Hello,
I wood like to create some wood products with bandsaw, but as I have none bandsaw experience and I have no possibilities to try bandsaw before buying, I would like to ask:
I saw youtube videos – it is possible to cut very thin veneers without problems. Or saying generally – splitting thick parts is not problem and created parts looked very good/fine quality(no output like from tablesaw where you can have very rough cutted edges).
But what is the result if you try to cut thin(1/6 inch = 0.4 cm) wood plates with bandsaw? I am not asking for cutting veneers/resawing.
I dont know how to describe it in english, so please attached image.
What will be quality result of cutting thin wood sheet in that direction? Doesnt edges get damaged(rough)?
I am asking because based on bandsaw speed(which depends on model, but generally is very high) I think there can be difference if you cut thick wood in 2 parts and if you cut thin wood. Or is the output quality same?
Thank you.
Replies
Wood bandsaws will all run at about the same speed , the person feeding the wood will be the main variable and the cut quality is not dependent on the thickness of the leftover cut, it has to do with the quality of the blade and the adjustment of the machine.
Hi Peter463,
Spammers and hackers often try to get forum members to go to blind links like the one in your post.
Is there a reason you didn't upload the picture directly to the forum? You'll get a much better response if you do.
Mike
Yup. I would never click on a link I was unsure of.
Sorry, I edited the question.
It sounds like you want to rip a board into many thin strips.
You can minimize damage where the bandsaw blade exits the wood by using a zero-clearance insert, using a blade with more teeth and using a slow feed rate.
To expand on what Mike said. Yes a well tuned bandsaw can easily do what you want just:
Make a zero clearance throat plate to maximize work piece support near the blade. I do this by taking a piece of acrylic the same thickness as my factory plate and slicing a saw kerf into it using the same blade I will use to cut my material. I then use the factory plate to trace the outline of the factory plate onto the acrylic, then cut it out using the bandsaw, file and sand it as needed to get a tight fit.
Choose the right blade. The rule of thumb I use is to always have 2-3 teeth in the work piece at a time so for 1/6" stock you would need a blade with at least 12 teeth per inch(TPI) preferably 18 TPI. If you will be scroll cutting, cutting arcs and radius you need to match the blade with with the tightest radius you expect to cut. An 1/8" blade will cut a much smaller radius than a 1/2" blade but be more subject to flexing and even breaking. Teeth profile can also impact your cut quality and minimal radius. Blades that cut a wider kerf tend to leave a rougher cut but will generally cut tighter radius.
Tension your blade properly, this is a very subjective subject and many bandsaw users have different methods and ideas on how much tension should be used, but the rule of thumb is when running there should be no visible wobble or flutter in the blade with the guides seperated at least 6". A 1/2" blade needs more tension than an 1/8" blade.
Feed rate is controlled by you, so go at a rate appropriate for the material, blade and cutting path you need. A 1/2" blade cutting straight lines can be fed much quicker than an 1/8" blade cutting 1" radii. If the work piece is burning it could be a sign you are feeding too slow or cutting too tight of radius for the blade you are using.
I would add that the finish is often not smooth - a table saw will usually produce a far finer finish than a band saw. The cut edge will usually need further work, usually planing or sanding.
depending on how much you have to spend, what you want to do and how much space you have, you might want to consider a saw with 8,10 or 14 inch capacity.
Smaller saws are easy to pack away when not in use. They usually take blades up to 1/4 inch and so are suitable for small work.
10 inch saws can be lugged from place to place and will often take up to a 1/2 inch blade. 14 inch and larger saws are usually able to take blades up to 3/4 or even 1 inch and are too heavy to move more than very occasionally. They are not best placed on castors either, though it can be done.
A 14 inch is the usual serious home workshop device - a nice compromise between affordability, capability and space occupancy.
Most people will use a 1/2 inch 3TPI blade for most work and a 1/4inch blade (6TPI is my preferred) for finer work. Larger blades on a 14 inch add little.
Ignore silly rules like '3 teeth in the work' unless you really like spending all your money on blades and all your time changing them.
Cutting 1/16" veneers is no problem although I usually leave them about 3/32" to allow for sanding or other surface prep once applied to a substrate. MY concern is that you are getting rough results from a tablesaw. This would indicate the particular saw is not setup well or that the quality of the saw is making it function as best as it can.
Bandsaw cuts are generally rougher than tablesaw cuts. Both get additional treatment in my one-man shop but in production environments it is common to go from the tablesaw directly to glue up. Not always so with the bandsaw result.
A heavy duty (in build, not just in name) bandsaw with the right blade and operator can yield a result one might take straight to glue up. As those variables decline, so does the quality of the surfaces to be used.
The pictures are the result of testing an Ellis blade (not recommended) and are just the examples I quickly found. Woodslicer or carbide blades yield a much nicer result for me.
GeeDubBee
I don't think the OP's concern is cutting veneer but cutting a finished product from very thin stock, less than ΒΌ" thick, which the bandsaw is very capable of doing with a high tooth count blade. I had to read it several times to grasp his intentions myself. I also believe his goal is to have a near finished quality cut but most bandsaw work will require some sanding to smooth the edge, but an oscillating spindle sander should make quick work of this.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled