resawing with a grizzly G0514X2

[nelson banning]

I have a 19''' Grizzly band saw. Trying to resaw several boards of various sizes, with no luck. I have tried different blades sizes, etc. It either horseshoes away from fence, or it veers out. Any suggestions?

[glenn bradley]

Wow, no help on a bandsaw question?

I think a little more information about the method you're using might get you some more answers. Things that will affect your ability to resaw successfully can certainly involve your blades. Since you've tried multiple blades we're going to look at the saw.

If you saw some 1 inch thick material does it saw straight? How thick does the material have to be before you start getting tracking problems?

[nelson banning]

yes. been trying to resawing some 1X4 stock. runs out everytime. 1X2 does better, but not much.

[lee cox]

Did you set your fence to cut straight on the bandsaw? I take a board draw a straight line down it. Then cut a little ways down the line free hand so you are cutting on the straight line. Turn the saw off leaving the board in place. Adjust the fence to the angle on the board you cut. Your fence should be adjusted. I am no expert but I have been cutting some 1/8 cedar this way and it works well for me.

[Marc Burt]

What blades have you used? Are you sure you're tensioning them correctly? How fast are you pushing?

I have the same saw. I had tremendous problems with vibrations after moving to my new shop but other than that I have no problems reswwing 8" boards. (I've not had occasion to try anything bigger) So take heart, the machine is capable. I'm sure others will chime in with great tips.

[Van Huskey]

First, exactly what blades are you using (brand, model, TPI, width etc).

What species of wood?

What method do you use to set the tension?

[Adam Way]

Nelson, have you adjusted your fence for blade drift?

(I apologize if this is an obvious question)

[Mike Cutler]

Nelson

We need a little more info.
That saw should be fully capable of re-sawing and the fence should not have to be adjusted for drift. My 18" Rikon 540 has the fence set parallel to the blade and I can re-saw to within a 32nd- 64th in thickness variation, regardless of material length, or width. Not finish ready obviously, but close enough for book matching. Yours is much nicer, more powerful and heavier, saw than mine.

My saw is set up using a dedicated, 1" lennox ,2/3 vari-pitch, Trimaster blade for re-saw. The fence is not set for any drift whatsoever. The blade, table and fence are all at 90 degree angles to each other. Bearings are set to within the "dollar bill" gap from the blade. Blade teeth are set a little more forward on the wheels than I like, but that's where they want to track for best performance. The hook of the tooth is about an 1/8" from the front of the wheel. ( I have no crown to the tires). Tension is pretty much just a little shy of max, but leaving enough gap between spring coils to know that I still have an active spring.( You gotta have an active spring. ;))

What does "horseshoeing" mean. Are you getting a convex curve through the width of the material? Are the tires clean, and is that fence rock solid? You may have to clamp the back of the fence to keep it from toeing out. I clamp stop blocks to the front and back of mine once it's set to ensure the fence absolutely does not move.

[nelson banning]

thanks. I'll start over and try these tips. first time trying to resaw. thanks again.

[Alan Schwabacher]

Try cutting more slowly. Problems can result from sawdust filling the gullets between teeth, causing the blade to deflect in order to cut. This is one reason fewer teeth per inch are helpful: more room for sawdust.

[Wade Lippman]

I had no problems resawing 8" on a 514. My experience is that problems come with a dull blade.

4" stock can be resawed on a tablesaw. A bit more waste, but hard to do wrong.

[Jim Finn]

The only time I have ever had "drift" while re-sawing with my 14" saw is when the bade was dull.

[Van Huskey]

Maybe it is the holidays and people are busy but to get proper help we do need more info otherwise we are throwing darts in the dark. This can be a problem since sending you down the wrong path may result in making adjustments the compound the issue and lead to more frustration and getting farther away from a solution.

[Gerry S. Wojtowicz]

Don't know if this thread is still being monitored. I have a Grizzly G1148 15 inch bandsaw. I want to start resawing some wood, generally 6 quarters thick by 10 inches. Various types of wood. My question js do I need a resaw fence (Grizzly makes one, but I don't think it fits my saw, which they no longer make), or will a properly tuned up bandsaw resaw without a specific fence?

THANK YOU

[glenn bradley]

Don't know if this thread is still being monitored. I have a Grizzly G1148 15 inch bandsaw. I want to start resawing some wood, generally 6 quarters thick by 10 inches. Various types of wood. My question js do I need a resaw fence (Grizzly makes one, but I don't think it fits my saw, which they no longer make), or will a properly tuned up bandsaw resaw without a specific fence?

THANK YOU

There are folks like me who setup their saw and fence and use them with good success despite stock height or blade changes. There are folks who adjust their fence for drift as their blades age or when they change blades. Either of these folks may use a post or knife fence add-on to allow the operator to alter the feed path to get a true cut. I made a simple one once upon a time.

395217

Once I had my saw setup I found it of no use and it is around the shop somewhere. Mine wasn't this involved but, here's a version:

395214

I do not know what result you are after but, the result from resawing without a guide of some kind could be pretty variable. There are a lot of plans for shop made bandsaw fences on the web. A well made right-angle assembly clamped to your table will work. Fancier ones work more elegantly or more easily or both ;-)

I use the fence that came with my saw. I once did a set of pics for a "drift" discussion showing results as I changed blades without adjusting anything but the guides. Let me look . . . ah, here we go. I made each cut off of a white oak scrap using this setup.

395216

The only thing I changed was the blade and I moved the fence a bit closer to the blade to make up for the previous off cut.

395215

The point being that there are a lot of ways to resaw. Some take more effort (and sometime a bit of cash) up front, others take more time for each cut but, you can get good results with a good blade and setup. The better your setup, probably the more consistent your result. There is always 'that guy' who seems to be able to freehand almost anything. I am not that guy. A good repeatable setup is my defense for mere-mortal skills :D

[Curt Harms]

Gerry I had the saw for a while. The wheels are crowned if I recall correctly. You might try varying where the band tracks on the top wheel. Setting the band to track toward the front of the top wheel will cause drift one way, toward the back of the top wheel will drift the other. I don't recall which is which, sorry. If the band tracks in the center of top wheel but not in the center of the bottom wheel you can adjust the lower wheel so the band tracks in the center of both. I also took a piece of 1/4" ply with a good straight edge and cut that straight edge into a 'C' shape so that the ply wood clears the case and table but the straight portion would contact the top and bottom of each wheel. That way I was able to get the wheels parallel to one another. The bottom wheel is adjustable but how to do so was not obvious to me, Grizzly tech support told me how to do it.

[glenn bradley]

Curt brings up a good point. My G0513X tires are crowned. I took a Saturday morning and made my wheels coplaner but, that will start another discussion with many opinions. What Curt refers to is the influence on the blade based on position on the top wheel.

395276

The graphic is not super accurate. It is just meant to show the influence on the blade path. A good indicator for me is if my side bearing guides are getting rubbed and brought into play. On my saws this happens now and again through a cut. If your side bearings are engaged the whole time, your blade is fighting the path the whole time.

[Brian Behrens]

I have the same saw. I get great results with the Wood slicer 3/4" resaw blade from Highland Woodworking. My saw cuts dead straight with no fence adjustment for drift. Do you have good dust collection attached to both ports?

Check out the video called "Bandsaw clinic with Alex Snodgrass" on youtube. Particularly on where the blade should sit on a crowned wheel

[Rick Alexander]

I have the same saw. I get great results with the Wood slicer 3/4" resaw blade from Highland Woodworking. My saw cuts dead straight with no fence adjustment for drift. Do you have good dust collection attached to both ports?

Check out the video called "Bandsaw clinic with Alex Snodgrass" on youtube. Particularly on where the blade should sit on a crowned wheel

This is absolutely great advice. I have the 514 Grizz and had similar issues until I followed Alex's setup process - fixed mine right up. Love that saw - that 3HP motor just doesn't care what wood or how deep.

[Gerry S. Wojtowicz]

Glenn,
Thanks.
I notice your fence is 6 inches high. That would help kn resawing I would guess.
My plan is to tune up the bandsaw, try resawing without special fences, see how that goes.
What about blade? Resaw specific?

[glenn bradley]

Glenn,
Thanks.
I notice your fence is 6 inches high. That would help kn resawing I would guess.
My plan is to tune up the bandsaw, try resawing without special fences, see how that goes.
What about blade? Resaw specific?

The reason the fence helps is that the saw is setup so that I can feed the material tight against the fence and get a straight cut. If you need to chase a line, not so much :)

I have had good results with Timberwolf 2-3 VPC in 1/2", and 3/4" - Cut is faster and rougher but very reliable. I'll run these until I run out of them. If you go this way, ask Suffolk (you need to call them to order) if they are having the "buy 3 get one free deal". I've never seen it advertised but, heard about it here and have always gotten it; maybe its just luck.
Woodslicer in 1/2" - narrower kerf and smoother, slower cut. I use this when I just HAVE to squeeze three boards out of that blank!!! :)
Resaw King in 1/2" - This is my current resaw for tough work or long runs of sawing. Faster and also clean; just a bit pricey.

Contrary to some folks I run all my blades with the tension set via the flutter method. I don't know if I get way with this because my wheels are coplaner or not but, I have never run at high tension. All I know is that since I aligned the saw and the wheels, I change blades whenever I want and the only thing I have to adjust is the guides. Lots of other good blades out there too.