Rough/pulsing cut on bandsaw

[Monte Milanuk]

Hello all,

Picked up a new (to me) bandsaw today. Drove ~3 hrs there, loaded it up on a trailer and strapped it down and wrapped it in a tarp (also strapped down with ratchet straps, drove home and unloaded it into my shop.

Saw seemed to work fine when I picked it up (asked to see it run), and the cut looked nice and smooth. When I got it in my shop, I cleaned it up, checked the guides (and tweaked their set up a little) and powered it up. Ran nice and smooth... until I put some wood to it.

There was a definite audible pulsing, though I'd hesitate to call it a 'ticking' noise. The cut surface is anything but smooth - very visible lines, and the spacing varies with how fast the wood is fed through the blade.

With the power off, and turning the wheels by hand I can't see anything (visibly) jumping out at me as far as the teeth.

Is there anything else I should be checking, or should I just assume the blade got damaged somehow during transit and order a new one?

Thanks!

[Keith Westfall]

Possibly the weld joint on the blade?

[Mel Fulks]

Possibly the weld joint on the blade?

Yes. Never seen any other cause .

[Monte Milanuk]

Possibly the weld joint on the blade?

So why would it have given a clean cut at the seller's?

[Monte Milanuk]

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[Andrew Hughes]

So why would it have given a clean cut at the seller's?

Maybe he had the guides adjusted differently. Just in case you didn’t notice the teeth shouldn’t be contacting the guides on the sides during the cut. The gullet is usually the stopping point.
Only the rear bearing. You probably already know this just reminding in case you forgot.
Good Luck

[David Buchhauser]

Maybe try a different blade, just to see if it makes a difference.
David

[Monte Milanuk]

Unfortunately I don't have an extra just yet.

Got some pics from the seller of the piece he cut at the shop. The lines aren't as noticeable, but the cut wasn't quite as smooth as I remembered (go figure ;) ).

To be fair, I'm pretty sure it's the OEM blade.

[Zachary Hoyt]

If the side guides are too tight they can make the blade pulse like it is cracked. I've done it myself, changed the blade with no improvement and then backed the guides off a bit and the problem went away again. It's a very small difference between close and too close.

[Jerome Stanek]

You said you tweaked the guides maybe that is the problem

[Myles Moran]

So why would it have given a clean cut at the seller's?

I had a 1/2" blade do this to me yesterday. I was resawing 6" of cherry when I started getting a ticking noise. Seemed to be one single spot on the blade based on the timing. Finished the board then took a look at the blade - the weld had cracked about 60% of the way through the blade. The only thing I could think I did to cause that was potentially overtightening the blade.

[Lee Schierer]

It is pretty easy to kink a blade. Take the blade off and place it with the teeth up on a flat surface. The blade should lay flat all the way around. If it does not lay flat it has been kinked.

[Jim Becker]

Also keep in mind that even cast iron flexes, so insuring the machine is leveled and secure is also important. Really paying attention to little things when a machine is relocated is important and yea, go over alignment of everything carefully, given the machine was moved between shops.

[Monte Milanuk]

Just an update, for anyone who cares: it was definitely the blade.

I kind of went on a hand-tool bender for a few months, then recently I needed to resaw some stock for a box-joint project. Decided I didn't want to do that by hand, so I gave it a go on the band saw. 6" red oak, stock 3/8" blade. Nope. Tried the stock 5/8" blade, that I hadn't touched yet. Holy crap, I didn't know it was *possible* to burn a board on a bandsaw. That's how dull that thing was. So... project got put on hold while I ordered a couple new bands (should have done that back when I got the saw, but it is what it is). A 1/2" Woodslicer from Highland Woodworking for resawing, and a 1/4" 6 tpi Timberwolf for general purpose.

I'm happy to report that the Woodslicer cut excellently - still needs a little smoothing, but nothing a couple trips through the planer on a sled wouldn't fix. The Timberwolf made quick work out of some odds-n-ends shop projects including fitted holders for my panel and hand saws. Again, the cut were much, much smoother and the saw generally ran quieter with less vibration - and no ticking noise!

[Justin Rapp]

Blades make a world of difference!

[Curt Harms]

Most bandsaw blades that come on new bandsaws seem to be there to keep the top wheel from flopping around during shipment and not much more. Glad the new better blades cured your bandsaw ills.

[Bernie Kopfer]

Thank you Monte for the follow-up.

[Patrick Johnson]

Hello all,

Picked up a new (to me) bandsaw today. Drove ~3 hrs there, loaded it up on a trailer and strapped it down and wrapped it in a tarp (also strapped down with ratchet straps, drove home and unloaded it into my shop.

Saw seemed to work fine when I picked it up (asked to see it run), and the cut looked nice and smooth. When I got it in my shop, I cleaned it up, checked the guides (and tweaked their set up a little) and powered it up. Ran nice and smooth... until I put some wood to it.

There was a definite audible pulsing, though I'd hesitate to call it a 'ticking' noise. The cut surface is anything but smooth - very visible lines, and the spacing varies with how fast the wood is fed through the blade.

With the power off, and turning the wheels by hand I can't see anything (visibly) jumping out at me as far as the teeth.

Is there anything else I should be checking, or should I just assume the blade got damaged somehow during transit and order a new one?

Thanks!


There are many possible reasons, one of which is that the saw was subjected to a whole lot of vibration on the way home. Was the blade on the machine and in tension while being hauled? Are the wheels in alignment? You really need to go through the entire machine and start inspecting and aligning it. Put a new blade on it, check the table alignment and upper and lower guides or guide blocks, check the blade guards, check the rubber on the wheels to make sure it's still good, check the wheel bearings, and the list goes on.

What kind of bandsaw is it?

Patrick