Five Tips for Better Bandsawing - Central Coast

1 66 FINE WOODWORKINGNo-hassle approach delivers smooth,straight cutsBY MICHAEL FORTUNEP recise cuts areeasier than you think. Itdoesn t take a high-end blade,high tension, replacement guides, or aspecial fence to get excellent tips for Bet terBandsawingFive tips for Bet terBandsawingn my first year of design school in theearly 1970s, I remember the shop man-ager telling me that the bandsaw wasthe most useful piece of equipment in awoodshop. This struck me as a dubiousstatement, given that we were standing in aworkshop filled with state-of-the-art Euro-pean woodworking equipment. But timeand again he proved it. After I graduated in 1974, my first pur-chase was a 15-in. General , I soon realized I could achieveINOVEMBER/DECEMBER 200467 Photos: Asa Christianathe accuracy and versatility I had experi-enced at school only if I set up the saw theway my shop manager did.

2 Once I figured out the keys to success, Icame to rely on that bandsaw. With a singleblade, I routinely cut smooth tenon cheeks,fine inlay stringing, and perfect veneersthat use the entire height capacity of mymachine. I also do all of my ripping on that The task is safer and requires lesshorsepower than the tablesaw, and the nar-row kerf consumes less wood. New em-ployees and students are surprised at firstby my preference for ripping on the band-saw, but they are converted quickly. Although I have three excellent industrialtablesaws in my shop, they are used almostexclusively for dadoing, squaring panels,and cutting shoulders on joints. There are three key elements to gettingthe most from your bandsaw: blade type,blade alignment, and moderate approach contradicts some of the com-mon advice for setting up bandsaws.

3 Itdoes not require high blade tension, spe-cial equipment, exotic blades, high horse-power, or continual fence adjustments toaccommodate blade drift. Start with a coarse bladeDuring teaching assignments, I run intomany woodworkers experiencing difficul-ties with their bandsaws. They complainabout severely cupped kerfs, poor track-ing, and saws that seem underpowered, sotheir bandsaws are relegated to cuttingcurves in thin stock. The number-one culprit behind all ofthese difficulties is a bandsaw blade thathas too many teeth, with small gullets inbetween. Sawdust generated in the kerfmust be removed efficiently. A tremen-dous amount of heat is created by the fric-tion from the sawdust that is jam-packedin each small gullet right at the pointwhere the wood fibers are being cut.

4 Theintense heat can cause the blade to lose itstemper and dull prematurely. The heat andpressure buildup also can cause the bladeto flex sideways and backward, creating adished cut. A typical reaction here is totighten the tension on the blade. Butovertensioning the blade creates a wholenew set of problems (see Tip 2). My bandsaw does everything, every day:cutting joints, resawing wide laminates inexotic woods, making curved patterns inRIPPINGRESAWINGCUTTING CURVESA SINGLE BLADE CAN HANDLE MOST TASKSTip 1A SINGLE BLADE CAN HANDLE MOST TASKSTip 1A 1 , 3-tpi blade properlyset up will handle general ripcuts,resawing, and even cutting curvesin thin stock, not to mention cut-ting precise gullets clearchips blades, withmore teeth per inch,have smaller gulletswhere chips getpacked, causing theblade to cut poorlyand to flex tpiStandard 1 carbon-steelblade1 stock.

5 It is not practical tochange the blade and the guide blocks foreach situation, nor is it necessary, in fact. With rare exception, a standard carbon-steel 1 , 3-tpi, skip-tooth blade in-stalled on my bandsaw performs all of theabove tasks. Blades are inexpensive, so keep asharp one loaded The blades I use aremade by Starrett but are welded and dis-tributed by BC Saw and Tool in Canada(888-251-2236; ). By de-lightful coincidence, these blades are rela-tively inexpensive. It helps that I buy themin groups of 10, which earns me a 25% dis-count. For example, 941 blades,which fit a 14-in. bandsaw, cost about $ ( ) each, or $ if purchased one at atime. This is one of the rare cases when in-expensive equals good. Unfortunately, not all blade distributorsweld bandsaw blades properly.

6 A poorlywelded, misaligned sawblade will not giveyou the smooth and effortless results youare after. Simply using a 3-tpi blade, with its largergullets, will eliminate many WOODWORKINGEven 4 tpi is too fine a tooth pattern forgeneral woodworking and resawing. Ifyou want a fine cut, use a coarse blade,even on thin stock. In my experience, theold rule of thumb about having two teethengaged in the stock at all times is reason I use a 1 blade is thatit is stiff enough to resaw but flexibleenough to follow a curve down to a 21 A cautionary note: Cutting particle-board is extremely hard on carbon-steelbandsaw blades and can reduce their lifeby 75%.High horsepower is another myth For most 14-in. bandsaws with a 1 , 3-tpi blade, a 1 3-hp motor is fine. Thesame saw with a riser block in the columncould use a 1 2-hp motor for big resawingtasks, but anything larger is overkill.

7 If themotor is bogging down, you are eitherforcing the cut or using a dull t overtension the bladeIt is important that the tires on the bandsawremain in excellent shape. Grooves in therubber tire on either the upper or the lowerwheel will make it impossible to keep theblade on the centerline, in line with the ripfence. And the most common cause ofgrooves in the tires is overtensionedblades. Very high tension even can flex thesaw frame out of slightly undertension my 1 Because of its excellent ability toclear sawdust, the blade is not inclined toflex, wander, or heat up. For the 1 I adjust the tension scale to the 3 If no scale is present on the ma-chine, I tighten the adjustment knob (withthe machine off and unplugged) until theblade deflects about 1 4in.

8 To the side with-out making my fingertips go side benefit of lower blade tension isthat I seldom have to release the tension onthe saw, as is commonly recommended toprolong blade the blade to eliminate driftWhen I bought my bandsaw in 1974, I setthe fence parallel to the miter-gauge slotin the table, and I haven t had to adjust itsince. The reason is that I use the trackingadjustment on the upper bandsaw wheelto align the blade (see the drawings on thefacing page). A nightmare of fence adjust-High tension eventually will groove the tires, pulling the blade out of alignment (formore on blade alignment, see Tip 3). High tension even can flex the machine sframe out of less than the recommend-ed tension. For a 1 , turn the tension gauge(above) to the setting for a 3 blade. The first step in over-hauling a bandsaw is to check thetires for grooves (right).

9 If neces-sary, replace BLADE TENSION IS NOT NECESSARYTip 2 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 200469 Advice on blade alignment usually centers on the rip fence instead of the blade. You caneliminate blade drift by adjusting the positionof the blade on the upper THE FENCE JUST ONCEADJUST THE ALIGNMENT OF THE BLADE, NOT THE FENCEF irst, align the rip fence parallelwith the miter-gauge slot andleave it there. Then eliminateblade drift by centering the blade on the upper upper wheel has a slightcrown on it. Therefore, if theblade is close to the front of theupper wheel, it will be angled onthe wheels, causing the saw tocut to the right. If the blade isclose to the back of the wheel,the reverse will be true. Now push gently and let theblade do the work. Pushingtoo hard will make the bladeflex sideways, which willcause it both to overheat andto drift off line. With the blade,fence, and guides properlyaligned and adjusted, theback of the blade should becentered in its kerf (inset).

10 Align the ripfence parallelwith : Kelly J. DuntonA simple adjustment. Adjust the angle of the up-per wheel so the blade rides at the center, whichon most small bandsaws is crowned CAN ELIMINATE BLADE DRIFT BY ADJUSTING THE TRACKINGTip 3 Saw will cut BLADEThe fence must be angled tothe right for a straight fence must be angled tothe left for a straight TOO FAR BACKBLADE TOO FARFORWARD70 FINE WOODWORKING ments ensues if each new blade is allowedto track by keeping the centerline of theblade (regardless of width) in line with thecenterline of the upper wheel, I am able tokeep the blade aligned correctly at theblade guides. The relationship between tracking theblade on the centerline of the upper wheeland having the fence aligned parallel to themiter slot should produce a kerf with equalspace on either side of the has been made in books and arti-cles of the alignment of the two wheels toeach other.