Huge problem with new Laguna resaw king band saw blade

[Aaron Wingert]

I cut a lot of flitches from small logs as well as do a fair amount of cutting smaller turning blanks from longer/larger boards. After going through countless Timberwolf 3tpi blades (mostly 3/4") I finally upgraded to a carbide tipped Laguna Resaw King band saw blade. $149 plus shipping.

Last night I mounted it in my 14" Powermatic saw, got it tuned up, tensioned and running slick and smooth. I jointed a smooth face on a small 8" diameter log, and with the smooth face on the table I went to resaw the log in half. 10 seconds after starting the cut BOOM! Huge violent catch, like nothing I've ever experienced. I stopped the saw and looked everything over and couldn't find anything out of place with the saw or the log (not pinching, etc.). So I grabbed a 4" board of mahogany and cut a perfect 1/16" veneer off the face of it. Next I grabbed a 4" board of cocobolo and attempted to do the same thing. BOOM. Another huge catch. Tried it again and got it on video doing it a 2nd time.

Guys I'm stumped. The roller guides are set just behind the teeth. I don't see any irregular teeth. Not touting myself as an expert by any means, but I have set up many dozens of blades on bandsaws and have not experienced anything like this before.

Here's the video of the catch on the cocobolo. Turn your sound up. I normally run a table insert but removed it for the purposes of trying to get this figured out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B56Esf8sMk8

I'd appreciate any help any of you can offer! Barring any revelations, I'll be on the phone with Laguna on Monday.

[Aaron Wingert]

IMG_3382.jpgHere's a view of the guides and blade

[Aaron Wingert]

IMG_3391.jpgHere's how it did in mahogany. Nice!
IMG_3392.jpg

[Andrew Hughes]

Put your throat plate back in or make a new one that's very stiff.
The blade is pulling the wood down in the hole.
Ive had that happen with Ebony and a flimsy throat plate.
Good luck it's a nice blade I have two of them.

[Aaron Wingert]

I see what you're saying but the throat plate was removed after the first catches and just wasn't replaced when I took the video. The catch happened first on a log with a jointed face that is a heck of a lot wider than the plate.

[Jamie Buxton]

Do you have the blade tension set right? Sometimes if the tension is wrong, the blade flutters in the kerf. It'll flutter a while, then cut straight, then flutter some, and on. Perhaps you're not getting a catch, but a sudden onset of flutter.

[Geoff Crimmins]

It looks like you have a 14" cast iron bandsaw with a riser block. If that's the case, it's my understanding that such a saw can't even come close to properly tensioning a carbide blade. I don't know what the effect of that would be, or if it could be contributing to your problem, but I thought I'd mention it just in case. From the video, it looks like the force of the cut is causing the board to tilt down into the throat, which would force the top of the board into the blade and cause a catch. But I don't see how that could happen with the 8" log you mentioned, so there must be more to the problem. You also mention cutting turning blanks. It's my understanding that carbide blades aren't the best choice for cutting curves like you would do when cutting a bowl blank. So if that's what you're planning to cut, you might do more research before attempting such a cut.

--Geoff

[Andrew Hughes]

Sorry I overlooked the part with the log.That would be a shame if your saw won't tension the blade for tall Resawing.
One more thing to check.Is the table flat from front to back a hollow won't hurt as much as a hump.

[Bradley Gray]

Maybe the harder woods are stalling the power transfer from the motor. A blade this wide and thick will really challenge a saw of any size and yours is on the edge (or maybe just shy of) not enough power.

Another thing to check is the thrust bearing. If it is only engaging in the harder wood and not turning freely it could be a cause.

[andy bessette]

Check the adjustment on roller guides, especially the one which supports the rear of the blade. Make sure the guide's support is locked down tightly. Increase blade tension and reduce feed pressure.

[Aaron Wingert]

Thanks for the ideas thus far guys. To be clear, I'm not cutting curves. I'm cutting square turning blanks...Like 2x2x12", etc.

[Van Huskey]

Even at 1/4 speed on the viseo I can't work out what the actually mechanism is but it looks to be catching on the wood itself since the wood bucks up in the back. What size blade is it? I hope it isn't a 1" but it is hard to tell. Where do you have the tension set on the scale?

[Aaron Wingert]

It is a 3/4" blade, tension is nearly maxed out, which for that saw is the 3/4" tick mark.

I just hung a 3/4" 3TPI brand new Timberwolf on it and it had no problems at all cutting a few green mud-cured hedge logs into 1-1/2" turning squares. No catches, no hiccups. I feel very confident that the catches with the Laguna blade are attributable to the blade, not the saw.

[Van Huskey]

How close is the thrust bearing to the back of the blade?

[Robert Hayward]

For what it is worth I had the same problem with the same setup. Maybe three ~ four years ago. Same blade and same 14" Powermatic. I finally got a catch so bad it stalled the bandsaw, kinked the blade and pushed the end of the piece of wood down into the plastic throat plate ruining the throat plate. I straightened the kinked blade but it was not like new by any means. I hung the blade up on the pegboard and went back to using Supercut blades with no more catches. I had had minor catches with the blade prior to this incident. Ended up selling the bandsaw, throwing the blade in the trash and bought a bigger bandsaw.