Bandsaws and Resawing, blades dulling, cuts curveballing... frustrating!

[Nick Sorenson]

I've noticed that with a new blade on my 18" Grizzly machine (Green and probably late 90's model) I can resaw decently. I have a Kreg fence I bought for this thing a while back. But... once the blade starts to dull a bit, resawing becomes guesswork as to if it will work or not. I wonder if this is the reason Mark Duginske uses that curved Kreg resaw fence that you can kind of steer the cut. All I know is that I don't like guessing when I'm cutting up expensive wood. I like to be able to trust my machine. I'd really like to get a better bandsaw eventually. I'm sure that would also boost resawing confidence but I'd probably still be up against dull blades and curving correct? Would this thing eliminate most of this problem? http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/200...saw-Guide.aspx

[Sid Matheny]

What kind of blade are you using? Size, TPI and brand. I have found the Timber Wolf blades work best for me. Dull blades can cause the problem you are talking about and guiding the blade with a point type fence can help.

Sid

[Van Huskey]

Resawing + dull blade = bad mojo. Cure the problem don't treat the symptom. What blade are you using and what are you primarily resawing and what do you want the most out of your resaw blade ie finish quality/speed/longevity/price/wood savings etc. There is most likely a blade that will do what you want without dulling quickly, let us know what you want and we will be glad to recommend

[Nick Sorenson]

I've been using the Woodslicer (3tpi and 5/8") but from the other supplier in Florida name is slipping my mind (been a long day). It's a good blade. I think I expect it to last like my TS or RAS blade which is of course un-realistic since those are carbide and don't stretch either.

But what bothers me is that the blade still cuts like a hot knife through melted butter just not straight anymore.

That's where if it'd do the trick I'd rather spend $20 on the add on for my Kreg fence. It's just hard for me to wrap my mind around replacing a blade that cuts clean and fast. With a TS Blade, it'll burn and be real hard to cut with when the blade dulls. I NEVER get this bandsaw's blade that dull before it's giving me right and left turns through the cut.

[Ira Matheny]

The problems of which you tell, it the exact reason I no longer own an 18" Griz band saw. I tried every trick in the book. New tires, tension gauges, new guides, new blades, and more new blades, etc, etc, & etc. NADA.
So now someone else ownes the the problems. I have a Laguna

[Nick Sorenson]

The problems of which you tell, it the exact reason I no longer own an 18" Griz band saw. I tried every trick in the book. New tires, tension gauges, new guides, new blades, and more new blades, etc, etc, & etc. NADA.
So now someone else ownes the the problems. I have a Laguna

I would think that what I describe would be a bandsaw thing more than a brand thing. But I've not owned a Laguna or any nice bandsaw for that matter so what do I know. My thoughts so far are that nice bandsaws have better guides, easier blade changes, less vibration. I'd still think that with blade wear eventually the saw will not cut along the same straight line as when the blade was new.

But maybe that's not the case with a high end saw I don't know since I have no experience there.

I can say, I am not a fan of the guides on my Grizzly saw. I've heard their new bandsaws are a bit higher quality but I haven't worked with one.

[Richard Dragin]

Based on your post I think we agree that the blade is the most important factor. If it's dull it doesn't matter what machine it is on. The next major factor is set up and tracking and on the older saws it is a real pain to go through all the needed adjustments. As the blade goes through it's useful life you are probably less likely to keep everything adjusted since it can be time consuming and frustrating relative the newer machines. Once adjusted properly the blade and wood don't know the difference between an old Taiwan import and a new Italian machine.

[Nick Sorenson]

That's what I was thinking regarding bandsaw quality vs cut quality. And yes I do hate setting up my bandsaw but I do it every time I change the blade or notice cut issues (or just see that the bearings aren't as tight to the blade as they used to be). Takes about 20-30 minutes plus the blade change time. That's where I wish I had a more accurate/smarter newer saw.

I think I may try the round Kreg fence again and see if it allows me to keep control while resawing a little better. If it doesn't do the trick, I'll either give up on resawing or change my blade very regularly. Fortunately I can eliminate most of the resawing I do if I wanted to simply by machining my work in other ways.

[John Lanciani]

I find that carbon steel resaw blades (Timberwolf, woodslicer, etc) only last for a couple hundred lf. of resaw duty at the max. I'd reccomend that you move up the blade spectrum a few notches if you want decent cuts and good blade life. Lenox bi-metal blades are a good stepping off point if you're not ready to take the carbide plunge.

[Phil Thien]

Where is the blade riding on the top wheel?

[Jim Finn]

"But what bothers me is that the blade still cuts like a hot knife through melted butter just not straight anymore".........
I find this occurring also. My fix is to replace the blade. I use 1/2" woodslicer blades to re-saw a lot of 8" red cedar and some oak. I now buy the blades five at a time. It is true, the blades still cut, but not as straight as they did at first. I now have about 4 semi sharp band saw blades that still work well for anything but 8" re-sawing.

[Terry Beadle]

I've used the Woodslicer 1/2 3tpi on my 30 yr old 12" Craftsman. I've always used a rounded point fence for re-sawing. I usually get several hundred feet of resaw which translates into several years use on each blade. I must say the Craftsman is not the top of the line ( it's probably not in the line....hoot! ) however lately I've switched to Olsen blades as they are quite a bit cheaper but I still get a couple years use from each blade.

IMO, as long as the blade will cut with out smoke-ing the wood, use the blade with a rounded fence. Rely-ing on a flat fence to resaw is a wishful thinking situation. Wood grain, density, and characteristics such as twist, vary so much in wood as a medium there's no way a flat fence can be relied on to hit the mark all the time. The exception to this rule is when you have a large batch of a certain wood, thickness, and supply, you can set up a flat fence and go to town. That said, one can become quite adapt at feeding to a line with a curved fence and not have to worry about the results.

The only other recommendation is that when a blade get towards it's end life of sharpness, then you must slow down the feed rate and let the blade breathe a lot more and expel the cut dust. If one is patient and frugal, one can use a fine diamond file on the teeth of a dull blade and get another 6 mo of use or more.

Bottom line: variety of material woods and wood growth dictate better results with a curved fence.

[John Lanciani]

Rely-ing on a flat fence to resaw is a wishful thinking situation. .

I guess I've been wishfully thinking for years then. I've cut 1000's of S.F. of veneer on my resaw with a long straight fence, and my veneer goes directly from the saw to the vacuum press. There is no way you're doing that with a rounded fence. There is no substitute for a sharp high quality blade combined with proper tension and setup.

I've worn out both Timberwolf and Woodslicer blades in an hour, and I don't have time to slow my feed rate for a dull blade. A bandsaw blade is no different than sandpaper, use it up and put a new one on. (For the record I use a 1" Lenox Trimaster on a 20" Minimax to resaw and I replace the blade as needed...)

[glenn bradley]

I believe John L. has cast some light on the "problem". If a new blade cuts great and then starts to cut/track poorly, it is dull. Tag it for grunge work and hang it on a nail. Have you kept track of the amount of length/height you get to resaw before the problem begins? Bandsaw blades are wear parts. Like matched-set router bits, once they have had it, they are cannon fodder. Many of our cutters can be resharpened and where would we be if we didn't keep a razor's edge on our chisels. plane irons, scrapers and so forth? Like John, I align my saw to cut straight and use a straight tall fence to resaw as opposed to fooling around trying to adjust for drift. I just layed off a batch of 1/16" thick slices (only 4" tall however) with a Woodslicer, no problem.

Now, if you are only getting a couple hundred lineal feet of decent cutting I would look at your material hardness and feed rate. If you're not cutting a lot of wenge or other highly abrasive woods (or even if you are) perhaps a carbide blade will get you the life expectancy you are after and you can resharpen. If you are just expecting more distance out of the steel blade than it can give, it won't matter what saw you put it on. In short, if the blade works great till you've been cutting for awhile, a "better" bandsaw doesn't sound like the fix. JMHO ;-)

[Al Weber]

You didn't by chance ding one side of the band somehow? If the blade is still sharp but you can't saw a straight line, maybe you've removed the set or damaged one side of the band somehow? While Wood Slicers are not the longest lasting blade, I've found they tend to cut well until they are dull unless you damage them when changing them or by sawing through something really hard like a tough knot or something embedded in the wood. You also don't say what kind of wood you are resawing as the very hard woods are very sensitive to feed rates and saw set up.