Trouble with band saw cutting lumber from green log
user-2449436
| Posted in General Discussion on
When pushing the log-bearing sled through the band saw, the blade bends towards the log and obviously does not make a straight cut. It’s not drift, it’s bowing the blade. This is my first time trying to make lumber out of logs – I have no problems with any other band saw job.
It’s a Jet with the extension and a Timberwolf 1/2″ 3 tpi blade. I’ve got a ‘fresh’ spring to tension the blade and I’m dialed up to the 1/2″ mark. The wood is Toyon and it’s incredibly dense.
Any idea what’s happening?
Thanks in advance – Chuck B
Replies
Wet wood is always harder to cut. You may need to increase the tension -- the indicator on bandsaws are notoriously off.
Dense, wet wood is problematic. It may just be beyond your saw's ability.
I concur with John_2: wet wood presents particular problems for bandsaws, and a 1/2" blade may be too narrow to do a good job. As john_2 mentioned, the tensioning reference on the saw, any and every saw, is a unreliable.
My first recommendation is to increase the tension, slow-down the cut (let the blade do the cutting... not your attempts to push-though the blade}; second, get a 3/4" minimum blade.
I think you need more horse power to due what you are trying to do. The wet saw dust is the problem. If your saw can not pull it out of the cut fast enough it will bend the blade.
It can be a combination of things causing the issue. Make sure the log is on the outside of the blade. Tensioning the blade properly is less of an issue. See this video and others from Stockroom Supply, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W8k0_HP8srQ. In the video Ethan references other video’s on bandsaw drift in which he shows very little tension and no use of guides. Note the lack of tension he has on the blade in this video. Watch and learn how to cut straight cuts when cutting logs.
Well, after a lot of reading I invested in a Lenox Diemaster 1/2" 3-tooth blade. It performed better but it too bowed while cutting. The lignum vitae log mentioned in the Stockroom video here was dry - my toyon was wet, and I (and user-6480500) think that's what caused the problem. The saw did not slow down, but the blade quickly was coated with the sticky sawdust. After I gave up I had to clean the bandsaw blade AND the wheels of this very sticky stuff. It took a while.
Assuming that the sled has a rail underneath that slides in the tablesaw miter slot, it is likely that the blade is not perfectly parallel to the slot. This causes you to push the wood at an angle to the blade and once the rear of the blade touches the wood it bends its trajectory . To verify this, place a scrap plywood on the sled and cut it only a few inches. Stop the bandsaw leaving the piece in position and check if the rear of the blade can move freely in the width of the kerf. Say the blade steel is ,025’’ thick and the kerf width is ,045’’, the rear of the blade should sit in the Center not touching either side of the cut.
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