Hi all

 

Here's something that I need help with. Ron & Bob and I have discussed this a bit before and I am just not understanding what I need to be doing here.

 

I have tried to cut a straight line with a band saw but to my dismay, after maybe the first inch (if i'm lucky) The wood or the band saw blade starts to shift into a whole new direction. All I want to do is make straight cuts for pen blanks, but all I am doing is messing up perfectly good wood. At the rate I'm going, I'll have a pile of useless chunks in no time at all.

 

Here in the image you can see that I have a straight line that I wanted to cut along. Granted i did not allow enough room on the saw fence for the entire width that I wanted, no real problem as long as I can get a straight line out of it. As you can clearly see, that is not what happened. How can I correct for this drift and be reasonably consistent with it?

 

Thank you for your time.

 

Charles

 

PS I'll be afk for about 45 minutes.

Charles, does the saw have a guide that will adjust up and down?  It sounds like the guide is set too high and the blades is going wherever it wants.  Drop the guide to just above the wood.

 

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Ron Dudelston
Above and Beyond WoodWorks

Perhaps this will help.

http://americanwoodworker.com/userdocs/articles/200008/main/page4.html

Charles are you using a fence to put the blank against or are you free handing the cut?

 

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John Moody
John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

Not sure if this will help, but, could this be what is called drift? Almost all band saws, regardless of how well they are tuned up don't actually cut a line parallel to the fence- like a table saw blade and the rip fence. The cut usually "drifts" off to one side or the other from fence parallel.

There are two ways (maybe more) to overcome this problem. The first is to determine the saws characteristic drift, through experimentation, and then set the fence parallel to the line to which the saw naturally drifts. I have never had too much luck with this method.

The second is to make/purchase a single point fence similar to this

The stock only touches the "fence" at a single point. This allows the operator to adjust the stock right or left to follow a predetermined line.This can easily be made from a dowel cut in half lengthwise and mounter on your current fence.

 

Again, I'm not sure if this is exactly what you are experienceing. Hope it helps, however.

Lew

Lots of good suggestions. I have a couple of questions for you and also a couple of suggestions. What size  and type of saw.? What size blade?

It sounds like a new blade is in order. Get the widest and thickest blade that your saw can handle.  Less teeth per inch allows for better waste removal which will let the blade  cut cooler which means  less expansion. Tension the blade properly. Adjust the upper and lower thrust bearings to just touch  the blade . Adjust the side guides using the thickness of a  dollar bill  for clearance. A properly adjusted bandsaw is a pleasure to use and you should not have to fight it to make clean straight cuts.

 

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Mike
'why buy it if you can build it'
www.midlothianwoodworks.com

Charles, as Mike stated, a sharp blade is a must, if your forcing your material through, it will drift. I have found in the past, that free handing renders straighter cuts when cutting small pieces as you are.

Now I might add, not knowing your situation as well as the others, if you have a table saw, that would yield better cuts for your pen blanks, of course a push stick is in order here. Also, if you absolutely need to use your BS, cut the pieces long, and a little proud in the widths, and run them through a surface planer if you have one. Like I said, I am not as familiar with your shop setup, maybe you don't possess those other tools, but you do have options.


Charles Nicholls said:

Its a Sears Craftsman 10" Saw using 1/4" blade (widest it can handle) which it says is 56 7/8" long.

The reason I feel I am fighting it so bad is that I don't have a REAL fence for it. So I have to struggle with a self made one using a piece of 2x3 or 2x4 since I am cutting wood that is around 3/4 to 1" thick.

 

Thanks.

 

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

Charles I am going with the others on this. I think you have a dull blade that is causing the problems. I have a homemade fence I use on my bandsaw and it will cut a straight line. The other things are the adjustments such as the tension of the blade. If the blade is at 45 degrees by the time you finish then it is most likely not tensioned tight enough and sounds like it is definitely dull. You can probably pick up a new blade at Sears or even for that size you might get one at Lowe's or HD.

 

 

 

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John Moody
John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

Charles,

Not a thing wrong with your fence. It's cheap and infinitely adjustable.

Draw a straight line down the center of a 2X6X 12. Attempt to follow the line. The 2X6 will eventually need to be angled to accurate follow the line. Stop the saw, leave the 2X6 in place. Mark the inside edge on the table. Remove the board and set your fence to that line. 

Since the line may not be exactly where you want for the width of your desired cut, you'll need to adjust the fence, insuring that you maintain the original angle relative to the blade. Of course, you will need to do this process over when you change blades and/or wood species. Each blade has different drift tendencies and reacts differently to different densities of wood.

That's one solution.

Here's another inexpensive and simple one. 

No need to adjust this one for a new blade or different wood.

This will yield a curved edge guide, 6" high with a clamping tongue on the side opposite the curved edge.

Take a 12" long piece (for safety) of 2X6 to the table saw and bevel each corner of one edge so that you have 1/4" wide flat along the one edge. Now, crosscut the 12" piece in half. Using the band saw or a jig saw, cross cut the 6" piece about 1 1/2" from one end. Start the cut on the un beveled side. Stop the cut 2" from the beveled edge. Now, starting at the other end, 2" in from the beveled edge, rip the 2X6 down to the crosscut. You'll have an 'L". I like to sand the beveled edge to a fair curve, eliminating the flat edge. 

Set the L on the band saw table and clamp it down the desired distance from the blade. I clamp it on the inside, for me, the left side of the blade. 

Mark your cut line on the piece to be cut, begin sawing and use the curved edge as a fulcrum, moving the work as necessary to stay on the line. 

 

 

To capitalize on what John said,a properly tensioned blade is paramount as well, with bandsaws it's like an orchestra of adjustments that make for a bandsaw a pleasure to use, one of those adjustments could be out, and your in for a rough time. I have a tensioning gauge on my BS, but rarely use it, it has become inaccurate after awhile. The way I tension my blade is by sight. Back off the tension of the blade until it has about a 1/4 inch deflection when applying light pressure on it with  your finger, the motor is off of course, then turn on your BS, then tighten the blade until you see a slight flutter from side to side, then back off the tension until the fluttering stops, your blade is properly tensioned now.


John Moody said:

Charles I am going with the others on this. I think you have a dull blade that is causing the problems. I have a homemade fence I use on my bandsaw and it will cut a straight line. The other things are the adjustments such as the tension of the blade. If the blade is at 45 degrees by the time you finish then it is most likely not tensioned tight enough and sounds like it is definitely dull. You can probably pick up a new blade at Sears or even for that size you might get one at Lowe's or HD.

 

 

 

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John Moody
John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

 

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

Here ya go Charles, Posting Images if you'd like to post images via photo bucket, just click on the URL tab at the Images dialogue. Thanks for sharing your shop once again Charles, I remember now seeing your setup, I just forgot it was related to you.


Charles Nicholls said:

Thanks guys, yea it does sound like the blade is a goner. I can still get blades from Sears, I don't remember the cost offhand but its cheap enough. I'll do that and report back when i have it.

Basically, my shop is my apartment. i can't afford to rent out a building for the tools so, I wind up having to make do with what I have.

I have a MINI table saw but it only makes cuts at a max of 3/4" deep and it has no fence either. As for making all these adjustments etc, I'm not sure about how to go about it. First and foremost though I have to get the durn thing open. Not an easy task. I'll get the new blade and get back to you when it arrives.

 

My current setup for the saw. Yep that's the dryer that its sitting on.

 

http://i873.photobucket.com/albums/ab298/crnicholls/000_0002.jpg

 

My "helper"

 

http://i873.photobucket.com/albums/ab298/crnicholls/000_0001.jpg

 

Ok I know there is a way to get images to show in a post, how do I do that?

 

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

Charles, 

No need to buy a new fence. I was just using that as an example because I was having difficulty describing what the thing looks like. It is very easy to make your own single point fence. It doesn't have to be elaborate or fancy. Here are 2 pix of mine:

I made mine as tall as possible to be able to resaw up to about 6"- the max my saw could handle. If you are cutting pen blanks, the fence would not have to be nearly this tall. I split a 3/4" dowel to create the pivot point. That can be done with a triangular piece of wood glued onto the vertical portion of the fence. I just clamp it to the band saw table with a couple of C-clamps and adjust it with a hammer.

I agree with other posts- the blade probably needs replaced because it is dull. I've seen videos on how to re-sharpen band saw blades but honestly, I think you'd be better off with a new one. Looks like these are about $10. at Sears.

Hope this helps.

Lew


Charles Nicholls said:

That's exactly whats going on Lew.

Basically the first thing I need to do is see if I can find a fence for that model of saw, so that then I can find a piece like this here to attach to it. But for now, with the adjustments made last night, at least it's usable. Whereas before, you had almost a 45* turn within the first three inches.

I did notice one thing last night when making the final cut of the evening, the blade was actually tilted during the cut at nearly 45*

This is a great discussion Charles, thanks for firing it up!

 

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

If you some Tightbond II or III, that would be best. If not, then super glue would be my next choice. Screws, from the back will also work- you don't want the heads of the screws on the front - they would cause unnecessary friction.


Charles Nicholls said:

One more question Lew, What glue did you use to attach the dowel to the fence?

I have some pen glue here or I could use screws I guess to attach it.

 

I forgot that I had some rounded Ash stock that I got from a pen blank supplier, heres what I had in mind.

The marked piece is what I originally was using as a fence.

 

Maybe super glue and a couple of screws. I have been thru several versions of this jig before finally getting one I like. Maybe a quick build just to see if it is going to solve the problem. If you find it works, then a more elaborate, permanent build.


Charles Nicholls said:

Ok thanks Lew. I'm hoping that the super glue (CA glue) I have will work, otherwise i'll either have to get a smaller piece of wood for the fence or about 5" screws to hold it all together.

A great source for bandsaw blades of any length and style is

http://www.woodcraftbands.com/index.htm

John, the owner is a wealth of information on blades . This is a small family operation that takes great care of their customers.bob

 

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Bob Kloes
www.bobkloes.com

Got em in our Resources page Bob, per your recommendation awhile back. If anyone uses the small business's on our Resources page, please report back about your experience with them, thanks!


Bob Kloes said:

A great source for bandsaw blades of any length and style is

http://www.woodcraftbands.com/index.htm

John, the owner is a wealth of information on blades . This is a small family operation that takes great care of their customers.bob

 

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Bob Kloes
www.bobkloes.com

 

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

charles, i have been following the post, there is a lot of good info coming out, as i see it there could be a number of problems, 1) dull blade, 2) insufficient tension, 3.)  blade tracking out of adjustment.  i was wondering what type of saw you have, then i looked at your pic and it confirmed my thought - that you have a 3 wheel bandsaw.  i believe i have heard that these saws are hard to track properly because o the design.  basically you wand to track the top wheel of the saw, (tilt in or out) to have the blade run as close to the center of the wheel as you can.  If the blade is tracking to either the front or the back of the wheel, then the blade has more of a tendency to drift one way or the other.  I think that these 3 fixes will eliminate most if not all of your drifting problem, if there still is some then use a single point fence or compensate your fence for the drift.  (i have a 14" jet saw and i dont have any drifting problems, and i use a kreg rip fence for all my resawing without drift)  good luck Paul

 Charles, I have a different suggestion for you. Remove all covers, get out your saw manual and go to the assembly and adjustments part of the manual. Start at the top and go through each step to set it up properly for every adjustment you have. I say this for good reason. I bought a very nice Jet 14" band saw that hardly used. Why? The guy couldn't get it to cut or re-saw straight. I started at step 1 and as I progressed, I found loose adjustment lock nuts, loose bed nuts and I did not find one adjustment set properly. Your saw may some of the same problems, due to use and wear, things can change.

 My saw saws straight every time...................if it is set up properly first.

Although more teeth per inch will make a smoother cut it will also add a lot more resistance/load


Charles Nicholls said:

Thanks guys. I do appreciate the input as always. As long as these adjustments can be done with either screw drivers or allen wrenches then i'm in business. I must say though that I have never taken one down before so it will be a new experience. I'm almost positive that a new blade will be a great help though because as I recall, when trying to mount the table, the mounting bolt was not stationary, so when I tried to mount it, the bolt simply slid back and fell into the saw. After lightly shaking it to make sure the bolt had not wedged itself on the blade, I turned it on to see if I still had a working saw. Blade wouldn't budge, so then I knew that the bolt had wedged itself on the blade. I had hoped that by shaking it that the bolt would just simply slide out the exhaust end of the casing since at the time I couldn't figure out how to get the durn thing open.

 

Anyway, after realizing what I had done and finally getting the bolt out and table mounted with the use of extra hands, I tested the saw again and it worked fine, but probably dulled the blade beyond use. So that is first order of business, get a new blade, I am thinking that since I don't use a lot of heavy wood, that I should use more teeth to the inch, is that right?

 

This blade is probably no more than 5 TPI but they do have a blade that is close to 15 TPI.

 

Thanks all!

 

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Charles