Bandsaw Blade Tension?

Several things you will need to do first:

Get a new blade, the stock ones supplied by the mfgr suck - Olsen and Timberwolf and Woodslicer are three good brands. Order a new spring from Iturra Designs in Florida and replace the one in the G0555

There are several methods that are used to tension - I won't bother to mention using an expensive tension gauge.

I've personally never been able to get the "flutter" method to work properly so I've gone to method two - I tension to the mark - then raise the guard to the top and try to gently deflect the blade ( the machine is UNplugged!) - if it goes no more than about 1/4" you're in the ballpark. Another method I like to use on smaller blades is to pluck them like a guitar string. When you get a clear tone rather than a thunk, you're there.

I'm sure you'll get other methods but I've found that if you're in the ballpark you're ok.

The G0555 is a great saw - I love mine.

HTH,

Vic

On my Grizzly, after installing the riser and accessories, I can see the blade on the left side as the blade guard is open fronted. That is where I look for the flutter. To use the flutter method on the right side I was told you had to remove the blade guides. The flutter method works fine for me, but I use Timberwolf blades. I also made a crank to replace the tension knob. After using the saw I loosen the blade 3 turns and before the next use tighten it 3 turns. Works great.

The upper blade guide should be as close as practical to the material being sawn. If you move the guide up to cut a thick piece of wood, you may need to recheck the blade guides, as the setting may be off after moving it.

Another thing that helped on mine was changing it to 220 volts. It seems to have more power.

Vic,

That's next on my list... I plan to use my bandsaw mostly for resawing. What should I look for when I shop for the new blades?

What is the reason for replacing the spring?

I'll give those a try. Thanks.

I must have screwed something up during my initial setups because my saw threw the blade after a few cuts. Scared me, but I didn't see any damage. So I remounted the blade and started over from the beginning and it seemed to work better after that.

Another area I seem to have problems is adjusting the roller guide bearings. I adjust them so they are "just" touching the blade, but when I tighten down the locking screw, they seem to get tighter and throw off the blade tracking. I think that's what caused the blade to jump the wheels even though I initially had the tracking perfectly set.

I've also had trouble with the rear guide bearings. The instructions say there should be a .016" gap from the blade, but my blade seems to wander front to back a bit as it runs? For now I have it set so it "just" misses the blade when the saw is running free. Does that sound right?

I have lots to learn, but that's part of the fun. As long as I don't lose a finger or something... :)

But, I resawed a 4" tall board into three thinner pieces (using the stock blade Grizzly supplied). First time I've ever been able to do that (safely), so I was thrilled. And, I cut a tenon on a scrap piece of wood, just to see how it could be done. Looks like it'll be an excellent tool to have around.

Thanks for your advice.

Anthony

I've had trouble with one of the poplar brands of blades at the weld. I've quit using them, I have new blades (the popular brand) that probably never will be used. If the weld is not straight, the blade will wander back and forth and if you are ripping 2" oak, the whole saw will jump up and down.

I use the 1/2" 3tpi skip tooth blade from BC Saw for resawing. In fact, I use the blade for most everything. A quick light pass on the jointer takes care of minor roughness that may occur. The BC Saw blades are less expensive than the popular brands.

The spring that came with my saw (jet) was not uniform in its spring rate. The Iturra spring is consistant in its spring rate. Also, they provide a chart that tells you the tension achieved at the various settings. I've found the 3/8" setting works quite well on a 1/2" blade.

Me too!

Hi,

I also have the G0555,with the riser block.

Here are some things that I have learned:

First off, like other people have mentioned get a different blade. I put a timberwolf blade on mine for the first time about a month ago, and I'll never change. Love it. It cuts beautifully, and doesn't require as much tension as the factory blades.

Second, in terms of resawing, Grizzly says the saw can take up to a

In terms of the roller guides, adjust them so that the guides are NOT touching - just barely, AFTER you tighten. It might help if you don't loosen the set bolt as much when you adjust the position of the bearings. It takes a bit, but its worth it.

The blade fliying off of saw probably means that the top wheel wasn't aligned with the bottom. You can adjust that with the knob on the back of the wheel. UNPLUG the saw, and then, standing on the side of the saw, with the top door open, rotate the wheel with your hands. You'll see the blade moving off of the wheel either towards the back or the front. Adjusting the knob in the back will fix that for you so that the blade doesn't move.

Also, make sure (for your safety) that the upper bearings and blade guard are adjusted so that they are as close to the top of your workpiece as possible, while still being able to cut the wood.

Go out and buy this book:

Band Saw Handbook By Mark Duginske

it discusses all of this, and more.

Good luck!

- Todd

It'll give you more blade tensioning ability for tensioning those low-tension blades.

You look to get blades suited to the work being performed. Generally fewer teeth per inch for thicker work, set in the teeth for green wood kerf clearance, and width determined by the desired minimum radius cut. After that you can work through the advertiser claims. Not sure any of them has ever made a difference at my saw, where the above criteria have.

I've got a twenty-plus Delta at home. Crank to the mark, press the blade wide open and check for deflection. Quarter's good, half's bad. If the cut drags and bows, I put some more turns on.

Cranking to/backing off from factory marks and using quality of cut as a guide works well as long as you're experienced enough with bandsaw use to factor in the many parameters like blade characteristics, wood being cut, etc.

After lucking into an Iturra bandsaw tension meter, I was surprised how under tensioned the marks had become as the spring got weaker on my older Delta 14" w/riser. After replacing the old spring with an Iturra, and recalibrating with the meter, it was notable that the factory marks were almost spot on again.

Point is, and with the multitude of different blade characteristics/quality on the market, if you can beg or borrow a blade tension meter for just one use, it is well worth the effort to verify/recalibrate the factory indexes as your starting point.

I purchased and installed the riser block too.

Thanks for the tip. I was planning on ordering a Timberwolf blade from Grizzly since I need to order some other things anyway.

That would help, thanks. I think I got hung up on the touching thing, and didn't know how tightly they should touch.

I had the tracking set perfectly during setup. I even checked that the top and bottom wheels were "coplaner". I think I ran into problems with the blade guides, essentially "pushing" the blade off the wheel with the adjustments.

I was hoping someone would mention that book again. Thanks for the reference.

Anthony

I got Mark's DVD too. Very good watching. Got it from Woodcraft.

ther ei sno magic number. you can try to figure out al lthe variables, or wing it. Here's my method;

back the blade guides al lthe way out of the way, providing as much unsupported blade as possible. Crank the tension to about where you thin is right, and turn on the saw. Watch the blade as you tighten/looses the tension. At some point, the blade will stop (or almost stop) vibrating - imagine a guitar string...

Whatever the tension is when the blade isn't vibrating is the tension I use....

--JD

Suffolk also makes a fine 3/4 thin resaw blade that gives you guidance without resistance. I like it better than the half, though the tooth design is also different, so there are two variables in that equation.

Touch is ok, but you want to be careful in tightening them down so that the rotation of the tightening screw doesn't push them into and deflect the blade. I use touch with ceramics, but I do a hand rotation to listen and look before I hit the power switch.

Not that this is necessarily the case with yours, but a couple of Grizzly saws in my experience never could get consistent tracking. The blade would surge and recede as if the weld were at an angle. I'd say slop in the bearings or the top tilt mechanism.

Excellent book. Lonnie Bird has one called _The Bandsaw Book_ that's excellent as well. Get the one most available.

Pluck the blade as you tighten/loosen the tension. At some point you'll know the least tension allowable to make a clean sound. A "thug" sound is very different than a clean tone-like sound. Your marks should coincide with this. It is better to back off on the tension when leaving the machine for long periods--helps prolong tire life and blade.

Keep the guard/blade guide as low as possible. It will help your cut and improve safety. A bandsaw needs regular tweaking and adjustments to get the best cuts.