resawing problems

I own a grizzly "ultimate" 14" bandsaw, and have tried on a few ocassions to resaw with terrible success. I've tried with and without fence. Last night I tried to resaw a 5 1/2 wide piece of Walnut. Like the other times, the blade winds up bowing pretty dramatically during the cut giving me two cupped boards of varying thicknesses that are virtually useless. Does this seem to be a matter of technique or setup??? (I'm using a 3/8 bladeabout 10TPI I guess)

Reply to
Doug
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Sounds like insufficient tension. If you're using a 3/8" blade set the tension to the mark for 1/2" as a starting point. If it's the factory blade consider spending the 30 bucks for a half-inch woodslicer . Don't force it, let it go at its own pace--try for a steady rate instead of fast.

If you don't have "The Bandsaw Book" by Lonnie Bird or "Band Saw Handbook" by Mark Duginske you might want to pick up one or the other or both. Both have good sections on resawing and on picking blades for the purpose.

Reply to
J. Clarke

The latter, mostly. Need wider blade and more tension for resawing. Larger is better, also skip-tooth designed for resaw will help. The larger blade will also minimize the need for really high tension.

Reply to
dpb

Does this seem to be a matter of technique or

I would say setup. I have a similar 14" Grizzly and it has worked well for oak and pine, but I have used a resaw blade (grizzly's 1/2" 3TPI). Generally wider and fewer teeth for resawing but our 14" saws probably can't tension a blade wider than 1/2". Get Lonnie Bird's Bandsaw book if you need more details. He recommends 6-12 teeth in the material (5.5" * 10 TPI = 55 teeth in your setup) and says that bowing is most likely a result of too little tension. Get the right blade and go slow and I'll bet you'll be happy with the results!

My blade:

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't forget to wear a dust mask!

Reply to
ChrisS

Don't you mean that the larger blade will allow/tolerate more tension?

Reply to
Stoutman

Try a blade few fewer TPI. Also note that some brand blades perform better than others. I had the same problem when I first got my Grizzly G1019 (with the riser kit). Originally I was using Grizzly's 1/2" - 3 TPI blade. Dumping the Grizzly blade and using a Suffolk Timberwolf

1/2" - 3 TPI blade solved my problem.
Reply to
Nova

That's true, but what I was driving at was that the need to over-tension a narrower blade is alleviated by the heavier/wider blade since they're stiffer.

I noted while in the libarary ( :) ) after the previous post the Grizzly catalog rates the 14" guy as able to handle a 3/4" blade -- whether it has the strength as some other poster noted to adequately tension it or not, I don't know as don't have a Grizzly, but would _assume_ so as Grizzly gear typically will do what they say it will...as a compromise, the 1/2" skip-tooth would probably be good place to start...

Reply to
dpb

Agree totally - 1/2" - 3 tpi - SHARP, clean blade (a blade with gunk on it or dull is ok I guess for rough cutting - but just barely ) - tensioned properly (tTry the "flutter method" for tensioning. Expose as much of the blade as you can. Tension as you normally have done. Turn on the saw. If the blade is fluttering - add tension 'til it stops fluttering. If it isn't fluttering - reduce tension 'til it starts to flutter then add just enough tension to stop the flutter. Keep your body parts well away from the exposed blade!) - hook tooth -deeper gullet for sawdust space while in the wood - proper feed rate, erring on the side of slower rather than faster - guides set within a dollar bill's thickness of blade - a fence that is square to the table and adjusted for blade "drift/lead" (you can try and follow a line on the board but even with a "single point of contact guide", you're apt to wander. Decent fence will eliminate or greatly reduce one source of error)

My bet on the source of the problem - not enough blade tension - too many tpi - gullets not deep enough to hold the sawdust "out of the way"

charlie b

Reply to
charlie b

It's mostly a matter of the wrong blade. 3/8" is a bit narrow for resawing, and 10tpi is definitely too fine. You'd be much better off with a 1/2" 3tpi blade. You probably don't have enough tension on the blade, either, and you may be feeding the stock too fast -- but start with a blade that's better suited to resawing, then experiment with tension and feed rates.

Reply to
Doug Miller

They all _say_ that they'll take a 3/4" blade. Don't bet on many of 'em actually _doing_ it.

Reply to
J. Clarke

My Jet will take a 3/4" blade, but it is a push adjusting it to where nothing is rubbing that shouldn't be rubbing. I normally use a 1/2" blade.

Reply to
Lowell Holmes

I think it was "J. Clarke" who stated:

I'll second the suggestion for a Woodslicer -- HEARTILY! I was having trouble resawing oak (that I felled in my own backyard) with my Delta

14" BS with the blade it came with. I switched to a Woodslicer and it performed BEAUTIFULLY!
Reply to
Don Fearn

I've been using Timberwolf blades. How do they compare with Woodslicers?

I seem to recall that Timberwolf blades claim to be properly tensioned with less tension than indicated with the scale on the bandsaw.

However it happens, for me, my resaws all run beautifully with a 1/2"

3 tpi Timberwolf blade on my Delta 14" bandsaw.

It always comes down to a good blade with sharp teeth.

Reply to
George Max

Don't really know. I'm still waiting for the Olsens that I got with my saw to wear out . They're working fine but when I wear out the half inch I'll probably go for a Woodslicer. If it works better than the Olsen it has to be phenomenal.

Yep. And properly tensioned--was going to cut three slices out of a piece of cebil tonight and only got one the thickness I needed because I forgot to set the tension.

Reply to
J. Clarke

Reply to
cmagers

With a bandsaw - true. Very true.

But I also meant table and miter saw blades too. May as well include all hand tools too! :)

Sharp matters.

Reply to
George Max

Try a narrower blade and not worrying about the tension so much.

Ideally you'd have a 3" blade and plenty of tension (like the Hitachi resaw machine) However you can't do this - a typical hobbyist-market

14" machine can't tension anything over 1/2". It'll track a 5/8", maybe even a 3/4", but the available tension / cross section is falling off so much by this time that the resaw performance is actually getting worse -- particularly you'll see barrelling.

If you go _narrower_, then the blade tends to bow _backwards_ instead of sideways. Not perfect, but better than a barrelled cut.

But really, to resaw 5 1/2", you just want something with bigger wheels and more frame.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

^^^^^^^^ You misspelled "wider".

Reply to
Doug Miller

IME: Timberwolf is a mediocre blade at an above-mediocre price. Woodslicer is an outstanding blade at a premium price Olsen is a very good blade at a reasonable price.

Olsen is the blade I use from day to day. Woodslicer is the blade that use when I need a really perfect resaw. Timberwolf is a blade I won't bother buying again.

(I have a 14" Delta BS)

As always, YMMV

To reply by e-mail, use jcarlson631 at yahoo dot com

John

Reply to
John

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