Hi All I have a General 15″ bandsaw and it is acting up now. I try resawing a small piece of maple and it does not cut straight at all. it is not the fence, I have a picture that I made up a drawing of what it does. When I feed the stock in the blade cuts straight for about 1 inch then it the blade starts going to the left forcing the stock into the fence until it starts to bind. I have taken all the cool blocks out and inspected them and reinstalled them. I took the upper and lower thrust bearings out and checked them. When I reinstalled the cool blocks I left just enough clearance ( the thickness of a dollar bill )between the blocks and the blade. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks Mark
PS. Sorry I can’t upload picture.
Have fun woodworking but respect your tools
Replies
Remove the fence. Draw a straight line down the middle of a board about 3-4 inches wide and a foot long. Make sure the line is parallel to the long edges of the board. Holding the board down on the table with your hands, saw down the line, until you get about halfway through the board. Turn off the saw without moving the board.
In an ideal world, the angle at which you would have been holding the board in order to put the saw kerf right down the middle of the line would put the edge of the board exactly parallel to the fence. In the real world, it will be off by a few degrees.
If it's off by a lot, then there may be a problem with the blade (uneven sharpness on one side vs. the other).
If it's off by a little, you may be able to correct the problem by adjusting the blade tracking knob. Moving the blade forward (towards you) on the tires will usually make the "natural" cutting angle rotate outwards, so that the back of the workpiece will want to move away from the fence. Moving the blade away from you on the tires will do the opposite. Obviously, you can't move the blade too much, or it will fall off the wheels. Even if you don't go that far, you might run out of adjustment range on the guides.
If you can't correct the problem by adjusting the blade tracking, there may be an adjustment on the fence itself. If that doesn't work, then you might want to try a new blade.
-Steve
Hi Saschafer sorry I took so long to get back to you , thanks for the info..MarkHave fun woodworking but respect your tools
Afternoon woodman..
2 questions... Was it cutting straight before?.. Is the blade now dull?
Sarge..
Hi Sarge yes it was cutting straight and I bought a new blade so we will see, I used to be able to slice 1/16 resawing. Thks again MarkHave fun woodworking but respect your tools
Mark,
From the FWW homepage search box, type Michael Fortune. You'll get 15 hits; choose "Five Tips for Better Bandsawing". Print it out, read it, memorize it, rupb it on your head if it helps, but follow his advice to the letter.
I had never been close to a band saw before, but that article came out just when I bought one. I set up as he instructed, and never had a problem. His advice on blades is right on too. I've been using BC Saw blades (http://www.bcsaw.com) and have had no problem. Forget drift angles. If you're set up as he does and have a SHARP blade, you'll have no problem. Trust me.
Steve
There are two secrets to keeping one's wife happy.
1. Let her think she's having her own way.
2. Let her have her own way. President Lyndon Baines Johnson
Hi Fussy sorry I took so long to get back to you, I read the article before and he has the same bandsaw as I , it is a excellent article. I just couldn't believe the blade was dull all ready but time flies or should I saw saw dust flies when you are haveing fun. Thanks for the heads up on the article. MarkHave fun woodworking but respect your tools
Hi Mark,
Hope you got it straightened out. It's the little things that'll bite you. Be careful and have a ball.
SteveThere are two secrets to keeping one's wife happy.
1. Let her think she's having her own way.
2. Let her have her own way. President Lyndon Baines Johnson
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