Re: Band Saw will not cut striaght!!

[Tim W]

Hello,

> > I've just been given a very old band saw and it will not cut straight. The > band saw is an old Black & Decker Drill Powered Band Saw that has been > converted to an electric motor. I've disassembled everything and cleaned it > all up. It cuts really well, but will not cut straight lines and always cuts > to the left. If anyone has some suggestions on what I can do to correct > this, I'm willing to almost try anything. >

Do small band saws ever cut straight?

Tim W

[Bill B]

Do big band saws ever cut straight?

My 14" requires a fair cant to the wood to go through "straight". I suspect it is the same reason scroll saw blades don't cut "straight", the blades are stamped and have a burr on one side.

I have notice a Timberwolf cuts much "straighter" than an Olson.

[Modat22]

You have to adjust you're fence for drift, each blade will have a different drift angle.

Draw a straight line on a 36 inch board and hand feed it. turn the board until it cuts right, then set you're fence or board fence at this angle.

[fredfighter]

Yes.

However they seldom cut parallel to the miter slot.

You can take a long thin piece of wood and scribe a line down the middle of it. Then rip that on the line on the band saw, slowly adjusting the angle until you are pushing straight into the blade. Stop the saw and mark the spaces on the edges of the table where the bord crosses.

When you set your fence, set it parallel to that line.

[BuilderBob46]

there's a good article from David Marks Woodworks on diynetwork.com on how to align your fence to match the runout from your bandsaw blade. I didn't realize this problem was so prevalent till I read the article.

[Chris Friesen]

Because the tires are crowned, you can also adjust the tracking slightly to counteract the drift tendency. One of the local instructors uses this technique.

Chris

[eclipsme]

They don't make it easy to find articles. Do you have an address for it?

Thanks, Harvey

[Enoch Root]

FWIW, yes if you think 14" (grizzly G0555) is big and count mine.

I put a riser block on it, did all those things recommended to tune it (a very comprehensive site on the web the URL to which I have lost, and The Bandsaw Book outlined the principals) and on the first cut was resawing an 8" hardwood board against the (unadjusted!) fence. Using a Timberwolf blade.

Now if I could just remember that website!

er

[JCL Studios]

Thanks for all the helpfull information guys!!

If I get to the websites, I'll post some links for you all

Pete