Problems adjusting Laguna 14BX bandsaw drift
I just purchased a Laguna 14BX 230V bandsaw to replace my 14″ Rikon, which I found to be a decent but not great machine. I also wanted to have the break on the BX as a safety feature . During assembly, it seems like a well-made, solid machine. The band runs absolutely straight, no oscillations back and forth or side to side. The table, fence and blade are all lined up right. But I cannot get drift out of the saw with the 3/4″ carbide blade (a 3/8″ steel blade worked OK) and am looking for advice and/or whether this is a problem that pops up with this model bandsaw.
Here’s what I’ve done so far:
1. Lined up the fence with the mitre slot.
2. Then cut a piece of wood and found that the wood pulls away from the fence as you go more than a couple of inches. With a 3/4″ board, you can sort of force the board against the fence. But with a 2″ or higher board, it won’t stay straight.
3. Followed the advice in the manual and adjusted the fence to the same angle as the wood pulls away by loosening three bolts that hold the fence knuckle to the guide rail clamp and angling the fence. But when you retighten, you loose much of the adjustment and get the same drift problems.
4. I checked the guide blocks upper and lower and they seem OK. I set all blocks to be a paper’s width from the blade.
5. Rechecked the alignment of the blade on the wheel and it’s absolutely centered on the tire.
6. I also checked the crosscut and it also angles the same way, despite the mitre gauge being 90 deg to the blade.
At this point, I’m out of ideas. The saw cuts so smoothly and easily that I really want to correct this. If I was just doing freehand sawing it wouldn’t be a problem, but my main use for it is likely to be resawing rough lumber and I’d love for it to have as little drift as possible.
Replies
Sorry, I meant to say I wanted the brake on the BX, not the break.
You need to keep the fence parallel to the miter slot and rotate the table until there is no drift.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNdrkmx6ehI
This exact same thing happened to me with a Laguna carbide blade I had re-sharpened. A replacement blade solved the issue.
I have the same saw. I adjust the table as Michael Fortune suggests. Then I adjust the blade forward or back until it is parallel to the miter slot and fence. Adjust further if necessary after test cuts. And use a good blade.
In a past FWW issue they had good info on addressing drift.
I have the 14/12. Keep the fence parallel to the miter slot. You shouldn't have to touch it again. Drift is eliminated by adjusting the blade forward or backward on the wheel. It doesn't take much.
I have the SUV and had poor luck with tracking blades over 1/2". Since I started using 1/2" for resawing the issue does not exist.
Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'm going to reinstall the table itself, just to be sure, and then proceed with micro adjusting the blade tracking. In my mind, the fact that it also crosscuts at an angle and there's no problem with smaller blades suggests that might be the problem. Maybe it also just needs to wear in a bit? I'll report back on my results.
The real life test for checking for the blade to be parallel to the guide is to resaw a couple inches into a piece of wood pushed firmly along the guide, stop the blade in the cut and measure the gap on either side of the trailing edge and the kerf, the back of the blade should track in the middle of the kerf without touching either side.
On my older saw that would have worked. But the gap is very uniform on this saw -- I can't really detect any difference.
We’re not talking the same gap.
Fwiw I have the same saw and the same issue (3/4” blade). I chalked it up to my inexperience and figured it would get better as I fiddled and gained experience. Thanks for asking!
I'm using a 3/4" Resaw King on my 14/12 now, and it tracks just fine. But I used 1/2" Woodslicers on it for years before I ever tried the 3/4"
Maybe the tires wore in first, making it track better now? I have no idea. But if the 3/4 wasn't tracking well and the 1/2" did, I'd just use the 1/2"
I'm hoping it is a break in issue. I tried some fiddling with the tracking and that wasn't it. I'm still going to reset the whole table. Laguna makes a 1/2" carbide resaw blade, but gee I hate to spend another $130 or whatever it is.
I am doing fine with a 1 inch Resaw King on a Laguna 14 SUV.
Gulfstar, 2 Qs... Do you have your fence parallel to the miter slot, and can you post an image of the blade's position on the top tire?
I can authoritatively say I have no idea if my fence is parallel to the miter slot. I don't think I've ever used the miter slot for anything.
But, a 3/4" blade is perfectly parallel to the fence.
Yes, the fence is parrallel to the miter slot, that is the first thing to do, then the table is adjusted . The blade is centered on the tire between the bottom of the gullet and the back. See on photo 2, the back of the blade is centered in the kerf, if it’s rubbing on one side, there is drift.
Give the 1/2" Woodslicer a try. It really gives excellent results.
The woodslicer is excellent, the reason it is easier to adjust than the resaw king is that it is only 1/2 inch wide and has a larger kerf thus the rear of the blade is less likely to touch the sides of the kerf and cause drift. The Resaw King is tougher to tune in but will outlast the carbon steel blade by a factor of 10 + and leave a smoother cut.
I think you've sold me. When my last woodslicer gets moùnted I will order a 3/4" resaw king and try it again.
The 3/4 Resaw King works great on my 14/12, even with the 1.75 HP motor. I resisted going to the RK because of a bad experience with Lenox carbide blades breaking. And from the reports I've read about sharpening these, I think I'll just treat it as fungible.
I can't compare how long this will last compared to the Woodslicer, but time will tell. Maybe.
I ordered the 18BX about 2 weeks ago. No idea when it will arrive. But I saved about 800 bucks in all. I ordered a 1-1/4" Resaw King with it. The 14/12 will end up with a 3/16" blade for curves, and my Rigid Delta clone 14" will look for a new home.
"Rechecked the alignment of the blade on the wheel and it’s absolutely centered on the tire."
Perhaps I'm not reading this correctly, but if you are centering the blade on the wheel, that is probably the problem. You want to align the deepest part of the gullet to the center of the wheel.
I know some people say that, but in the case of a 3/4" blade, that's not really going to work on this saw. The back of the blade would be significantly off the back of the wheel and I imagine it would rub something.
That was exactly my experience with the wider blade. The saw kicked it backwards off the top wheel and made a mess. Luckily I was wearing my brown pants.
Then go to a 1/2" blade as others have suggested.
Well, I've completed all of the suggestions for improving drift with 3/4" blade and none of them worked. I reinstalled the table as well. I'm going to try again with a smaller blade and then call Laguna customer service. Anyone have any experience with them?
It's been several years ago at least, so to be fair, maybe they have upped their game since then.
With that said, they were the rudest, nastiest bunch I have ever dealt with.
I have had similar experiences; while I wouldn't describe them as actively hostile, they were definitely not helpful to various questions--hooking up to dust collector, drift, etc. in addition the printed manual that came with the saw had poor quality pictures--the on-line manuals are more clear.
I have the 14bx and was never able to get the drift out using the laguna 3/4" carbide blade. I did all the setup stuff and only got that problem with the 3/4" width. I am resewing with a 1/2" wood slicer blade and it cuts perfectly. Not a hint of drift. My 3/8" and 1/4" wide blades also run with no drift. So for mine anyway, the 3/4" blade just didnt work well. And the 1/2" blade resaws great, just cut 7" of white oak like it was nothing. I'd love to hear if Laguna says something on this.
Same saw, same problem. Drift on my saw improved significantly after upgrading to carter guides.
Sometimes things get confusing due to advice for flat tire / wheel machines being given in crowned tire / wheel threads. The machine being discussed is a crowned tire / wheel machine, yes?
Assure wheels are coplaner.
Back off all guides and remove throat plate.
Tension the blade centered on the tires.
Adjust the table so that the miter slot is aligned with the blade (see pic).
Adjust fence to miter slot.
Fine tune blade position on wheel if required (see pic).
Position guides and throat plate.
Saw happy.
All four of my bandsaws are drift free using this method. I can change blades with impunity only having to reset the tension and guides. Even on my larger saws I run 1/2" carbide blades (see pic).
The basic things that lead people down a frustrating path:
The tires are crowned and therefor affect feed path based on the blade being off center.
Coarse alignment is done by adjusting the table, not the blade.
Get the relationship of these two things clear in your mind and setting up the machine really smooths out. ;-)
Help. Hello MSchlack et al. : I have the same problem drift with 14 BX with similar setup:
Laguna 14 BX with 3/4" Resaw King blade both bought 2020. usage ~ 50 days / year, 4 hrs/day.
blade is tracking in the center of the wheel.
blade is parallel to miter slot and fence; used iGaging bandsaw companion to help set up.
guide blocks, tension all set per Michael Fortune.
with a crosscut sled and resawing, after ~ 2" the cut drifts to the right of the blade, over the course of the next 4", it drifts to a total of ~ 1/4" and then after that (at least for 10-12" boards that I've tested), the drift doesn't increase.. i.e., if I place a straight edge on the initial part of cut and end of cut it seems straight. If I mark a perpendicular line to cut and use the crosscut sled, I can visibly see the blade cut move over during the cut.
I know that I could adjust the fence to re-saw and Laguna would like to sell me a Driftmaster fence, but I would like to use my crosscut sled. Previously I _could_ _reliably_ re-saw 6-8" W stock 5/64" T with < 1/64" variation and pieces cut on there crosscut sled would be square, as measured with an engineer's square.
MShlack: any update from Laguna? or final solution?
everyone: the last thought is: buy a new blade? any other thoughts?
Thank you all.
I had chronic drift with the 3/4 resaw king on my 14BX. Got tired of it and bought the 1/2 woodslicer, and it works like a dream. Had one of those “oh, so *this* is how it’s supposed to work” moments.
p.S. I am also getting significant burning on the left side of the cut.
Stop the Saw 2 inches into the cut and see if the trailing edge of the blade tracks in the center of the Kerf without touching either side of the cut.
the blade touches the left side of the(the side towards the main column)
I have the Laguna 14" SUV and have had the same issues with resawing. Thanks for bringing this up, and thanks to all for the recommendations. I'll go back and try all these fixes. I wonder why so many have had problems with this saw - or are the issues common to any bandsaw, and we're getting responses regarding the Laguna because that was the saw in the initial text of this thread? I previously had a 14" delta that I had no issues with...
Other than this (and difficulty adjusting the guides), I like the saw.
The resaw King blade is less forgiving to drift because it has a narower kerf thus for the trailing edge of the blade not to rub and cause drift, it has to be adjusted with more accuracy.
I've also got an SUV. The only issue I've ever had setting up for resaw is getting the table perfectly perpendicular to the blade. The loudly touted rack & pinion adjustment is a bit lacking in practice. I just took delivery of a 3/4" resaw king, when my current woodslicer dies I'll mount it up. I set my fences to the miter slots years ago and have never had a need to change them.
When I still had an issue after adjusting, increasing tension solved it.