Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | Dec 23, 2003 07:10pm | #1

   Thanks for posting your follow-up Doug.  That's important info, and I'm glad Timberwolf (Suffolk) came through for you!

   forestgirl Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)  you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)

2. 
   CharlieP | Dec 23, 2003 09:33pm | #2

   If you are using the G0555 14 inch bandsaw, another issue may be the 3/4 inch blade.  Although most of the 14 inch saws say they can handle a 3/4 inch blade, I have seen numerous discussions on the web that recommend staying 1/2 inch or less - these "light" saws apparently don't handle the 3/4 inch well - whether it is insufficient tension (one theory) or something else, I don't care. 

   My third bandsaw is the G0555 and I have had good luck resawing, and even better luck since I installed the 1/2 inch Timberwolf blade that I bought at the same Dallas show. 

   I am not sure if there is any relation between the companies, but the Timberwolf people I saw in Dallas (and previously in Houston) were from PS Wood, not from Suffolk.  The "expert" at the PS Wood booth is a retired shop teacher and woodworker, and is extremely good.  Another secret is that the lady running the cash register at the shows, keeping an eye on everything, is actually the company president.  Super people, great service. 

1. 
   DougF | Dec 23, 2003 09:58pm | #3

   Charlie,

   These were the same folks that helped me oriignally when I was having problems when I first got my band saw.  Supposedly the tension is not an issue on these 14" machines since the Timberwolf blade requires much less tension than other blades.  I also have have G0555 and my blade flutter stabilized about half way between 1/2 and 3/4 setting on the tension scale.  By-the-bye, according to the same person at the trade show, when the flutter stops, wait at least a minute before the final 1/2 final tension adjustment.  He says it takes that long for all of the moving parts to adjust to each new setting. 

   Doug

1. 
   rod | Dec 24, 2003 05:51am | #8

      I have a band saw and I would like to know how you use flutter to tension the saw.  What does the flutter look like?  I have been using the next wider blade mark to tension my blades.

   Rod

1. 
   brnaclbil | Dec 24, 2003 06:11am | #9

   Rod,

   For the so called "low tension" blades, like Timberwolf,  you set the tension at the indicated setting with all of the guides backed off. Then you loosten tension until the blade begins to flutter (1/2 turn or less at a time).

   Once it starts to flutter, you slowly tighten the tension until the flutter stops and then tighten 1/4 to 1/2 turn more.

   Bill

3. 
   DJK | Dec 23, 2003 10:55pm | #4

   Just a bit of advise when purchasing Timberwolf bands; purchase them direct from Suffolk not PS Wood. You will pay half as much direct from Suffolk.

   Dave Koury

4. 
   brnaclbil | Dec 23, 2003 11:13pm | #5

   Doug and everyone,

   I was in the same boat. I have had my G0555 about 3 weeks now. I had tried to resaw some 30" logs from a cherry tree that my son and I cut down 2 weeks ago. With an Olson 1/2" 3 TPI blade, I had big problems with the blade binding and stalling the saw.

   Last Wed. I called Timberwolf and answered their questions. For resawing green wood, they recommended a 2 TPI 3/4" blade. I bought 2 of those and a 3/4" 6 TPI for cutting 3/4" - 4" kiln dried lumber.

   The new blades came yesterday and I mounted the 2 TPI blade. It's a good thing these are "low tension". I had to go past the 3/4" mark on the tension gauge and almost completely compress the spring to get rid of the flutter. If I had waited longer, it might have been flutter free at a lower tension.

   I should mention that these blades have a lot of set. While they are nominally .032, the kerf is much wider that with the Grizzly or Olson blades.

   Last night I proceeded to resaw 12 boards from black cherry 30" long logs. The blade was a world better than what I had been using before. Just a very small amount of drift and using a resaw fence with a "point" I was able to cut nice flat boards, mostly 1 1/8". I was very pleased.

   The biggest problem that I had was with the blade getting gummed up. I had to clean it after each board. Initially I forgot to lube the blade per the Timberwolf instructions. I didn't have any cooking spray, so I just wiped Wesson Oil on with a rag.

   Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep the blade from picking up all kinds of sawdust, which is pretty well stuck on after each board was resawn?

   I was using a 4.5 Hp shop vac, but still had huge amounts of sawdust inside the lower cover and around the lower guides. I vacuumed out the lower wheel area after each board.

   To the curmudgeon who can only say "Grizzly is Junk", I was at Amazon.com yesterday and looked at the customer reviews of the Grizzly G0555. There were 6 reviews, some from people who had owned the saw for a year. Every single one of the six gave the saw a 5.0 rating (out of a possible 5 points). I think it is a great saw, with lots of extras (1 HP motor, decent rip fence, bearing blade guides, ...).

   By the way, I'm running it with the 6" riser and 105" blades and there seems to be no problem with the guide bar.. It does not need blade guide adjsutments as the bar is riased or lowered.

   I suspect that I should get one of the aftermarket springs for my tensioner and a crank for the tension adjsutment. The quick release lever doesn't throw anywhere near enough when the tension is cranked up to near the max. The Timberwolf folks make a big deal about de-tensioning the blade after use. They also sent an instruction book of about 12 pages with the blades with lots of advice on getting the most out of the saw and blades. The info is all on their website.

   Now I just have to wait a year before these boards (and the next 2-3 dozen i will soon cut from this cherry tree) will be dry enough to use.

   Bill

1. 
   forestgirl | Dec 24, 2003 01:33am | #6

   Bill, pardon my weak memory, but did you get the scoop about assembly adjustments when installing the riser kit on the G0555 (in earlier posts here)?forestgirl Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)  you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)

1. 
   brnaclbil | Dec 24, 2003 01:39am | #7

   Jamie,

   Thanks for asking. We:

   1. Figured it out from this forum.

   2. Got the details from this forum.

   3. Got the details from Grizzly Tech Support via e-mail.

   It's really pretty easy once the problem is understood.

   Bill

5. 
   BrianMcG | Dec 24, 2003 08:46am | #10

   " He explained that either in the setup or while using the saw the kerf had been damaged on one side and that what was causing the problems "

   Hi Doug, I am just not understanding what you mean here. How is a kerf damaged?

   I was having problems with drift and that wonderful high pitched squeal until I finally bought a quality blade (1/2" 3tpi HT "woodslicer" from Highland Hardware). Great blade.

   I did have a damaged insert but filing enough room for the blade solved that.

   Brian

1. 
   CharlieD | Dec 24, 2003 09:14am | #11

   Y'Know, I was thrilled with my WoodSlicer too; but halfway through my project it started cutting terribly to one side. I had thought that it was my fault--hit some grit, maybe, or just dirty wood--but when I was discussing this with a rep at the MiniMax booth at a recent Denver show, he said that they are known to dull quickly becuase they're an actually adapted meat blade. Any thoughts on that?I tell you, we are here to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. --K Vonnegut

2. 
   DougF | Dec 29, 2003 05:11pm | #12

   Brian,

   In my pre-CHristmas muddled mental state I mis-spoke when I said "kerf."  I meant to say that the set on one side of the blade was damanged and that would explain why the blade would not track, would burn on one side only and cup  due to uneven tension.

   Sorry if I caused you any confusion by using an incorrect term.

   Doug 

1. 
   BrianMcG | Dec 30, 2003 06:50am | #13

   Doesn't take much to confuse me Mark! I should have realized what you meant.

   Happy New Year!

   Brian

6. 
   riverr1 | Dec 30, 2003 11:27pm | #14

   ""he asked if the metal blade insert was chewed up any""

   Are you referring to the insert in the table here, or something else? Thanks.

   Don

1. 
   DougF | Dec 31, 2003 12:34am | #15

   Table insert.

1. 
   riverr1 | Dec 31, 2003 02:09am | #16

   Thank you. I'm not familiar with the Grizz saw, and didn't know if the mentioned insert was something specific to thier saw.

   Don