Help with bandsaw resaw problem

[John Coloccia]

So my saw has developed a new tick. Every resaw cut bows to the right. I took this as a good opportunity to install my new Kreg fence (my old fence had no drift adjustment at all). So I got everything installed, did the drift adjustment and....it bows to the right.
I've turned every knob and adjustment I can turn, every which way, and it always bows to the right regardless. Anyone have any ideas?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

John,

Is the "bow" to the right as you look down on the piece of wood as you look at it from the top while cutting it?

If it is, try another blade. Blades have been known to get damaged on one side and not the other and thus are dull on one set and sharp on the other. It leads to drifting.

[John Coloccia]

John,

Is the "bow" to the right as you look down on the piece of wood as you look at it from the top while cutting it?

If it is, try another blade. Blades have been known to get damaged on one side and not the other and thus are dull on one set and sharp on the other. It leads to drifting.

I'll give it a try. The blade is a nearly brand new 1/2" Woodslicer. I'll try another almost new 3/4" Woodslicer and see where I end up.

[Damon Stathatos]

Do what I do...just modify your design to include the bow.

But seriously, most of the time that ever happens to me, I first clean the pitch off of the teeth (acetone). If that doesn't do it, I change blades and get the old one sharpened.

[glenn bradley]

Good call on trying the other blade. When a saw that has done fine starts to wander, my first suspicion is that the blade is worn. Unfortunately, blade life is not really measured in time or lineal feet; it is measured in whether it is sharp or not ;-).

[Alan Schwabacher]

Can you adjust the drift a bit more to take it out or make it bow to the other side? Highland suggests using a resaw cut to fine tune the drift angle because they say bowing in the cut is a sign of a slightly off drift angle.

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/resawing-with-a-bandsaw-slicing-wood-2.aspx

A blade no longer sharp enough to resaw well can be sharp enough for other uses.

[John Coloccia]

Well, it was the blade. I put my 3/4" blade in and it's cutting beautifully again. I can't believe how quickly that 1/2" blade went to pot. I got maybe 5 or 10 cuts out of it, only one of which was resawing. Sheesh.

Thanks for all the help. I guess this should have been obvious but I wouldn't let myself believe that the blade could have gone bade already.

[ian maybury]

A small touch off something that blunts one side (like its getting to deep into a side guide) can i gather cause problems too John...

[Phil Thien]

Well, it was the blade. I put my 3/4" blade in and it's cutting beautifully again. I can't believe how quickly that 1/2" blade went to pot. I got maybe 5 or 10 cuts out of it, only one of which was resawing. Sheesh.

Thanks for all the help. I guess this should have been obvious but I wouldn't let myself believe that the blade could have gone bade already.

Use a diamond burr in a dremel and sharpen the blade. You can leave it right on the saw while you do this. It takes maybe a little more time than changing a blade, and you'd be surprised how sharp a sharpened blade can be.

[glenn bradley]

Well, it was the blade. I put my 3/4" blade in and it's cutting beautifully again. I can't believe how quickly that 1/2" blade went to pot. I got maybe 5 or 10 cuts out of it, only one of which was resawing. Sheesh.

Don't be too concerned that this will be the norm. I have a 3/4" blade that just keeps going for no known reason. The one before it went quickly and I was sawing up a bunch of soft construction fir. I was just cutting it down enough to get it in the waste bin; what a waste.

Following that activity it was pretty much shot for anything precision. Lesson learned; use a crappy blade on a circ saw or the Sawzall for that sort of thing ;-) My point is that even if it is not something obvious, wood is a natural product with inconsistencies. Some of which can speed a blade to its end.