Bandsawing bowl blanks

[Aaron Wingert]

Having some trouble I'm hoping you folks can help with.

Yesterday I scored some great walnut and juniper logs from a friend who has a tree service. I cut the 3' pieces into 6" to 8" thick slabs with the chainsaw.

Went to the bandsaw to cut the juniper in half and then into (beautiful)squares. Slathered the end grain with anchorseal, and moved on to the walnut.

The walnut slabs are about 20" in diameter. My bandsaw is a 220v 3 horse 19" model, and is very powerful. I normally use it for cutting heavy timber corbels and brackets as well as resawing hardwoods, and nothing slows it down. I sailed about halfway through the first walnut slab (the stuff is very very green) and realized that the saw kerf was closing up and binding the blade. To my amazement it brought the saw to a stop. I turned off the saw and went around the back side and drove a wedge into the saw kerf to spread it back out. If I had been thinking I would have spun the saw's wheels to see if the blade was freed, but I didn't. I assumed the blade was free...Which it wasn't...And when I started the saw I blew one of the motor's start capacitors ($32). Let me tell you that getting a half cut slab of wet walnut unstuck off the saw was not fun at all.

So, when you guys cut out wet blanks on the bandsaw, what measures do you take to avoid that slab from pinching the blade when the kerf closes? I'm thinking that next time I'll drive a wedge into the start of the cut right after there is room to do so.

Or am I going at this all wrong?

[Pete Jordan]

Aaron,

What size blade are you trying to cut with. It will probably not work with a resaw blade. I use this one from Highland Woodworking. http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=6944

[tom martin]

Aaron- I have run into the same problem a few times. A lot of stress locked up in some of the blanks, I have made a few tangent cuts to my bowl disks with either the band saw or chain saw and it seems to help. On really problematic logs I just knock the corners off with the chain saw, put it on the lathe and beat it into rough shape with an easy rougher. Good luck

[Steve Schlumpf]

Aaron - anymore I go straight from the chainsaw to the lathe but back when I had a smaller lathe I did use the bandsaw. I used to cut some reliefs into the blank every 4" to 6" so that as I progressed around the circle, the waste would just fall to the side.

[Burt Alcantara]

What blade are you using? I have a similar saw, G0514x2 with a 1/2" Lennox bi-metal. Since the saw is new to me I haven't cut that many blanks with it. You may want to try the Timberwolf greenwood blade. Otherwise, just go slowly.

Burt

[Aaron Wingert]

I was using a 1/2" 3tpi timberwolf blade, which was cutting like butter until the wood pinched it.

[David Christopher]

I use the timberwolf 3/4 3TPI and just use wedges in the kerf shortly after starting

[Aaron Wingert]

Here's how I was cutting the blank. The red cut represents the cut that the saw bound on, and the black boxes is what I was aiming to make next.

[Wyatt Holm]

I had similar trouble, check this out:
(cut & paste) aawforum.org/vbforum/showthread.php?t=5575

[Paul Atkins]

I've found that the wider the blade, the more binding with green wood. I'm using a 1/4" x 4t on my 20" PM which works for green wood up to full depth (12"). Still have to use wedges sometimes. I have to go a bit slower so as not to flex the blade too much, but the 1" blade just bogged down right away. I've got a bunch of black locust to cut next and will try 3/8" 4t for that. Wet wood just has it's own mind.

[Reed Gray]

A couple of things here. One, your blank has to have an almost perfectly flat surface to sit on the table of your bandsaw. If it isn't flat, any rocking of the blank can bind the blade. I use a Lennox bimetal blade as well for both resawing and circle cutting. I like the heavier 3 tpi blades with a wider set for clearing the wood shavings/dust. Almost all of the cutting on my bandsaws is cutting bowl blanks from green wood. Another thing is the walnut. I have noticed this before on Walnut (both black and English), and it was reinforced a week or so ago. Green walnut seems to dull blades very quickly. I figure it is the high acid content in the wood that dulls the edges so fast. It may even reduce the set to the teeth. A dull blade is much more prone to binding than a sharp one. I do relief cuts some times but more to be able to get the off cut parts out of the way than for relief of binding. I will trim up the sides and ends of the blank first so I end up with 4 corner pieces, rather than a hole.
robo hippy

[Jim Kountz]

Well cant say Ive ever experienced this on my bandsaw. Weird. I did get a blade specifically for green wood. Its a Woodslicer 3/8". Does an excellent job.

[Dick Strauss]

Aaron,
Were you using the TW 1/2-3tpi-AS blade meant for green wood? If not, I've found most standard set blades will bind in green wood. The TW AS blades produce a wide kerf to help prevent the wood fibers from jamming the blade. The wide kerf also helps with curved cuts.

The only time when I've had trouble with the TW 3/8"-3tpi-AS blades is when the blade had become too dull (not unlike me).

(I have no connection to TW though my note reads like an ad...just a happy customer)

[Gary Max]

The price of bandsaw blades just keeps going up and up---I bought a bigger Chainsaw.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I don't do much bandsawing, as I go mostly from chaisaw cut to the lathe, but I do use a "turners band" 3/8" wide 3 TPI for cutting round blanks or resawing spindle stock.
For a curved cut you need a narrower blade and for green wood you need a wider set and thicker band, straight cut like you're doing, you should shove a wedge in as soon as you can, that should prevent most cases of pinching IMO, and yes I've had them happen, but have always been able to free the blade by using a wedge, take care

[Ben Johnson]

Arron I made a sled similar to a table saw cross cut sled to ensure that the blank I am cutting does not shift and bind the blade. I have had no problems since.

[Roger Bell]

I also use the 3/8, 3 tpi heavy-set woodslicer "turners blade" from HH. It really helps.

And, like you, I also blew a capacitor after cutting up a green black walnut log on a MM 16 (for crying out loud), when using the turners blade. You are not alone. Coincidence? Maybe we both allowed our bands to get a little too dull or maybe we pushed too hard or whatever.

And, as Reed pointed out, my blanks surfaces are seldom dead flat off the chainsaw.

I like to BS my blanks before rough turning, since chucking up out of balance green blanks is hard on my small machine.

Keep those responses coming.

[Aaron Wingert]

Thanks to everyone for the responses and advice.

The blade was doing a superb job of cutting the green wood. When my new capacitor comes I'll have some wedges ready to go to tap into the saw kerf so hopefully this won't happen again! Lesson learned for sure.

My lathe is a 1220vs Jet, so I like to get blanks as round as possible before I start turning. Sure is handy to have a working bandsaw! :(