Newbie question about my band saw

[Tim Solley]

Hi everyone. So I have a newbie question that will probably seem super basic. I bought a Grizzly 14" band saw a while back and used it for one project. The curves were fairly wide, nothing too tight, except for one area. To play it safe, I used a 1/4" blade.

My question is, first off, how do I know which size blade to choose? Secondly, when I'm cutting, how do I know if I'm "pushing the blade" a little too hard? That is, how do I know when I'm cutting too tight a curve?

Okay, I may as well throw another question out there. How do I know what type of blade to use. I have three sizes of blades, all raker style. When I used one on my project, it left the cut rough as all heck. It was ridged...like Ruffles potato chips. I spent a lot of time at the spindle sander smoothing it out. Was it the style of blade, or maybe I didn't have the tension correct?

Thanks for any help,

Tim

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Hi Tim, there are a lot of reasons this can be happening, the wrong blade, the wrong tension, the wrong technique, or in my case, a combo of all the above.

I strongly suggest you get

"The Bandsaw Book" by Lonnie Bird
ISBN: 1561582891

Well worth the $13 they want for it at Amazon.

This book will answer a lot of your questions, and they really cover the saw that you have (type 14") in detail.

Cheers!

[Mark Pruitt]

I echo Stu's suggestion; you'll find that book to be valuable. Another book worth considering is Mark Duginskie's Bandsaw:Workshop Bench Reference (click here) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806906804/qid=1145550650/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/002-1164090-6608807?s=books&v=glance&n=283155). There is also a DVD titled "Mastering Your Bandsaw" also by Duginskie (click here). (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1561587028/qid=1145550769/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-1164090-6608807?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=130)

In the books you'll find information on which blade width to select for different radius cuts, along with tons of other useful stuff. Enjoy the tool!

[Bob Rufener]

I also recommend Mark Duginske's book. I have one called "The Art of the Band Saw). Excellent information about setting up and tweaking your band saw. Also a number of how to projects. I'll try to attach a photo of a page from the book that should give you some direction about blade size and size of radius each blade will follow. The book

[Dave Falkenstein]

Timberwolf blades will most likely make your cuts improve dramatically. Call them and ask for their recommendations on blades for the types of work you expect to do. Look Here:

http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/