I’ve built a 5″ tall auxillary fence for my 18″ Rikon bandsaw. Using the stock 3/4″ blade, I’ve had to angle the fence at about 20 degrees to adjust for blade drift when resawing a 6″ tall, 6/4 board of Poplar. Is this angle of fence alignment normal for adjusting for blade drift or are my wheels potentially out of alignment?
– Lyptus
Replies
Hey Lyptus,
Long time no keystrokes.
20 degrees is quite a bit, considering you're using the stock blade, it might be necessary. My stock blade is ok but I really only use it for ripping up junk wood and pressure treated wood for garden stakes.
I use a 1" Timberwolf to do my resawing, you can order them from http://www.suffolkmachinery.com . You can get them from Woodcraft but they're made usually by PSWood and I've had problems with those. Nice thing about TW's is they tension right around the marks on your tension gage, whereas carbon steel and others require more tension (like your stock blade). Saves stress on the saw.
Move your guide bearings as close as possible to the blade without pinching the blade, so if you wiggle the blade between the bearings movement is barely in the 1/32 range. When setting to this tolerance, sight between the blade and the bearing, you're looking for barely a crack of light between them. When rotating the wheels, the bearings may rotate a little or not at all. As long as you're not pinching the band, you're ok. Guide bearings should be 1/16 behind the gullets and the thrust bearing about 1/32 behind the band. Experiment a little with this and you can make that stock blade do what you want. I use this method with all my setups and get straight cuts every time, no heat buildup on the band, the guide bearings are only mildly warm to the touch when I'm done. My fence is parallel to the blade.
Good luck my friend,
Chris.
PS, if you're band tracks ok, then you're wheels are ok. C.
I tried Timberwolf a little while back. After reading all the rave reviews I decided to pay the extra $$ and try it out. I was totally disappointed. I felt the blade required pretty much the same tension as I use on my regular brand of blade (Lenox)to perform well on my saw. The hardness wasn't as good either and I replaced much sooner than I usually due with the Lenox carbon blades.
Ted,
I can see your point and I agree. As I wrote Lyptus, The first blade I got from Woodcraft was junk. The weld wasn't in alignment, threw the band out of wack while running, vibrated the saw obnoxiously and sounded like a 'choo-choo' train to boot. The one I have now is better but still not what I would call quality. After chatting with a friend who uses them, I found it was best to order them right from Suffolk. Mine were made by a subsidiary company called PSWood.
Did you order yours from Suffolk or get them elsewhere? I noticed Laguana carries silicon steel bands.
Chris.
Chris
I have been in the bandsaw upgrade mode these last few weeks and I wound up getting a Lenox bi-metal for my 20" delta. I just couldn't afford the carbide Tri-master but someday I'm going to get one.
My friend has a Timberwolf from Suffolk and he couldn't stop talking it up and trying to get me to skip the Lenox. I just took a leap and got the Lenox. He came over with a 17" wide white pine board and resawed 4 beautiful pieces of veneer(42" long) with the Lenox. Seeing is believing.
I am about to try a 15" wide section of walnut next week. I think it will work??? I must confess I am a little anxious.Get a good blade, it just makes good sense before you scratch all of the hair off your head.
dan
Dan,
Niiiice lookin' walnut. You gonna run them whole boards through? Wow. I don't think you're going to have problems with your blade--Lennox are truly fine blades, I have a 1/4" 4TPI I use to remove waste wood on my carving blanks. I wonder how you're going to run those boards through without some form of jig to hold them stable. Goood luck, I hope it turns out well for ya.
I'm by far not a spokesman for Timberwolves, I just like the idea of being able to use wider bands without using the increased tension necessary for them. Since I don't do anything that requires carbide teeth, I'm able to save that expense for more gougessss!!!!
Have fun and write me back so I can see how ya made out resawing that walnut.
Chris.
PS 20" Delta? Sweet.
Curious, how is the cost comparison between lenox and suffolk? I threw the stock blade away on my 17" Grizzly, and have been very happy with the Timberwolf blade. I don't have any drift on my saw, so I have never had to do the exercise. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
You know the price difference wasn't that much and what's more, getting bandsaw blades for special jobs on a saw other than a delta 14" is a journey these days -- put on your hat.
Example: I call the guy at the supplier and give him my model number, brand and length of blade. He asks if its the delta 20" saw? I tell him I'm not really sure why they call it the 20" other that the distance from the blade to the point where you can't cut anymore is 19"???The wheel diameter is 18", the opening for max resaw work is 14" but it is known in supplier speak as a Delta 2O". Guess its like the 2 x 4 or the 13oz pound of coffee. Heck I don't know but finding just the right blade is not SIMPLE.
Truthfully, I have done some cutting with the timberwolf stuff and I like it a bunch. I don't know how long they hold up?? On the other hand most of my friends are loyal Lenox users and they are always reminding me. The only blade I have done some serious resaw work that watered my eyes was the Lenox Tri-Master carbide blade. You have to see one cut to believe it. They are the best I've seen to date. If you do a bunch of heavy cutting, you will really like the Tri-M. Start saving now- they ain't cheap. Stay with the T-Wolf if you're happy.
Just finished handplaning a big section of the board(40 x16) to get one side flat before a pass thru the planer. We'll see tomorrow.
dan
> I call the guy at the supplier and give him my model number, brand and length of blade. He asks if its the delta 20" saw? I tell him I'm not really sure...Many suppliers are going to be unaccustomed to a caller leading off with the saw's make and model. They expect to be told a length in inches and what kind of band you want. Suffolk does a good job of catering to hobbyists so they may be more familiar with makes/models. Constitution Saw in South Windsor, CT has no web site, but the guy there will tell you more than you can ever take in about tooth geometry and he sells the same silicon steel bands as Suffolk.Pete
Hi Ted,
If you do take the time to check and / or adjust your wheels for coplanar, as earlier suggested, make sure they are under tension while doing so for maximum performance.
Paul
Depends on the saw and blade, 20° might fall in the limits. On my saw,Grizzly 16", I adjust the table itself so the miter slots are paralell with the blade. You may be able to do this on your Rikon.Under my saw table there are two large knobs that tighten the table to the trunnions. If I need adjustment I loosen them ,move the table slightly and retighten knobs.
Often when you change blades you may have to adjust for drift.Also check the blade tension, most blades need about 3/8"to 1/2" of play. When you check for tension, check on the side opposite of the blade guides.Open the top door for this.
If the saw cuts well with the drift, you can just leave it and adjust the fence.Even if the wheels are not coplanar ( out of alignment) I doubt that it would cause that much drift.Take a straight piece of 1x the height of the top and bottom wheels and cut notches in it for the wheel hubs. Place the straight edge on the wheels vertically, check to see if the top wheel is touching the straight edge when the straightedge is completely touching the bottom wheel. Usually there is some gap at the top wheel.
Adjust the tracking knob so the top wheel is coplanar to the bottom.Spin the top wheel by hand and see if the blade stays near the center of the wheel. If it only moves slightly off center ,then test under power.With every bandsaw I have used,to track the blade correctly I have to move the top wheel slightly out of coplanar. I start out making the wheels coplanar, then do not get concerned if I have to move the top wheel to get it to track.
mike
mike
"Using the stock 3/4" blade...." Stop! Go Timberwolf or perhaps another high-quality blade. Save the stock blade for firewood. Beyond that, be sure you saw is properly tuned. You should have very little, if any, drift once everything's done.
20 degrees is pretty extreme. You certainly need to be running a good quality band. If that doesn't do it, one other thing to check is that your top and bottom guides are aligned with each other.
Pete
Hi Lyptus,
Another cause might be the teeth ( set ) on one side of your blade are dull causing the extreme drift. In any event a good blade as previously suggested will do wonders.
Paul
Something must be wrong. I'm amazed everytime that I have no drift at all on my 16" (Laguna 16HD) bandsaw. Check you tensioning and guide placement, to start. I would guess maybe 5 degrees is reasonable, but beyond that, if everything was tuned, there might be something you're missing; call the manufacturer's representative techs if you don't find the problem. Good luck.
"Check you tensioning and guide placement, to start. " Really, everything (tune-up-wise) should be checked. The worst blade drift I ever experienced was when the blade had slipped just to the front of the crown of the wheel. Didn't take much for that to create a serious angle!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I am only at the 14" stage of bandsawing, but I would think that the basic principles of operating a bandsaw apply regardless of throat depth and blade width.
I hate to sound like a broken record, BUT, if you go to Fine Woodworking and find Michael Forune's 5 Tips for Better Bandsawing FW #173 on tuning a bandsaw, follow them to the letter, you will find that your bandsaw is an absolutely dream to use.
If, after performing those simple steps, you still cannot cut a deadass straight cut, then you have either bad tires, or a bad blade or your wheels are not coplanar.
The man who distributes Viking blades at the Canadian woodworking shows says the if the blade is bad or is not tracking properly, no force on earth will make your bandsaw cut straight.
I am using a 5/8" 3TPI tufftooth blade at the present time. Since tuning my bandsaw as described, I have resawn teak, Kentucky coffee tree, lyptus, oak with ZERO drift.
After I tuned my saw I was using a Viking 1/2" 3TPI, but I put some contaminated material through it a wrecked the blade. Up to that point the saw worked fine.
Since reading Michael's article, I have not found the need to use anty of the finer TPI blades I thought I needed.
A properly tuned bandsaw is with out a doubt the sweetest motorized tool in the shop. I now find my table saw is second choice.
Just go over your machine and make sure everything aligned, straight and what ever else. There isn't really a whole lot of science or magic to these machines. If it is properly built and properly adjusted it should cut straight.
Regards,
Don
Regards,
I thought that I had problems with drift a few months back and talked to a vendor at the Woodworking Show in Columbus, Ohio. He showed me on his 14" Powermatic that he was using how to adjust so I did not have any drift. The wheels have to be aligned, take the table off and use a straightedge to check the wheel alignment first. If the alignment is OK then do this. He said to make sure the blade was centered on the tires. Now that seems simple enough, but I thought he meant the entire blade width. He said that was not correct and that the gullet, the back of the curved relief for the teeth, is what is supposed to be centered. This will actually put the blade a little forward from center on the tire. All of the solid area of the blade is bearing on the tire in this position.
I tried this on my bandsaw when I got home and it sure did the trick. The saw tracks straight and cuts great. Try this and see if it helps.
Oh, he also said that it really is not the best to use the maximum blade width that the saw will handle. A bit narrorer blade than max will be easier to tension and will be easier on the saw.
Hello Lyptus,
I had a drift problem before too. Then I read an article in Fine Woodworking (Dec 2004 issue I think) by Mickael Fortune. He describes that after proper tensioning of the blade, drift is corrected by adjusting the alignment of the top wheel. I didn't believe it but tryed it and it worked. Have been using the method for some time now. I'll check to make sure that the issue and author is correct tonight.
On a side note, I looked at the pictures of that wonderful Walnet crotch. I recently spent a day with a wood carver (one of our Wood Working Guild trips) and Homer "the wood carver" explained that the term for the center is the "feather" of the crotch. Just thought I would pass that on.
Joe
Even a broken clock is correct twice a day...
I have your saw- 18 " Rikon
I built a 12" aux fence and have ripped many board feet of oak, mahogany, maple, etc.
8"-10" wide boards-- no problem.
The only difference- I bought a high quality blade and tossed the stock blade it came with.
I know it sounds wasteful but I never used the blade that came with my Delta UniSaw either.
I put a woodworker II blade on right off the bat and never gave the delta blade a second look.
regards,
Dave
Thank you for your thoughtful feedback. I have purchased a 1/2", 3 TPI Timberwolf blade as an "all purpose" blade and I'll test it out this weekend. I'll also test my wheels to ensure that they are coplaner. The tech support at Rikon told me that Timberwolf blades often are not exactly 142" as my saw requires. This is because they don't want to cut the blade in the middle of a tooth. Therefore, he suggested that I may have to tension the blade more than my Rikon tension gauge indicates for a 1/2" blade. I'll try the digital caliper tensioning technique describe in one of the Fine Woodworking magazines and then see how bad my drift is. Thanks,
Lyptus
In general band length does not affect the tension indicator. I've heard though that there's something specific to the Rikon design that has this effect. Maybe another Rikon owner could explain.Pete
Edited 11/29/2007 1:15 pm ET by PeteBradley
"I'll try the digital caliper tensioning technique describe in one of the Fine Woodworking magazines ...." Keep in mind that the Timberwolf blades are low tension blades and should be adjusted as such. Using the "flutter technique" they describe on their web site and in their (small) catalog is your best bet for adjusting to the correct tension.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
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