Bandsaws and Resawing, blades dulling, cuts curveballing... frustrating!

[Nick Sorenson]

I've noticed that with a new blade on my 18" Grizzly machine (Green and probably late 90's model) I can resaw decently. I have a Kreg fence I bought for this thing a while back. But... once the blade starts to dull a bit, resawing becomes guesswork as to if it will work or not. I wonder if this is the reason Mark Duginske uses that curved Kreg resaw fence that you can kind of steer the cut. All I know is that I don't like guessing when I'm cutting up expensive wood. I like to be able to trust my machine. I'd really like to get a better bandsaw eventually. I'm sure that would also boost resawing confidence but I'd probably still be up against dull blades and curving correct? Would this thing eliminate most of this problem? http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2005245/10595/Kreg-412-Resaw-Guide.aspx

[Sid Matheny]

What kind of blade are you using? Size, TPI and brand. I have found the Timber Wolf blades work best for me. Dull blades can cause the problem you are talking about and guiding the blade with a point type fence can help.

Sid

[Van Huskey]

Resawing + dull blade = bad mojo. Cure the problem don't treat the symptom. What blade are you using and what are you primarily resawing and what do you want the most out of your resaw blade ie finish quality/speed/longevity/price/wood savings etc. There is most likely a blade that will do what you want without dulling quickly, let us know what you want and we will be glad to recommend

[Nick Sorenson]

I've been using the Woodslicer (3tpi and 5/8") but from the other supplier in Florida name is slipping my mind (been a long day). It's a good blade. I think I expect it to last like my TS or RAS blade which is of course un-realistic since those are carbide and don't stretch either.

But what bothers me is that the blade still cuts like a hot knife through melted butter just not straight anymore.

That's where if it'd do the trick I'd rather spend $20 on the add on for my Kreg fence (http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2005245/10595/Kreg-412-Resaw-Guide.aspx). It's just hard for me to wrap my mind around replacing a blade that cuts clean and fast. With a TS Blade, it'll burn and be real hard to cut with when the blade dulls. I NEVER get this bandsaw's blade that dull before it's giving me right and left turns through the cut.

[Ira Matheny]

The problems of which you tell, it the exact reason I no longer own an 18" Griz band saw. I tried every trick in the book. New tires, tension gauges, new guides, new blades, and more new blades, etc, etc, & etc. NADA.
So now someone else ownes the the problems. I have a Laguna

[Nick Sorenson]

The problems of which you tell, it the exact reason I no longer own an 18" Griz band saw. I tried every trick in the book. New tires, tension gauges, new guides, new blades, and more new blades, etc, etc, & etc. NADA.
So now someone else ownes the the problems. I have a Laguna

I would think that what I describe would be a bandsaw thing more than a brand thing. But I've not owned a Laguna or any nice bandsaw for that matter so what do I know. My thoughts so far are that nice bandsaws have better guides, easier blade changes, less vibration. I'd still think that with blade wear eventually the saw will not cut along the same straight line as when the blade was new.

But maybe that's not the case with a high end saw I don't know since I have no experience there.

I can say, I am not a fan of the guides on my Grizzly saw. I've heard their new bandsaws are a bit higher quality but I haven't worked with one.

[Richard Dragin]

Based on your post I think we agree that the blade is the most important factor. If it's dull it doesn't matter what machine it is on. The next major factor is set up and tracking and on the older saws it is a real pain to go through all the needed adjustments. As the blade goes through it's useful life you are probably less likely to keep everything adjusted since it can be time consuming and frustrating relative the newer machines. Once adjusted properly the blade and wood don't know the difference between an old Taiwan import and a new Italian machine.

[Nick Sorenson]

That's what I was thinking regarding bandsaw quality vs cut quality. And yes I do hate setting up my bandsaw but I do it every time I change the blade or notice cut issues (or just see that the bearings aren't as tight to the blade as they used to be). Takes about 20-30 minutes plus the blade change time. That's where I wish I had a more accurate/smarter newer saw.

I think I may try the round Kreg fence again and see if it allows me to keep control while resawing a little better. If it doesn't do the trick, I'll either give up on resawing or change my blade very regularly. Fortunately I can eliminate most of the resawing I do if I wanted to simply by machining my work in other ways.

[John Lanciani]

I find that carbon steel resaw blades (Timberwolf, woodslicer, etc) only last for a couple hundred lf. of resaw duty at the max. I'd reccomend that you move up the blade spectrum a few notches if you want decent cuts and good blade life. Lenox bi-metal blades are a good stepping off point if you're not ready to take the carbide plunge.

[Phil Thien]

Where is the blade riding on the top wheel?

[Jim Finn]

"But what bothers me is that the blade still cuts like a hot knife through melted butter just not straight anymore".........
I find this occurring also. My fix is to replace the blade. I use 1/2" woodslicer blades to re-saw a lot of 8" red cedar and some oak. I now buy the blades five at a time. It is true, the blades still cut, but not as straight as they did at first. I now have about 4 semi sharp band saw blades that still work well for anything but 8" re-sawing.

[Terry Beadle]

I've used the Woodslicer 1/2 3tpi on my 30 yr old 12" Craftsman. I've always used a rounded point fence for re-sawing. I usually get several hundred feet of resaw which translates into several years use on each blade. I must say the Craftsman is not the top of the line ( it's probably not in the line....hoot! ) however lately I've switched to Olsen blades as they are quite a bit cheaper but I still get a couple years use from each blade.

IMO, as long as the blade will cut with out smoke-ing the wood, use the blade with a rounded fence. Rely-ing on a flat fence to resaw is a wishful thinking situation. Wood grain, density, and characteristics such as twist, vary so much in wood as a medium there's no way a flat fence can be relied on to hit the mark all the time. The exception to this rule is when you have a large batch of a certain wood, thickness, and supply, you can set up a flat fence and go to town. That said, one can become quite adapt at feeding to a line with a curved fence and not have to worry about the results.

The only other recommendation is that when a blade get towards it's end life of sharpness, then you must slow down the feed rate and let the blade breathe a lot more and expel the cut dust. If one is patient and frugal, one can use a fine diamond file on the teeth of a dull blade and get another 6 mo of use or more.

Bottom line: variety of material woods and wood growth dictate better results with a curved fence.

[John Lanciani]

Rely-ing on a flat fence to resaw is a wishful thinking situation. .

I guess I've been wishfully thinking for years then. I've cut 1000's of S.F. of veneer on my resaw with a long straight fence, and my veneer goes directly from the saw to the vacuum press. There is no way you're doing that with a rounded fence. There is no substitute for a sharp high quality blade combined with proper tension and setup.

I've worn out both Timberwolf and Woodslicer blades in an hour, and I don't have time to slow my feed rate for a dull blade. A bandsaw blade is no different than sandpaper, use it up and put a new one on. (For the record I use a 1" Lenox Trimaster on a 20" Minimax to resaw and I replace the blade as needed...)

[glenn bradley]

I believe John L. has cast some light on the "problem". If a new blade cuts great and then starts to cut/track poorly, it is dull. Tag it for grunge work and hang it on a nail. Have you kept track of the amount of length/height you get to resaw before the problem begins? Bandsaw blades are wear parts. Like matched-set router bits, once they have had it, they are cannon fodder. Many of our cutters can be resharpened and where would we be if we didn't keep a razor's edge on our chisels. plane irons, scrapers and so forth? Like John, I align my saw to cut straight and use a straight tall fence to resaw as opposed to fooling around trying to adjust for drift. I just layed off a batch of 1/16" thick slices (only 4" tall however) with a Woodslicer, no problem.

Now, if you are only getting a couple hundred lineal feet of decent cutting I would look at your material hardness and feed rate. If you're not cutting a lot of wenge or other highly abrasive woods (or even if you are) perhaps a carbide blade will get you the life expectancy you are after and you can resharpen. If you are just expecting more distance out of the steel blade than it can give, it won't matter what saw you put it on. In short, if the blade works great till you've been cutting for awhile, a "better" bandsaw doesn't sound like the fix. JMHO ;-)

[Al Weber]

You didn't by chance ding one side of the band somehow? If the blade is still sharp but you can't saw a straight line, maybe you've removed the set or damaged one side of the band somehow? While Wood Slicers are not the longest lasting blade, I've found they tend to cut well until they are dull unless you damage them when changing them or by sawing through something really hard like a tough knot or something embedded in the wood. You also don't say what kind of wood you are resawing as the very hard woods are very sensitive to feed rates and saw set up.

[Van Huskey]

You didn't answer my questions so I can't give much info.

Try here for some general info: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?149862-Lets-talk-bandsaw-blades!&highlight=lets+talk+bandsaw

Someone mentioned the "other" Woodslicer from Florida, that would be the Bladerunner from Iturra in Jacksonville, same stock cheaper price, for the same stock and even cheaper price look to Spectrum Supply, they call it the Kerfmaster, they are hardened spring steel blades with have their pros and cons, listed in the post I linked above.

All I can say is don't spend money trying to fix anything based on a dull blade, false economy...

[Phil Thien]

All I can say is don't spend money trying to fix anything based on a dull blade, false economy...

If a blade is dull, just sharpen it.

Again, diamond burr in a Dremel rotary tool marks short work of it.

My sharpened blades are sharper than anyone else's brand-new blades.

For resawing, I currently use a .025" thick bimetal 3-TPI hook blade. Mine is from MK-Morse, you can get similar elsewhere. I squished the set of the teeth (in a metal vice), and then sharpened with my diamond burr. It was brand-new when I did this. It turns an okay blade into an amazing blade.

I sharpen the blades right on the saw, no need to remove them. Bimetal blades don't need sharpening as frequently as spring steel or carbon blades.

My saw is an older Skil 10" with 7" of resaw height, and I can cut to that full 7" much faster than most people would think.

The WoodSlicer/BladeRunner/KerfMaster blades are good, they just require more frequent sharpening. They're nice and quiet due to their variable pitch. If I could find a 3,4-TPI 1/2" wide .025" thick blades, I'd be on those like white on rice.

So don't toss dull blades, sharpen them!

Unless they are carbide. Then have them professionally sharpened. :)

[Andrew Joiner]

Phil, Kerfmaster lists 3,4-TPI 1/2" wide .022" thick blade stock.

[Phil Thien]

Phil, Kerfmaster lists 3,4-TPI 1/2" wide .022" thick blade stock.

But I think it is the same Atlanta Sharptech stock as the WS and BR, it isn't bimetal, is it?

[Andrew Joiner]

No,not bi-metal.

[Jim Matthews]

If the blade gets dulled, it's from contact with something more abrasive than wood fiber.

Are you sawing through bark? Are you sawing something with a silicate in the wood?
Mesquite, cypress, live oak and Teak are hard on blades.

A more uniform domestic species like Cherry shouldn't dull a blade quickly.

How many board feet are you resawing before the problem appears?

jim
wpt, ma

[Bill Arnold]

FWIW, I have a 1/2" Woodslicer I've been using for 10 years on my Grizzly G0513. I resaw with the stock fence and adjust tracking to be parallel with the fence which is parallel with the blade which is parallel with the miter slot. I've never needed anything else to get good resaw up to 12".

[Nick Sorenson]

Resawing + dull blade = bad mojo. Cure the problem don't treat the symptom. What blade are you using and what are you primarily resawing and what do you want the most out of your resaw blade ie finish quality/speed/longevity/price/wood savings etc. There is most likely a blade that will do what you want without dulling quickly, let us know what you want and we will be glad to recommend

I'm sawing various woods: Mahogany, Walnut, Alder, Hard Maple, Rosewoods, Doug Fir, and sometimes Oak. The majority of my cutting seems to be Maple.

I don't care too much about finish quality but I get a very good finish from the 3 tpi woodslicers. Wood savings is a mute point for me as well since it still has to get planed and or jointed. Speed and longevity is probably my main concern. I don't like to have to babysit my bandsaw and hope that it will cooperate with me as I turn it on and cut. I've had it curve and ruin (or come close to ruining) good parts. So that's what I'm wanting most is reliability and predictability each time I cut.

[John Lanciani]

Speed and longevity is probably my main concern. I don't like to have to babysit my bandsaw and hope that it will cooperate with me as I turn it on and cut. I've had it curve and ruin (or come close to ruining) good parts. So that's what I'm wanting most is reliability and predictability each time I cut.

One word then; carbide. If I had your saw I'd be looking hard at a 1/2" x 3tpi trimaster. I know there is a lot of concern about metal fatigue with smaller wheels but I ran one to dull on a 14" saw with no band cracking.

[Van Huskey]

One word then; carbide. If I had your saw I'd be looking hard at a 1/2" x 3tpi trimaster. I know there is a lot of concern about metal fatigue with smaller wheels but I ran one to dull on a 14" saw with no band cracking.

I agree on carbide but I do subscribe to a thinner gauge, not just for fatigue on a smaller wheeld saw but the saws ability to properly tension a carbide blade, near 30,000 PSI. The 1/2" TM is a thin gauge (.025) so it is fine on a smaller saw assuming it can tension it. On the Grizzly I would use a 3/4" Laguna Resaw King also .025" where the Trimaster 3/4" is .035, too thick for the Grizzly to tension. Plus the RK leaves a better finish than the TM.

My guess is the cost of a carbide blade for the saw may turn him off, that is money he probably would prefer to put toward a better saw.

The problem with the balance of speed and longevity is whether the saw can tension any aggressive TPI bi-metal blades as there aren't a lot of them on the market. The best balance I know but it is going to push the tension ability of the saw would be a 1/2" Lenox Diemaster 2 in 3tpi, will not be super fast but it will last a LONG time. The low TPI bi-metal blades tend to be fairly thick and wide. Edit, forgot about the Olson MVP they make it in thin gauge bi-metal in 3 TPI. It would be my choice here, unless you want to go carbide or can find a thin gauge lower TPI bi-metal blade.

I would stay away from hardened spring steel (Woodslicer et al) and Swedish/silicon steel, both will dull very quickly.

[Nick Sorenson]

I adjusted the fence to match the drift at about 3 degree off straight and it works. Seems to do the trick. I hadn't noticed that my fence had slipped (had it matching the drift a while back) and it seems to have gone almost straight over time. Re-adjusted and for now it's back to good again.

[Van Huskey]

I adjusted the fence to match the drift at about 3 degree off straight and it works. Seems to do the trick. I hadn't noticed that my fence had slipped (had it matching the drift a while back) and it seems to have gone almost straight over time. Re-adjusted and for now it's back to good again.

Good deal! Makes the point we should start at the beginning when trouble shooting, even if we "think" nothing has changed!

[Chris Padilla]

Glad things are working again, Nick.

FWIW, on my 20" MM, I'm finding the Lenox Diemaster2 in 6 tpi, hook style, to cut on par with my Trimaster. In terms of cutting the maximum number of veneers from a plank of wood, they are about equal. The DM2 has a thinner kerf than the Trimaster but requires a bit more cleanup on the sander in my experience. Oh, one can buy about 5 DM2s for the price of one Trimaster and the DM2 does stay sharp for quite a while. I resawed around 20 3/32" veneers from two planks of walnut and the thing still seems brand new.

[Bill Arnold]

I adjusted the fence to match the drift at about 3 degree off straight and it works. Seems to do the trick. I hadn't noticed that my fence had slipped (had it matching the drift a while back) and it seems to have gone almost straight over time. Re-adjusted and for now it's back to good again.

If your Grizzly has a crowned tire like mine, the tracking adjustment will affect the angle of the blade.

[Jim Finn]

[QUOTE=Bill Arnold;1923264]If your Grizzly has a crowned tire like mine, the tracking adjustment will affect the angle of the blade.[/QUOTE................]I do not understand how that will effect the blade angle. The top and bottom roller guides should straighten out any bias caused by the tire. No?

[Chris Parks]

Tracking must affect the blade angle but don't take my word for it try it yourself by making some fairly large changes and watch what happens to the so called "drift angle". Properly set up there is no drift angle which sort of negates a lot of what so called drift fences are all about.

[Pinwu Xu]

Edit, forgot about the Olson MVP they make it in thin gauge bi-metal in 3 TPI. It would be my choice here, unless you want to go carbide or can find a thin gauge lower TPI bi-metal blade.

I would stay away from hardened spring steel (Woodslicer et al) and Swedish/silicon steel, both will dull very quickly.

Just want to make sure here, so the Olson MVP is bi-metal? Like http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H6FVLK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A2NWLOWWF5G7JX ?

TIA

[Van Huskey]

Just want to make sure here, so the Olson MVP is bi-metal? Like http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H6FVLK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A2NWLOWWF5G7JX ?

TIA

I admit I have never seen Olson actually call them bi-metal, not sure why but they indeed are. The discription at http://www.olsonsaw.com/ again does not say bi-metal but says "Cobalt / Molybdenum High Speed Steel Edge, Tempered Back" which is the typical M-42 high speed steel used in bandsaw blades with a Rc of about 66.

No worries, the MVP is a bi-metal blade!