Is It The Bandsaw, The Wood, The Blade or...?

[Julie Moriarty]

You have the patience of a saint if you actually read all this but I thank you profusely for whatever help you can provide.

I have a Jet JWBS-18 bandsaw with a 1-1/2 HP motor. It's primarily used for resawing boards from 3-9" wide. Most woods are African or South American in origin.

Blades used are Lenox Woodmaster CT (1", 1.3TPI), Resaw King and the newest addition is Lenox Tri-Master (1-1/4" 3TPI).

The Woodmaster CT resawed a bunch of 8/4 sapele with pretty good results. When I tried resawing pecky Bolivian walnut, it couldn't handle it. So I bought the Resaw King and was able to resaw up to 9" wide PBW. Maybe 100' linear feet. Since then I have used it occasionally for smaller work.

Next resaw was zebrawood. For a neighbor. After the Resaw King failed to track, I reluctantly installed the brand new Tri-Master. After painstakingly setting it up, I ran a 48"Lx8"W piece of 8/4 to 1/4" thickness. Perfect! So we set up to resaw two 8/4 zebrawood boards. One was 6-1/2" wide, the other 8-1/2" wide. Both were about 9' long. Both had been jointed on two faces. The cut was set for a final 1/2" thickness.

It started off fine. Then the 20A breaker tripped. So I told my neighbor to slow the feed rate. I was keeping the wood pressed to the 6" tall fence while he pushed. Twice more the breaker tripped and both times we again slowed the feed rate.

On the last two cuts, blade drift started up. It got pretty bad so we had to flip the boards to finish up.

Past experience tells me blade drift is caused by a dull blade, too fast a feed rate, too shallow of a gullet or a poorly aligned fence. I have the Laguna Driftmaster fence, which I have found to be unnecessary, but even incorporating those features of the fence didn't stop the drift.

BTW, the dust collector drum was filled with a fine dust. The Tri-Master wasn't acting like a rip blade but rather finely removing the wood.

So I'm wondering why these carbide tipped blades seem to fail so quickly? Is the motor under powered? Are the blades not designed to handle these woods at these thicknesses? Do we have to slow feed rates to a snail's pace? It takes a LOT of pressure to feed the wood as it is.

Thoughts?

[John TenEyck]

If it takes a lot of pressure for the blade to cut, especially the 1.3 tpi CT, then the blade is dull. Simple as that. 100 ft doesn't seem like much, but if the Resaw King started drifting it must be dull, too.

The good news is you can easily sharpen the 1.3 tpi CT. I posted here how to do it a couple of months ago. Once you've got a sharp blade you need to put enough tension on it to cut well as long as possible. I recommend 25 ksi assuming your saw can muster it. I you aren't measuring blade tension I recommend you do to verify your saw is capable. If it's not, go with a narrower blade. A 3/4" blade works fine for resawing even 12" stock. I doubt your saw can tension a 1-1/4" blade. If it's robust enough to tension a 1-1/4" blade it most likely would have more than 1.5 HP to drive it.

As for HP, 1.5 isn't much for resawing, and that may be contributing to what may be premature blade wear. My rule of thumb is you need 1 HP for every 3 - 4 inches of resaw height, so 1.5 HP is good or about 6 - 8". Dense, hard wood is going to take more HP, and so is the aggressive tooth of the 1.3 tpi CT. You are probably best off with the Resaw King, and it sounds like you cut the most square feet with it before it dulled.

Sharp blade, 25 ksi, and probably 2 or 3 tpi to better match your available HP. Good luck.

John

[Derek Cohen]

Julie, you sound like you know what you are doing in the set up, but the blades are new and should not be acting as if dull so quickly. I can get a really excellent resaw off a freshly sharpened 1/2” bimetal blade, but prefer to use a Lenox carbide 1” Woodmaster CT because it is even better. In other words, it really shouldn’t be the blades you are using.

It shouldn’t be you either, but the presence of dust makes me wonder if the blades are installed the right way around! Only partially kidding :)

That leaves the machine. It appears that the blades are each not holding tracking for more that one or two cuts. I wonder if you have enough tension on them? It would make sense that they need the very nth degree if sharpness to track if under-tensioned, but then the woods you use, while abrasive, should not dull a carbide blade for a long, long time. Perhaps there is something going on with the guides? They may be loosening up after a very short time, and each time when you change blades they are reset. That is where I would look. That and ensure the CT, especially, has enough tension.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Richard Coers]

I've never used a Resaw Master, but the most common statement is the amazing surface finish. To me that indicates very little set in the tooth. For doing a lot of resawing, I use blades from sawmill supply houses. I use 3/4" wide blade with 3/4 tooth pitch. That's a tooth every 3/4". Lots of set produces a rough surface, but very efficient cutting speed. Exotics can have a lots of properties not found in domestic wood. You can see mica specs, waxy feel, and high oil content. All can make high production and tool life an issue.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I have the same saw, and use mine only with a 1/2" 3 TPI blade. This seems to work fine for resawing cherry and walnut up to 9" wide or so, but I am not trying to resaw 9 foot boards, just pieces long enough to make guitars and such. I resawed some 2" wide zebrawood the other day and it cut very easily, but I was just making banjo fretboards so much less of a load than your situation. I would try a narrower blade that you can get tight and see how that goes.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I'd bet it's the wood's wear on the blades that is causing the drift and the difficulty feeding it/ premature wear.

[Dave Sabo]

I’m pretty sure your problems lie with the saw and blade choice.

That saw is is underpowered for the dense hardwoods you’re resawing. 2nd , you are using waaaaaay too wide of a blade for that machine ; especially at 1- 1/4”. No way that saw can tension a blade that wide. None. Derek is already wondering this. John concurs.

Sapele is pretty hard, not sure on the pecky walnut, but zebrano is wicked hard. I’m not surprised you threw a breaker on a 9’ x 6” cut.

I’m guessing 3/4” carbide is about the max youR saw will reliably tension properly. I’d also ditch 3 tpi blades for exotics too.

[Julie Moriarty]

If it takes a lot of pressure for the blade to cut, especially the 1.3 tpi CT, then the blade is dull. Simple as that. 100 ft doesn't seem like much, but if the Resaw King started drifting it must be dull, too.

The good news is you can easily sharpen the 1.3 tpi CT. I posted here how to do it a couple of months ago. Once you've got a sharp blade you need to put enough tension on it to cut well as long as possible. I recommend 25 ksi assuming your saw can muster it. I you aren't measuring blade tension I recommend you do to verify your saw is capable. If it's not, go with a narrower blade. A 3/4" blade works fine for resawing even 12" stock. I doubt your saw can tension a 1-1/4" blade. If it's robust enough to tension a 1-1/4" blade it most likely would have more than 1.5 HP to drive it.

As for HP, 1.5 isn't much for resawing, and that may be contributing to what may be premature blade wear. My rule of thumb is you need 1 HP for every 3 - 4 inches of resaw height, so 1.5 HP is good or about 6 - 8". Dense, hard wood is going to take more HP, and so is the aggressive tooth of the 1.3 tpi CT. You are probably best off with the Resaw King, and it sounds like you cut the most square feet with it before it dulled.

Sharp blade, 25 ksi, and probably 2 or 3 tpi to better match your available HP. Good luck.

John

Thank you, John.

I followed Matthais Wandel's advice on sharpening the Woodmaster CT. Must have done a poor job, though. I'm sending to Dynamic Saw for professional sharpening. The Resaw King, too.

The manual for the Jet JWBS-18 says it can handle up to 1-1/2" wide blades. I always tension past the gauge on the saw when resawing. Press testing on the side of the Tri-Master, it gave very little. Since that first test cut went so well, I figured the tension must be good. My neighbor has little woodworking experience and can be a bit of a beast (as in, "Muscle overcomes all difficulties") and I had to remind him several times to ease back on the pressure. But even he was beat after we finished resawing the first two boards. And there are two more to go. He now wants to rip the edges on the table saw and let the bandsaw finish the rest. Probably a good idea.

Not much I can do now about the 1.5HP now. But I thought I ordered 2/3 TPI on the Tri-Master. That 3 TPI blade requires certainly produces a lot of fine dust. Never seen that before.

[Jeff Bartley]

I would be suspect of tension too.

Maybe you could try a 1/2 3TPI bimetal blade and see how it does? If it works then perhaps a 1/2 3TPI carbide would the long term winner?

Full disclosure: I don’t have much experience with carbide blades, I bought a used Agazzani that came with a resaw king, I’m pretty sure that blade was toast when I got it because it never cut well. Laguna wasn’t very helpful when I called for advise so if I ever go the carbide route again it’ll be a Lenox wood master CT.

And I still need to make John’s tension gauge!

[Julie Moriarty]

Julie, you sound like you know what you are doing in the set up, but the blades are new and should not be acting as if dull so quickly. I can get a really excellent resaw off a freshly sharpened 1/2” bimetal blade, but prefer to use a Lenox carbide 1” Woodmaster CT because it is even better. In other words, it really shouldn’t be the blades you are using.

It shouldn’t be you either, but the presence of dust makes me wonder if the blades are installed the right way around! Only partially kidding :)

That leaves the machine. It appears that the blades are each not holding tracking for more that one or two cuts. I wonder if you have enough tension on them? It would make sense that they need the very nth degree if sharpness to track if under-tensioned, but then the woods you use, while abrasive, should not dull a carbide blade for a long, long time. Perhaps there is something going on with the guides? They may be loosening up after a very short time, and each time when you change blades they are reset. That is where I would look. That and ensure the CT, especially, has enough tension.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Thanks, Derek. As I said in the first post, the Woodmaster CT really performed well on sapele. And that was my go-to resaw blade for the last 7-8 years. But it's probably dull now. The Resaw King hasn't been used all that much. I resawed sipo mahogany for some guitar sides and for a few other projects. And then there was the pecky Bolivian walnut. That stuff has hardened resin in it that can chip off and get caught in the cut. I thought that may have been the culprit, if in fact the blade is dull.

On to the machine... When I was setting up the Tri-Master, the blade seemed to be tracking properly on the wheels. Of course, what is "properly"? There seems to be some different schools of thought on that. I had for years simply centered the blade on the wheel. But then I saw a video (can't remember his name but he does demonstrations for setting up bandsaws). IIRC, he said to lay the teeth slightly ahead of the crown of the wheel. I haven't tried that so the Tri-Master was set up centered on the wheel.

After we were done, I opened up everything to clean it out. I found the blade fairly far forward on the wheel, with the teeth almost to the edge of the wheel. Did it fall out of alignment due to over-tension or was it from applying so much pressure in the feed or did I just fail to recheck it after setting it up? I don't know but it concerns me.

As for the guides, I'm not all that crazy about them. They are the type where the flat side of the wheels press against the side of the blades. There have been times when the top ones have loosened and ended up clamping down on the blade and stopping it cold. That rarely happens now because I've learned to seriously tighten the guides and leave more space than I used to. But that leaves some slop. Maybe it's time to pop for a better guide set.

[Julie Moriarty]

I just checked on the bandsaw again to see if what I wrote above was accurate. It wasn't. The teeth of the blade were actually protruding past the outer edge of the wheel. After fixing that, I checked the tension again. It seemed loose. Could the new blade have stretched a bit? Anyway, I tightened it again and reset the guides. I have a short piece of zebrawood here (my neighbor has the rest for sanding) and I'll see how that goes. It's about 6" wide but probably too short to see if there is drifting. But it will be interesting to see if all I get is fine dust. That shouldn't be.

[Eric Schmid]

As a point of comparison, try a steel tooth blade in the 1/2-3/4” range. My guess is you will see significant improvement in the ability to tension these blades on that saw, which will lead to a completely different resaw experience. In my experience, blade deflection is a huge consumer of power.

Brute power is only one factor in any machine’s performance. I doubt it’s the weakest link in solving your resaw woes. I would address the blade tension first and this likely means using a narrower blade.

As I understand it, maximum blade width refers to the wheel and guide capacity rather than the saws ability to tension. A properly tensioned blade with sharp teeth solves a lot of problems.

I imagine the blades you are using are not failing quickly, but rather exposing the limitations of that particular saw’s ability to tension and power the blade past a point of optimal performance. Meaning, once initial blade sharpness declines slightly there is not enough tension and horsepower to overcome it. Our natural inclination to push harder probably don’t help with blade life either.

[John TenEyck]

Only the rear guide bearings have any great impact when resawing, and with enough tension even they aren't needed much. The side guides are there for cutting curves; if you need them to cut straight then something else is wrong and it's usually low tension and/or a dull blade.

Rather than guessing at the tension buy or build a tension meter and find out what it really is. I'd bet money that saw cannot put 25 ksi on a 1-1/2" blade, and seriously doubt it can do it on a 1-1/4" one. But the only way to know is to measure it.

Blades don't permanently stretch unless you exceed the elastic limit of the steel which isn't going to happen. If the blade is moving on the wheels, especially forward, then the tracking wasn't set up right or something moved or bent during use.

You can tell if a blade is dull by visual inspection. Get a magnifying glass and look at the corners of the teeth. You should see a sharp corner. If instead you see a flat spot, it's dull. A sharp blade will catch the back of your fingernail; a dull one won't.

With the info. available, I would focus on 3/4" or narrower blades like the Resaw King. It's thinner than the other carbide blades which will result in higher tension and also help the 1.5 HP motor do its best.

John

[Julie Moriarty]

With the info. available, I would focus on 3/4" or narrower blades like the Resaw King. It's thinner than the other carbide blades which will result in higher tension and also help the 1.5 HP motor do its best.

John

I have to admit I'm not all that impressed with the Resaw King. That's the blade we started off with on the zebrawood. It hadn't been used all that much prior. As I mentioned before, the only wide boards I resawed with that blade were sipo and pecky walnut. I'd be surprised if I ran more than 100 linear feet of wide boards and not much more of narrower boards.

I checked the corners of the Resaw King tips and they look pretty square. However, they didn't do so well with the fingernail test. On freshly sharpened edges, I can feel the edge shaving off the nail. This I hardly felt. And there was very little nail shaved off. So I guess it's dull. That's pretty disappointing that it should have dulled so quickly. I think I paid something like $275 for that blade. I only paid around $900 for that saw, brand new. But that was maybe 20 years ago.

[Don Stephan]

Might there be evidentiary value in resawing some wider poplar and perhaps maple or cherry. The woods shouldn't be too expensive and the experience might shed some light on the issue(s).

[glenn bradley]

Just to add more data to your decision-engine . . . I use the 1/2" Resaw King on a relatively inexpensive Grizzly 17" bandsaw with good result. I have run it for a couple of years through leopardwood, shedua, white oak, maple, walnut and the usual suspects. It is far from "new" and still performs well. Your fingernail test makes me wonder if between the PBW and the Zebra wood some of the odd-jobs led to a fouled blade? Obviously we have to watch our guide setup when changing blades but a carbide tipped blade with a bad guide setup would be pretty obvious when hand turning the wheels to check prior to applying power to the machine. The point being, that blade should not be in that shape after the period of use you have. I do keep a few Timberwolf 2-3 VPC bands on hand which do well for the first 100 feet or so in tough material. I consider them very disposable blades but, having a couple on hand could save you from a work stoppage.

[Mark Rainey]

I use the 1/2" Resaw King on a relatively inexpensive Grizzly

Glenn, do they still make a 1/2 Resaw King? I have not see that available. Did they stop making them?

[Julie Moriarty]

Just to add more data to your decision-engine . . . I use the 1/2" Resaw King on a relatively inexpensive Grizzly 17" bandsaw with good result. I have run it for a couple of years through leopardwood, shedua, white oak, maple, walnut and the usual suspects. It is far from "new" and still performs well. Your fingernail test makes me wonder if between the PBW and the Zebra wood some of the odd-jobs led to a fouled blade? Obviously we have to watch our guide setup when changing blades but a carbide tipped blade with a bad guide setup would be pretty obvious when hand turning the wheels to check prior to applying power to the machine. The point being, that blade should not be in that shape after the period of use you have. I do keep a few Timberwolf 2-3 VPC bands on hand which do well for the first 100 feet or so in tough material. I consider them very disposable blades but, having a couple on hand could save you from a work stoppage.

I, too, hand turn the wheels every time I do a blade change or make changes in the guide setup. Something learned over the years. There was no sign of anything being out of whack. Just the usual slight scraping noise that only goes away if all the guides are clear of the blade.

After I reset the wheels and cleaned the tires, I ran some other woods to see how they performed and to see if the changes in setup had any noticeable effect. So I started with a piece of 6" wide zebrawood. No noticeable changes in feed difficulty but there was no drift. It was, however, only 12" long.

Next up was an 18" piece of 9" wide figured cherry. I was surprised at how difficult it was to feed through. Easily as hard as zebrawood. But again, no sign of drift. After that was a 9" wide piece of eucalyptus. It fed like butter! Wow! No drift but it was only a couple of feet long.

After that I ran some 6" wide pieces, all pretty short - QS maple was easy. Sapele a bit harder. But the bloodwood was surprisingly easy.

Then came the enlightenment.

I sprayed a paper towel with Felder Supergleit and ran a coat on both sides of the blade. Then I took out the 9" wide curly cherry to sample first. WOW! I'd say it took 1/3 to 1/4 the pressure feeding it through.

From there I cleaned the blade thoroughly with Supergleit. It works much better than mineral spirits for cleaning the blade, and it lubricates. From this point on, I'm using Supergleit for any tough resaw jobs.

[Julie Moriarty]

This entire exercise has been pretty educational. After the blade was cleaned up and lubed, I resawed the rest of the eucalyptus slab to a total of 8 flitches. By the time I was done, the blade was starting to get pretty gunked up again. Since the dust was making it into the top section of the saw, I knew the problem was collecting it under the table.

I found a vacuum attachment that set well into the area directly in front of the teeth and right under the table and connected it to the shop vac, connected to a Dust Deputy. Then I ran a short piece of 8/4 Bolivian walnut through. Not a speck of dust buildup under the table or in either wheel compartment. And the blade stayed clean.

We'll see how well this works on longer pieces later...

[Julie Moriarty]

Rather than guessing at the tension buy or build a tension meter and find out what it really is. I'd bet money that saw cannot put 25 ksi on a 1-1/2" blade, and seriously doubt it can do it on a 1-1/4" one. But the only way to know is to measure it.

John

Just finished a tension gauge. And I made an Excel spreadsheet for easy calculations.

Before starting the design, I put a couple of rare earth magnets on the blade and attached a caliper spaced at 4" on center. Then I began applying tension. Based on Young's Law, the blade needs around .002" of stretch to achieve 15K PSI in tension. All I could get was .0005. But the magnets could have slipped.

But if that was accurate, that means the blade was only at around 3,600 PSI. If that turns out to be the case, I'm more than a little disappointed that Jet would claim that bandsaw can accept blades up to 1-1/2".

[Jim Becker]

But if that was accurate, that means the blade was only at around 3,600 PSI. If that turns out to be the case, I'm more than a little disappointed that Jet would claim that bandsaw can accept blades up to 1-1/2".

Well, that's marketing for you. The definition of "accept" may merely mean that you can fit the wider band on the saw which is true. But in the real world, it takes a MAJOR heavy saw to be able to tension a band like that. The 1" TriMaster was touch and go with my MM16...I would have been better with a 3/4" version relative to tension for sure.

[Julie Moriarty]

Well, that's marketing for you. The definition of "accept" may merely mean that you can fit the wider band on the saw which is true. But in the real world, it takes a MAJOR heavy saw to be able to tension a band like that. The 1" TriMaster was touch and go with my MM16...I would have been better with a 3/4" version relative to tension for sure.

I hear you, Jim. Expensive lesson to buy a blade the bandsaw can't effectively use.

Anyway, I set up the DIY tension gauge, spaced at 5" OC.
https://sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=452879&d=1614093556

This is close to maximum tension. I could crank the tension wheel more but it doesn't seem to move the needle.
https://sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=452878&d=1614093556

If I'm reading the gauge right, it's .00135" of stretch. Based on that number, the PSI is 7,830. Don't know how that translates in the blade's ability to resaw though.

[John TenEyck]

Julie, get two little C clamps to clamp the calipers to the back half of the blade. Set the calipers for as close to their max. opening as possible. It doesn't matter what the value is as long as you record it and use that value to determine strain. (L1 - L2) / L1

Let's make sure your readings are correct before jumping to conclusions.

John

[John Lanciani]

I had to replace the tension spring in the MM20 I used to own with a spring almost twice as robust to be able to reliably put 30kpsi on a 1” Trimaster; the stock spring collapsed. There is absolutely no way your JET is going to get anywhere close on a 1”- 1.5” blade. I’d honestly be surprised if it will tension a ¾” carbide blade properly.

[Tom Trees]

I had to replace the tension spring in the MM20 I used to own with a spring almost twice as robust to be able to reliably put 30kpsi on a 1” Trimaster; the stock spring collapsed. There is absolutely no way your JET is going to get anywhere close on a 1”- 1.5” blade. I’d honestly be surprised if it will tension a ¾” carbide blade properly.

What sort of a spring did you get for your saw John..a standard spring from something else?
Is it roughly the same OD dimension?
Did you have a fight to install it?
Would you notice the difference turning the handwheel?
I had a look to see if I could find any articles about your experience,
but couldn't find anything anywhere :confused:

Would love to see if you have a link somewhere
Thanks
Tom

[les winter]

Hello Julie. Where did you buy the Supergleit?

[Alan Lightstone]

For kicks, I looked up the MSDS for Supergleit.

It is listed as 50-100% aliphatic hydrocarbons and 25-50% white mineral oil.

I have no clue how this helps anybody, but I'm 150% sure that the sum of the numbers defies logic.

It can be purchased on UK Feldershop. Doesn't come up in the US Feldershop search, although Erik might know if it's available. I'm thinking that lots of lubricants could accomplish the same thing. The lesson may be to clean the blade and make sure it's lubricated. Julie's results sure seem to pan that out.

I can get over 25K on my Felder FB710 on a 1" blade, but never tried larger. I have thought that is my saw's practical limit.

The thickest I have tried is 12" sapele which it resawed quite well, but it also has a 5.5HP 3-phase motor, so a different kind of beast.

I also think there is no way that your saw could get to 25K on a 1-1/4" blade. Ah, advertising...

[Dave Cav]

Supergleit seems to translate to Super Glide. It came up on the Felder website for $29 for a 1 liter bottle.

I read on another thread where someone uses Ballistol as a lubricant for their sliding table saw ways, primarily because it doesn't flash off. (Ballistol is a coal tar derivative that's been around for over 100 years and is pretty well known in the shooting community.) I tried it on my slider and it worked great. I may try it on the WM CT on my MM20 next. I have also used a Lennox lube tube/stick; it seems to work fine but doesn't seem to last long.

[Tom Trees]

I have some more questions about the Minimax upgrade what John done.
Wondering if anyone else done the same or similar work to their saw.

I am making at least two new washers for the tension system on my Italian 24" machine, and was about to start cutting some steel plate, but decided it might be a bit flimsy,
so scrapped that idea to use some harder steel instead, as guessing the originals were that way for a reason.
Found an old lawnmower blade so that will do the job nicely.
The stock is far and beyond the thickness of the original very thin washers which cracked, at least 4 times, or maybe 5 times as thick.
So at least a pair of them (not sure if there was more originally) might be a fight getting the carriage together.
Wondering if anyone done similar whilst doing an upgrade.

Thanks
Tom

[John TenEyck]

Unless you are cutting resinous or wet wood, why would stuff build up on a blade? If you are cutting wood of that ilk then, sure, do whatever is needed to keep it clean; otherwise, I don't see the point. Anytime I've tried some such super lube it lasted for what seemed like a seconds.

If blade lube is needed in clean wood the saw is underpowered.

John

[Rod Wolfy]

Would the Superglide be about the same as Boeshield, then?

[Julie Moriarty]

Hello Julie. Where did you buy the Supergleit?

Felder e-Shop

[Julie Moriarty]

Unless you are cutting resinous or wet wood, why would stuff build up on a blade? If you are cutting wood of that ilk then, sure, do whatever is needed to keep it clean; otherwise, I don't see the point. Anytime I've tried some such super lube it lasted for what seemed like a seconds.

If blade lube is needed in clean wood the saw is underpowered.

John

The saw is probably underpowered for that blade. If not underpowered, it certainly seems unable to apply sufficient tension for that blade.

John, I saw in another thread you can't see the images I posted to the thread. Am I right to assume you can't see the two images I posted here? They are pictures I took of the homemade tension gauge I made, before and after applying tension. I'm having some doubts about how I'm reading the dial indicator and was hoping for feedback on that.

If you couldn't see the pictures, does this work?
http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/uploads/monthly_2021_02/BSTensionGauge_002.thumb.jpg.b92daa211ee1de59f6a45 fe82ba65f2b.jpg

[Tom Trees]

Might be worth getting two little g-glamps to see if that makes a difference,
The shop bought gauges have a sharpish point on them, so might be a good idea to drill and insert a bit of rod into the wood for the clamps to press on.

Good luck
Tom

[Dave Sabo]

The manual for the Jet JWBS-18 says it can handle up to 1-1/2" wide blades.

What the manual says is it will accept up to that wide of a blade. It does not say it will tenison one that size properly. You naturally assumed it would, because that seems reasonable. Welcome to the world of Markerteers. Your disappointment will probably subside.



I always tension past the gauge on the saw when resawing

Good practice. Those gauges are merely a reference and not a measure of accuracy.


And that was my go-to resaw blade for the last 7-8 years. But it's probably dull now.

um..............if you've been using a blade for that that long - it's dull. :eek:



then there was the pecky Bolivian walnut. That stuff has hardened resin in it that can chip off and get caught in the cut. I thought that may have been the culprit, if in fact the blade is dull.

Ya think ? It seems rather obvious from afar and not being invested in the outcome.



I have to admit I'm not all that impressed with the Resaw King

You're not alone. And there are many that aren't as impressed to the level of hype it receives. Marketers again.



Based on that number, the PSI is 7,830. Don't know how that translates in the blade's ability to resaw though.

It's no where near enough for a 1" blade or a resaw king.



The saw is probably underpowered for that blade. If not underpowered, it certainly seems unable to apply sufficient tension for that blade.


Seems you've finally reached the conclusion that was given early on in this thread. Expeience really is the best teacher.

You should be able to get a new and beefier spring for your saw from Louis Iturra. It's still not going to tension a 1"+ carbide blade on your saw, but will be an improvement. You have to call him, he does not deal in cyberspace.


Iturra Design
904-642-2802
Toll Free: 888-722-7078
4636 Fulton Road
Jacksonville, Florida 32225-1332

[Matthew Hills]

Only the rear guide bearings have any great impact when resawing, and with enough tension even they aren't needed much.

John, what is the role of the rear guide when resawing, particularly if the side guides don't engage?

[Jim Becker]

John, what is the role of the rear guide when resawing, particularly if the side guides don't engage?

It keeps the back of the band from being pushed rearward from the pressure of the cut...that could screw up tracking, etc. It's merely providing support in that respect.

[John TenEyck]

I can see the photo with your tension gage, Julie. It doesn't matter which way the gage moves; all that matters is the difference in the gage reading from zero tension. That being said, your gage length (distance between the clamps) looks to be very small, and your gage only reads to 0.001". Calculating an accurate strain will be a challenge at best. You can interpolate to 0.0005" with that gage but it's still no substitute for starting with a longer gage length. Your saw must have at least 10" of resaw capacity, if I remember correctly that you have resawed some 7 - 8" wide stock, and it's more likely at least 12". If so, make your gage so that it just fits between the table and upper guide at its maximum opening. My gage has a gage length of 12", so every 0.001" of dial movement = 2400 psi tension. I normally run 24 ksi tension on my Woodmaster CT, so I'm looking for 0.010" of gage change when I tension it. If the dial is 0.0005" over or under that target I'm only off by 1200 psi. I would guess the gage length of your meter is on the order of 4", meaning 0.0005" = 3625 psi, which is pretty substantial. It's not going to get your saw from an indicated 10 ksi, for example, to an actual 25 ksi but it's still a large error and easily resolved by making your tension gage as long as possible.

John

[John TenEyck]

Yes, what Jim said. Blade deflection decrease as tension increases. At low tension the rear bearing supports the blade from bending rearward as the wood is fed into the blade. As tension increases the blade will deflect less at the same feed rate so the rear bearing is needed less. And at really high tension on a stout blade, say 30 ksi on a 1-1/2" x 0.042" blade, the rear bearing may never engage except at very high feed rate.

You can take this a step further and see why the side guides do little to keep a blade cutting straight. At low tension the blade will deflect rearward until the rear bearing supports it. What happens if you feed the wood too fast? The blade will respond by deflecting sideways. The guides will try to support the blade but they offer no help except where they actually touch the blade so if you push too hard the blade will still deflect sideways, giving that bowed cut we all have experienced. But when the tension is high enough the blade will resist deflecting sideways just as it does bending rearward and it will inherently cut straight. At that point the side guides are doing nothing. That's why I earlier said that if you are using the side guides to help the blade cut straight something else is wrong.

John

[glenn bradley]

Glenn, do they still make a 1/2 Resaw King? I have not see that available. Did they stop making them?

I do not see them anymore either. Too bad as I have pretty much walked away from wider blades as the cost more but cut no better on my saws.

[glenn bradley]

We'll see how well this works on longer pieces later...

Sounds like you have it resolved. Kudos.

[Julie Moriarty]

You should be able to get a new and beefier spring for your saw from Louis Iturra. It's still not going to tension a 1"+ carbide blade on your saw, but will be an improvement.

I've thought about installing a beefier spring but then isn't that rolling the dice? Not so much as to how effective it will be in applying tension, but isn't there a chance of exceeding the tension the bandsaw frame can handle?

The best blade for resaw so far has been the Woodmaster CT. They don't make it in anything less than 1" wide but it handled this pile of 8/4 sapele resawed down to 1/2" easily.
http://julimorcreations.com/Images/KitCab/Kit_Cab_02.png

http://julimorcreations.com/Images/KitCab/Kit_Cab_08.png

Considering the cost is almost half the Resaw King and considering how long it lasted, I'll stick with the Woodmaster CT for now. I'm ordering a second one so when the other is in for resharpening there won't be any down time.

Thank you all for your help. I truly appreciate it.

Julie

[Malcolm McLeod]

You would know the spring is too 'heavy' if, as you apply tension, the spring stops compressing. If you continue to increase the tension, it would imply the frame is bending - detectable or not. On the other end, a spring is too weak if it fully compresses (to it's 'stack height'), before you get sufficient tension.

[Tom Trees]

You would know the spring is too 'heavy' if, as you apply tension, the spring stops compressing. If you continue to increase the tension, it would imply the frame is bending - detectable or not. On the other end, a spring is too weak if it fully compresses (to it's 'stack height'), before you get sufficient tension.

Nothing welding a few struts on couldn't solve,
Haven't seen it done before, but it would be cheap and easy to do I imagine.
Tom

[Curt Harms]

Originally Posted by Mark Rainey View Post
Glenn, do they still make a 1/2 Resaw King? I have not see that available. Did they stop making them?


=glenn bradley;3102255]I do not see them anymore either. Too bad as I have pretty much walked away from wider blades as the cost more but cut no better on my saws.

Toolcenter.com lists Trimaster blades 1/2" X .025" X 111" so pretty thin and should be easier to tension. $160 so not cheap but Trimasters are like that I'm told. They also have DieMaster 2 $43.67 and very reasonable shipping. Trimaster is 3 TPI, DieMaster 2 is 4 TPI.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Nothing welding a few struts on couldn't solve,
Haven't seen it done before, but it would be cheap and easy to do I imagine.
Tom

Might be ugly:confused::eek::confused:?

I have read several references at SMC on the desirability of solid wheels. Of course, it adds weight and cost to a saw. I am not a saw designer by any means, but for my money, I think if you're adding weight, I'd want it in the frame first (all design is a compromise).

A BS is tensioned by 2 springs, one inside the other - so to speak: the 'official' tension coil spring, and the 'spring' (action) of the frame. The relative forces that each will support have to be balanced, but no matter what the coil spring is doing, ultimately the frame has to support the tension load of the blade.

...where did I leave that welder?!? ;)

[Julie Moriarty]

It was the blade.

I bought a second Woodmaster CT (the other one is being sharpened) and installed it today. Then I ran 8/4 zebrawood through it, 7" to 9-1/2" wide, and it worked like a charm. The Woodmaster CT is 1" wide with 1.3" TPI.

[John TenEyck]

It was the blade.

I bought a second Woodmaster CT (the other one is being sharpened) and installed it today. Then I ran 8/4 zebrawood through it, 7" to 9-1/2" wide, and it worked like a charm. The Woodmaster CT is 1" wide with 1.3" TPI.

Good to hear Julie. That blade is an amazing blade. Not many teeth so it cuts super fast but the cut quality is still amazingly good. If you can carry away the sawdust fast enough so it doesn't build up inside it should stay clean, too, and that will help maximize performance and life.

John

[Julie Moriarty]

Good to hear Julie. That blade is an amazing blade. Not many teeth so it cuts super fast but the cut quality is still amazingly good. If you can carry away the sawdust fast enough so it doesn't build up inside it should stay clean, too, and that will help maximize performance and life.

John

Thanks, John. I wasn't expecting this to be easy and a couple of times I hit a rather gnarly section in the wood but for the most part the resawing went pretty well. At times the board seemed to glide through almost effortlessly.

My neighbor, who worked with me during the last zebrawood resawing episode, wanted to first rip the wood on the table saw but wanted nothing to do with just taking it to the bandsaw. You could say he had been traumatized. But it was going to be close to get (3) 1/2" thick boards out of each 8/4 board and the table saw, even with a thin kerf blade, was too iffy. Face jointing the boards ate up more than I would have liked.

I am now permanently sold on the Woodmaster CT for resawing larger boards. I won't forget this chapter in resawing again.

[John TenEyck]

Thanks, John. I wasn't expecting this to be easy and a couple of times I hit a rather gnarly section in the wood but for the most part the resawing went pretty well. At times the board seemed to glide through almost effortlessly.

My neighbor, who worked with me during the last zebrawood resawing episode, wanted to first rip the wood on the table saw but wanted nothing to do with just taking it to the bandsaw. You could say he had been traumatized. But it was going to be close to get (3) 1/2" thick boards out of each 8/4 board and the table saw, even with a thin kerf blade, was too iffy. Face jointing the boards ate up more than I would have liked.

I am now permanently sold on the Woodmaster CT for resawing larger boards. I won't forget this chapter in resawing again.

FYI, you can resharpen that blade yourself at low cost and w/o much effort. I posted something a couple of months ago on how.

John