Accurate Bandsaw Cross cut?

[Adel Heiba]

Hi

I have a Felder 400 FB bandsaw and I need to perform accurate crosscuts on thick stock (about 2.5”) and about 5” wide.

Usually I do crosscuts by hand and correct with a shooting board; but at this thickness the shooting board will not work. Also my hand saw capabilities are subpar.
There is no room in the garage for a table saw.
So either I purchase a sliding miter saw or get the bandsaw to work.

Any advice for the bandsaw?

[Tom M King]

There are so many ways to do this, but for me, using a bandsaw would not even be on the list.

[Jamie Buxton]

That saw came with a miter gauge, right? If so, use it. If not, get one. Use a carbide-tipped blade. On my saw, the carbide blade just does not have the lead angle issue which plagues steel blades.

A good bandsaw is capable of precise work. I'd expect to make that cut precise to within .01" on my saw, which is smaller than yours.

[Aaron Inami]

Track saw?

[Michael Burnside]

The problem for me wouldn't be my bandsaw, it would probably be me, the stupid human. I've done something to get "very close" but I've always followed up with something else to make them perfect. I'd certainly build a jig and use a miter slot if it's available.

[Edward Weber]

If I had to use the bandsaw, I would use a sled

[Rod Sheridan]

A sled, and the correct blade would be my choice.

I would try a 1/2" 3TPI blade.

I make bridle joints on the bandsaw.515243515244

Accurate enough for me.

Regards, Rod.

[Jimmy Harris]

Do you have any other saws available? I'd opt for a track saw or circular saw if you already have one of those. With the circular saw, just clamp on a straight edge to follow. However, 2.5" is near the max dept of cut for those, so you might want to take some measurements before proceeding to see if that's an issue.

If you want to attempt it by hand, just flip the board back and forth a bunch. Back before I got good at sawing by hand, I could still cut a really straight line, if I constantly flipped the board. It took forever. But the results were good. Just cut at a 45° angle and stop to flip the board before the blind side starts to cut into the wood. Then repeat on the other side and keep doing that until you're through. That way, you're only cutting where you can see on the outside, and the kerf will keep the inside perfectly straight.

But a miter gauge or sled would work for the bandsaw as well. Whatever you choose, just take it really slow and focus and is should come out alright.

[glenn bradley]

I use the miter gauge with a taller sac-fence screwed on.

515253515254

I slice these that way.

[Lee Schierer]

Hi

I have a Felder 400 FB bandsaw

So either I purchase a sliding miter saw or get the bandsaw to work.

Any advice for the bandsaw?

I'm not familiar with your saw, to know how the table is mounted. However, I would suggest watching this video on aligning a band saw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNdrkmx6ehI) for cross cuts. I followed this procedure on my band saw, Delta 14", and it worked wonders. I can make accurate cross cuts and rip cuts with no blade wander.

[Tom Trees]

In addition to the regular mitre slot, what's quite shallow on a few saws, (bar the upgraded Laguna LT, and perhaps Felder FB)
ACM also make a crosscutting rail system
https://www.acmuksaws.co.uk/table_sliding_side_guide_with_mitre_fence.html

Though there are plenty of options, if you were to go that route, and the flat stock might be the most sensible,
should this make sense for you.

All the best
Tom

[Zachary Hoyt]

I use the miter gauge on my bandsaw all the time and it works well with a 1/2" 3 tpi blade. I have one miter gauge that is permanently set to 10 degrees for making segmented rings and one for general purpose use.

[Dave Sabo]

Track saw?


Not for cutting 2-1/2” thick @ 5” wide !

[Derek Cohen]

Hi

I have a Felder 400 FB bandsaw and I need to perform accurate crosscuts on thick stock (about 2.5”) and about 5” wide.

Usually I do crosscuts by hand and correct with a shooting board; but at this thickness the shooting board will not work. Also my hand saw capabilities are subpar.
There is no room in the garage for a table saw.
So either I purchase a sliding miter saw or get the bandsaw to work.

Any advice for the bandsaw?

Adel, what you want is a "miter jack".

Saw close to the line and then use the miter jack to either plane or chisel to the line.

https://redrosereproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/IMG_20200421_142752_658-1024x593.jpg

Alternately, make a fence (include magnets) to guide a hand saw, preferably a Japanese pull saw.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Robert Hazelwood]

So long as the length of the part is not an issue, you should be able to get a quite accurate (90 degrees in both directions, and flat) cut using a miter gauge or sled. Only issue will be surface finish. It will be rougher than most table saws or miter saws, but with good blade it won't be terrible. If the cut end is getting butted against something it might be good enough right off the saw. If the cut end will be exposed, you can chuck the part in your bench vise and plane a couple thousandths off the surface- you won't need a shooting board or miter jack for a large piece like you are considering.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Can't a 10" CMS non-slider, cut 2.5" thick by 5"?

I cut a lot of 2x6s on my 10" DeWalt. Those are 5.5".

[al ladd]

Just as resawing requires a fence adjusted for any possible drift angle, so good cross cutting requires the table be aligned to the blade. This sometimes varies from blade to blade, but good carbide blades, which will leave a better finish, are in my experience more reliable than steel. Then you can cross cut cleanly with even a simple miter guage--though a sled will give you more stock control if the pieces are long.

[Dave Sabo]

Just as resawing requires a fence adjusted for any possible drift angle, so good cross cutting requires the table be aligned to the blade. This sometimes varies from blade to blade, but good carbide blades, which will leave a better finish, are in my experience more reliable than steel. Then you can cross cut cleanly with even a simple miter guage--though a sled will give you more stock control if the pieces are long.


Not necessarily.

It only requires your miter gauge or sled or jig be set cut 90deg to the cut line. Some saws don’t even have miter gauges. Sure it’d be mo better if your gauge read 90 deg. for a 90deg cut , but it’s strictly not necessary.

There are also some instances in which drift ( and your table’s relation 90deg ) will change when you swap blades. So you could go through the whole table aligning process or just set your gauge (fence) to whatever setting is needed to produce 90. That’s a whole lot faster then futzing with the table.

YMMV

[Adel Heiba]

Thank you for all the suggestions!

The ‘Miter Jack’ is a neat idea; but, the complexity of its construction would make the original problem a trivial exercise. However something like the Miter Jack could be used for related problems.

regards

[Edward Weber]

Not necessarily.

It only requires your miter gauge or sled or jig be set cut 90deg to the cut line. Some saws don’t even have miter gauges. Sure it’d be mo better if your gauge read 90 deg. for a 90deg cut , but it’s strictly not necessary.

There are also some instances in which drift ( and your table’s relation 90deg ) will change when you swap blades. So you could go through the whole table aligning process or just set your gauge (fence) to whatever setting is needed to produce 90. That’s a whole lot faster then futzing with the table.

YMMV
With respect, I can't easily follow your logic.

Set your saw up ONCE, with the lower wheel, table and fence aligned, you should never need to adjust them again.
Any "drifting" from dull, poorly welded or otherwise cheap blades, can be adjusted by the onboard tracking mechanism.
You should not ever need to realign the table unless something extreme occurs.
515359

[Derek Cohen]

Thank you for all the suggestions!

The ‘Miter Jack’ is a neat idea; but, the complexity of its construction would make the original problem a trivial exercise. However something like the Miter Jack could be used for related problems.

regards

Adel, mention of the mter jack was made to name the ideal tool. But, like you, I do not own own. Years ago I needed something like one to make some tricky saw cuts (tenon shoulders on curved stretchers). I came up with this rig - a hand screw (as a guide) and Japanese saw (as it can lie flat) ...

https://i.postimg.cc/fT3rWmhQ/9-FB56649-7-B58-42-AA-82-EC-D8-F8589-F4-C42.png (https://postimages.org/)

Regards from Perth

Derek