there's a sledgehammer in my bandsaw's future

734 bandsaw.

i am trying to cut lap joints. as soon as i start the cut, the blade twists to the right and goes it's own way for a while before straightening out. over a 2" cut, it's out about a 64th (i.e., from edge on the fence to cut, the start of the cut is at 7/16", and the end of the cut is at 29/64". move the rear of the fence to the left - no change. move the rear of the fence to the right - no change. guides are set reasonably close to the blade per snodgrass (just far enough away to not turn when the saw is on but not cutting).

if i had a boat, i'd turn this thing into an anchor right now. anyone have any insight?

thanks

It can be a lot of things. It can be tracking way out of whack. You can have the tension way too low. The blade might be messed up, either dull on one side or the set is messed....ever run the left side of the blade into the fence by accident? First, get it tracking with the blade roughly centered on the wheel. Then set the tension using the flutter method, or whatever method you like. Most people tension too lightly, FWIW. Then try again. Honestly, though, from what you're describing I would put my money on a bad blade. What are you running and how old is it? Also, I don't know what a 734 bandsaw is.

heh. the 734 was all that was left from the comic-panel swearing characters
using a woodslicer. was wondering whether i needed a new one . . . i can just run down to highland hardware. pretty confident that the blade is not undertensioned

thanks

I'm with John on the bum blade... when mine went dull the first time around (hit a pea-sized piece of quartz in a crotch), the blade would pull hard to the right. Even with significant pressure against the fence, sticks would be bent like a bow. Swapping the blade made it cut like butter again. Oh, and the stock blade pulled a bit straight out of the box, so I was glad to get rid of that one, too.

I've worked with some pretty marginal bandsaws, and it's not always the blade. The anchor idea may be on point, but I too would try a new blade, properly centered on good tires with high tension as a first resort. Also, make sure it's a low tooth count rip blade, high tooth count ( over 6 per inch for this) will tend to follow the grain of the board, and that's not great for half laps. Good luck and fair seas ahead!

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Originally Posted by brian dulisse

734 bandsaw.

if i had a boat, i'd turn this thing into an anchor right now. anyone have any insight?

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Try what was suggested here, but I know your feeling. I had a Rigid bandsaw that was not built for what I do. I recently bought a Grizzly G055X. The difference is night and day. Try these suggestions, but I you still have a problem sell it before you destroy it and make it worthless. Put it on Criagslist and put the money to a new saw. That is what I did. Let it be some one else's problem! :D

+1 on the blade. Blades are wear parts just like the brakes on your car. They don't last forever . . . sometimes no where near forever ;-)

+1 on the blade, but curious which saw it is?

rikon 18" (10-345?)

Brian,

I had a similar problem develop suddenly on my MM-16 recently. Installing a new blade and aligning the saw for it made all the difference in the world.

While there has been some reports of problems with Rikon bandsaws, they have a generally good reputation and following even here at the Creek.

Bandsaw blades are like tennis balls, when they're the cheapest thing in the game - why use old ones?

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Originally Posted by brian dulisse

rikon 18" (10-345?)

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That saw has an excellent reputation. Any manufacturer can produce an outlier but a bad blade or whacked setting seems more likely.

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Originally Posted by brian dulisse

if i had a boat, i'd turn this thing into an anchor right now. anyone have any insight?

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Have faith...

Attachment 248861

I have that saw and while it's not perfect, it's a great saw for the $$. No disrespect intended to you or anyone else, and I don't want to start a war here, but I have never had good luck with the Woodslicer blades. They seem to do fine for about 10 minutes, then quickly dull. Try a bi-metal blade, something like a 3t skip. I use blades from these folks: http://www.bandsawbladesdirect.com/

My workhorse blade is the 142" 3t skip, .035, 1/2". I use it for cutting green wood bowl blanks to ripping veneer to crosscutting to everything else. You may want to consider something a bit finer, like the 4t or 6t if you're using it for joinery.

I have not been disappointed with the blade and I am pretty sure you won't be either.

As stated before, make sure you have adequate tension and that your tracking is as close to the center of the wheel as possible. If you haven't changed the belt to run at high speed, do so.

Hope this helps.

No one has mentioned blade drift. I'm certain that the blade is dull, but each blade has the possibility of cutting off a little. For a new blade, draw a line parallel to the edge of a straight board. Free hand cut to the line, securely hold the wood to the table, and shut off the saw. Still holding the wood, slide up the rip fence and lock it down close to the edge of the wood. Are the edge of the wood, and the fence parallel? If not, adjust the fence. To test, remove the wood, move the fence over, and make a new cut. Cut in a short distance, and take your hands off the wood. If it stays nicely against the fence, with no excessive friction against the fence, you have it set correctly. If the wood comes away from the fence when you take your hands off, repeat the process.