Resawing & drift

[Victor Robinson]

I just set up my bandsaw (G0555) yesterday and have been cutting away since then. Since I purchased the saw primarily for resawing, naturally I started cutting thin slices off of scrap boards I could find. Most importantly, I wanted to practice adjusting the fence for drift.

I tuned up the saw based on Grizzly's instructions as well as what I've learned from various videos (e.g. Wood Whisperer) and on SMC. Just the simple stuff - getting the side and rear bearings right, tensioning and tracking the blade, getting the blade and fence square. I'm no machinist, so I did all of these things at what I'll call novice tolerance levels.

I started slicing away at 3" wide beech stock guided by the fence, taking off 1/8" and then 1/16" slices. The max length I have resawn is only 12", but so far I am not seeing any noticeable drift (at least by eye - I'm sure the calipers would say otherwise). This is with the junk stock blade (haven't gotten my blades yet).

It seems like there are a lot of conflicting opinions on the drift issue, with some arguing that fences with humps and pivot points are merely compensating for a poorly tuned saw. On the other hand, some very experienced guys like Marc Spagnuolo say they've never used a single blade that didn't need drift compensation. Now I'm not AT ALL saying I've eliminated drift and it's possible I'll see some of it when I resaw longer lengths or wider boards. But this has me optimistic.

So did I just get lucky? Or is it true that with some moderately careful tuning you can just about eliminate drift?

[Van Huskey]

Take a piece of 3/4" stock rip it against the fence for 2-3 inches shut the saw off and see if the BACK of the blade is sitting perfectly in the middle of the cut, if so no drift. Drift is as much or more a result of the blade than it is the saw.

[Karl Card]

I have a 9 inch ryobi bandsaw that i use for small stuff and i tell ya with the right blade and right tune up it cuts rosewood just like butter... and both pieces are the same size when finished.. For a low end saw I am very impressed. Now if i can get my 14 inch to do that..

[Victor Robinson]

Take a piece of 3/4" stock rip it against the fence for 2-3 inches shut the saw off and see if the BACK of the blade is sitting perfectly in the middle of the cut, if so no drift. Drift is as much or more a result of the blade than it is the saw.

No drift.

I can't wait til I get my real blades and I'm unable to get rid of the drift. :) But the junk stock blade....nooooo drift!

By the way, may as well ask here...it's ok to cut aluminum on the bandsaw, right? I think I saw a video on FWW about that...

[Chris Padilla]

IMO, drift can be dialed out of your bandsaw but perhaps it is tougher to do on some bandsaws versus others. I haven't used anything but my MM20 and it cuts beautifully and I use a full fence (Kreg).

[David Romano]

My method for handling the drift problem is to first adjust the fence to align with the miter gauge slot. Then I tension and track the blade. Then I make a test cut and rotate the table to compensate for the drift as best I can. If another test cut shows that some drift remains, I adjust the tracking slightly to point the blade to compensate for the direction of drift. The more crown to the upper wheel, the better this would work. My wheels are just barely crowned and it works for me. Once you have the drift removed, draw a pencil line on the upper wheel along the back of the blade. Use this line as a guide when you have to retension/retrack your blade.

If you can't achieve this, try to keep table rotated to a position that makes the miter gauge useful. Since we normally can't make long cut cuts on a bandsaw anyway, perfection is relatively easy. I can make a 6" cut at a perfect 90 angle. If the fence is not aligned with the miter slots, so what. At least the miter slot is useful.

I've got my saw set up this way and both my 3/4" blade and my 1/4" blade don't display any drift.

[Chip Lindley]

Victor, whether you are lucky, or your bandsaw is good, remains to be seen! But, you have a combination which allows you to resaw pieces of even thickness, with consistent repeatablilty! That is the object of resawing! Whether the fence is straight or skewed is of little consequence to the end result of cutting consistent veneers. I am not so prideful that I cannot tolerate my bandsaw fence angled slightly to the left!

Your next blade may behave far differently, necessisatating repositioning of the fence, angled to left or right. Each blade is different. For now, if it ain't broke don't fix it, and Enjoy!

[Stephen Edwards]

Two years now with a G0555X and never had a drift issue at all. I've only used Timber Wolf blades.

I'm with Chip: if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Enjoy your new saw..........

[glenn bradley]

Another no-drifter.

[Van Huskey]

Jeez, I have used a bunch of Italian saws with top of the line blades and NEVER put a blade on a single one with absolutely zero drift, close but never perfect. You guys are very lucky, but I never have seen driift as a problem, it is a normal occurance that you deal with once when you put the blade on and tenson it, but I must admit I have the fences that have 4 allen head bolts!!! I always felt like it was worse with more narrow blades at less tension, maybe I have just thought that, may start paying more attention.

[Pete Bradley]

+1 for drift being massively overrated. Enjoy your new machine!

[Karl Card]

drift...???? whats drift....just kidding. drift bothers me alot but as others have said that if you want to take the time you can usually get it out... I did see a test here about a week ago where the 555 scored better than a particular jet for drift... that is saying something..

[Mike Wilkins]

I may have read this in one of the bandsaw books on the market. The larger the saw & the wider the blade, the less you have to worry about drift. Drift is usually the result of small, worn blades, and machines with inadequate power.
I own a Laguna LT18 and never had a problem using 1" blades in thick stock.
Could'nt say the same for the Delta 14" I used to own. Could'nt use any blades over 1/2" without drifting one way or another.
You should not have much in the way of drift with your Grizzly.

[Duane Murray]

I would like to thank everyone on this thread for reaffirming what I had discovered with my 14" Shop Fox and that is 0 drift! After reading so may posts before I purchased the saw, I was amazed when I found even the OEM blade cut laser straight and began began thinking I may have the only one in captivity. They only problem I found was home built fence wasn't perfectly 90 degrees even though I was sure it was. Now a few weeks later and after rebuilding my fence I'm resawing 10" white oak with dead on accuracy and I'm loving every minute of it! :D:D:D

[Tom Lowry]

Great info. I'm ready to replace my Craftsman 9" and the G0555 is a definite candidate.

[Bob Wingard]

You can tune/track a saw to not drift or compensate for it .. pretty much the same results either way. I like a properly setup tool, so I choose to dial out the drift.

[William Falberg]

You can tune/track a saw to not drift or compensate for it .. pretty much the same results either way. I like a properly setup tool, so I choose to dial out the drift.

You can tune the saw; you can tune the fence; you can find a blade that doesn't care what you do and cut straight anyway. Getting that smooth finish is where it gets tricky. Doing it quickly is where it gets expensive. Cryptic, huh? Relationships are always SUCH a hassle!