I'm the proud new owner of a Jet 14" bandsaw (This model, but older
Right now, there is a 3/4" blade on it. A 5/16" blade was included as well.
I had used one back in high school, but it was usually just a turn it on and make a cut operation. There was no thought given to blade tension, guide adjustment other than height, etc.
Puckdropper
Note that wood is going to drift when ripping/resawing; i.e., the wood will want to go through the blade at an angle. That is normal.
I would suggest installing ceramic guides over roller bearing guides.
For serious resawing I use a 1.25" blade with 1.2 TPI. Fewer teeth is the main focus.
That is generally all you have to do with the better HD band saws. Smaller, less rigid saws tend to have to be treaked more.
Releasing blade tension when not in use is not "tweaking". And "the better HD band saws" do need the blade tension and guides adjusted when you change blade widths. If you have to adjust them for every cut something is wrong.
"dadiOH" wrote in news:ivha20$768$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:
What are you linking to?
*snip*Is reducing tension, say two or three twists on the tensioning knob sufficient, or should I release it as much as I can?
Puckdropper
One of the very best resaw blades for small bandsaws. No idea how that URL got there, this is the correct one
I make it good and floppy...about 2 1/2 full turns. Just do the same each time so you can retension it by reversing the number of turns.
The purpose of reducing the tension is to eliminate the blade putting pressure on, and creating grooves in, the tires prematurely. Therefore, you would need to release as much as you can until the blade is completely loose.
As far as the tension is concerned I have noticed no difference when the adjustment is off a few turns one way or the other. Others may comment on their experience on that aspect.
Happy sawing.
Just for the sake of discussion... There's a camp that says practicing this procedure actually decreases the life of the blade, because it accelerates the work hardening of the metal. Tension, release, tension, release, tension, release, over and over again acts like the old bending a paper clip until it breaks illustration.
Since this is just for the sake of discussion: The effects from adding and releasing the tension of the blame seem (to me) utterly trivial compared to the work hardening that is done when the blade moves, like a pulley, around the BS wheels when the saw is running. You could pull (and release) both ends of a straight piece of wire all year and I don't think it would any the worse for wear. This may be related to steel having a high tensile-strength, but I don't think this accounts for the wear concerned with here.
The spot on the blade where it is welded may more likely give in a repeated tension-release cycle. I do not know enough to know.
Bill
If I had just gotten a new bandsaw, the first thing I would do is get a "riser" for it and increase the throat height by 6" (that comes in so handy for so many things) Obviously, when you do that you need a new blade - I agree with the "Wood Slicer" from Hightland Hardware recommendation. I have tried others and have had none that touched the way the Wood Slicer performs. As far as releasing the tension, I never do and have had no excess wear on the tires. I have had the saw over 10 years I am still on the same set of tires and they show no grooving at all at all.
Deb
wrote:
Buy or make a handle to replace the knob. I just take four turns off and put them back on when I'm going to cut again.
I also use a 1/2" woodslicer for resawing. Suites my needs.
"Dr. Deb" wrote in news:eIWdnUAcTNJkJIHTnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@trueband.net:
I'm seriously considering getting the riser kit. I know it changes the blade size, so I'll probably use what I've got to get a feel for how the saw works.
Does your saw get used on a regular basis? That seems to be one of the variables no one mentions when talking about releasing the tension.
Puckdropper
That may be true or not, but I suspect the blade would get dull before that causes a break. At least I've never had one break. Maybe I'm discarding them too soon :-).
The O/P bought a 14" bandsaw, not whatever monolithic monster you have :-).
As usual you are showing your ignorance in public. Did any one say anything about not releasing the blade tension? No, only you. It is not at all unusual for the cheaper built BS's to have to be tweaked "during" a cutting operation.
Did any one say you have to tweak for every cut? No only you. I said the smaller less ridgid saws tend to have to be tweaked more.
Many BS's are not sturdy enough to hold the upper wheel tilt setting through out a cutting operation. Yes their frames bend from the blade tension. Read that as a 20-30+ minute cutting operation. Basically many cheaper BS's are not built strongly enough to hold their settings.
And FYI upper end HD band saw's DO NOT necessarily need to have the guides adjusted when going from a narrower blade, adjusted for that blade, to a wider blade. In fact the upper end HD BS's can easily run with out guides at all. Yes they hold their tracking that well. Further I almost never have to readjust my upper wheel tilt when going from a
1/2" blade to a 1.25" wide blade and or back again. Try that on a just about any Home Depot grade BS. Blade tension on HD BS's is much much less of a necessary adjustment, the blade tends to cut as well at one blade tension setting as another setting for the same blade. So when you have been running the saw for 20-30= minutes or during a resawing operation and the blade becomes longer because of the heat build up retensioning and upper wheel tilt adjustment during the operation is not generally needed.So to requote the OP's paragraph,
This is exactly what I do with my HD BS. I don't worry about blades cooling off, getting hot, readjusting, etc. I tension the blade at the beginning of the day and release the tension at the end of the day.
So why don't you purchase a HD series MiniMax, Laguna or similar BS and compare it to "YOUR" BS and see which one you want to use more and get back to us with your findings.
Feeding concluded.
LOL... I know but the same principal applies, wider blade, fewer teeth.
FWIW it is good to hear your tires are still ok after being tensioned for 10 years. BUT you release the tension to also take the strain off of the BS frame, bearings, and blade.
I would have to agree, a blade changes tension all the time during operation, it expands when it warms up and contracts when it cools off.
That said, my wife had a blade break on her while cutting 1/8" thick "card board". Go figger.
I would have to agree, a blade changes tension all the time during operation, it expands when it warms up and contracts when it cools off.
That said, my wife had a blade break on her while cutting 1/8" thick "card board". Go figger.
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The blade bends and straightens every time it goes over a pulley and then through the cutting zone. I doubt a little tension change does more than that.
mike
Leon, once you understand the concept, handling trolls is easy. You simply don't repy to their teasers and you filter them so you don't see the crap they spew.
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