1/8 wide, by 48" long. So I told my SWMBO that I had to have a bandsaw to cut the strips with. I had gotten two pickup truck loads of rough sawn 2x8 red oak given to me by my wifes uncle. So I figured with the bandsaw I would be able to resaw a bunch of blanks for next to nothing. Grizzly is only about an hour and a half from my house, so me and a wood working friend drove up to get my bandsaw. Last week, I stuck a Grizzly 1" wide 2tpi blade on the saw and began cutting 1/4 thick strips by 2" wide. While cutting the first strip I noticed that the blade wasn't cutting parallel to the fence. So I stopped what I was doing and found that the top and bottom blade guides weren't adjusted the same. So I fiddled with it for a while. (no I don't play a fiddle, but I wish I could). Once I got it adjusted, I tried it again and it cut straight and true. I cut up one 8" worth of strips, then fired up my homemade steamer. The point to this story was, I used a $14.95 el cheapo Grizzly blade and it cut O.K. I would look more into your saw alignment than at a blade problem. If you are interested in more of my basket handle making saga, feel free to read on.

I already had made up three forms to bend the wood around, so like I said I fired up my homemade steamer. Waited for it to come up to temperature, and threw some blanks in. After 15min. I took them out one at a time, and put them on the form. Then I stuck three more in the steamer, 15 min. later, I took the bent ones out of the form, taped the legs so they would hold there shape while they dried fully and stuck three more in the steamer. Till I was all done, I had 30 handles bent.The next day, 24 of them had cracking around the bend area. So I figured I would cut some more blanks, with the grain running the opposite direction. Did 15 more, the next day still lost 12 due to cracking. About a month ago we had a really bad storm and I lost a few large oak trees on my property. So this past Saturday, I took the chain saw down and cut some 48" long pieces out of the straightest part of the trunk. I split it down the middle with a sledge and a few wedges. Then I got another of my rough cut 2x8 cut it to 5' long and trued up two sides, then I laid the split log on top of the 2x8, and screwed it fast with 3" long screws. I shimed it where I had to, and once it was fastened securely I ran it through the band saw again. This gave me one flat side, then putting that side down on the table, I cut the other side perpendicular to it. Then with one square corner, I cut a bunch of 1/4 thick strips. Oh the reason I cut them to 1/4" is that I run them through the surface planer to smooth both sides. Half of these strips I tied in a bundle, hooked a brick to them, and tossed them into the creek. Then next day, I started up the steamer, steamed and bent all the ones that weren't in the creek. Then I retrieved the other ones from the creek and steamed and bent them also. Then next day three of the handles that weren't soaked in the creek were cracked. All the ones that were in the creek survived. So looks like all my steaming wood will be taking a swim before steaming. All the wood I resawed so far was all cut with the same 1" Grizzly blade. I was planning on getting some good blades for it, but I think it will be hard to justify the added expense when this one blade has cut all this dried and wet red oak. I know you all think that I talk to much, but if you were sitting in my shop I would be able to elaborate even further on the basket making saga.

Also, if any of you are from the Harrisburg, Pa. area or withing a few hours either way and have a good cheap source for 3/4 pine boards I would really be interested. I just got an order for 200 pcs. of 3/4 pine 8x11 rectangle, with a bunch of cutouts. I really need to find a source for wood other than the borg or lowes. I have some rough cut pine, but once I get it cut down to 3/4 thick, the next day it is severely cupped. This stuff has been laying under a tarp for 12 years, but it evidently is still very damp inside.

Reply to
Robert Smith

BTW, that blade is overkill for the wood in question. You could do quite well with a 3/8 6tpi. Less tension and stress on the BS. My biggest blade for resawing is a 1/2 3tpi.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Daly

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