I've got my bandsaw up and running!

[John Kendall]

I bought a 24" Jet bandsaw at a local vocational school auction. I knew it was going to be a challenge, but the rewards were worth it so far.

I was able to get the 3 phase converter installed, since it was a 3 phase motor. It was much cheaper than a new 5HP motor. I asked this everyone here as to which blade to get for resawing and took your advise. I got the Lenox TriMaster 1" blade. It works great.

I was able to saw a 1/8 inch piece of Tigerwood without any troubles. All it needed was sanded with a little 120 and finished it with 220 for a super smooth finish.

Now for the rest of the story...

That little aluminum disk that sets in the hole around the blade bent some. It now lets the front edge of the wood catch the table on the way through. Not good when I am slicing thin pieces. Are there other disks of harder steel or aluminum that can go in that hole?

Then a couple of things I think I still need to resaw accurately. A good fence and maybe a feed system. I found out it's a real fun time feeding a 4" x 1" piece of wood and be safe. That blade is intimidating! The fence that came with the saw doesn't reach completely across the table and is about 4" tall.

One last question and I'll give you all a break...

Which is the best way to cut the slice off? With the thin side between the blade and fence or on the outside of the blade, with the thicker part between the fence and blade? I am planning on cutting a 1" down to 1/4" or 3/16" slices. I'm hoping to get 3 pieces, if that's possible.

[Ron Blaise]

I just recently purchased a larger band saw though not as large as your Jet. Lennox does make very good blades and I use a 1" on mine as well (Timberwolf) with very good results on re-saw. I saw my slices against the fence. I think it's safer and gives me better control. As far as your fence not going all the way across the table, that's not really an issue in fact if your wood has a lot of stress released by the saw it allows the wood to move around a bit without binding your blade. The same is even more true with table saws, in fact many European fences don't extend much past the saw centerline for that reason. As big as your table is you could make an auxiliary fence to saw taller boards out of MDF or plywood and have even better control.
Happy sawdust :) :)

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

................... I saw my slices against the fence........................ As far as your fence not going all the way across the table, that's not really an issue in fact if your wood has a lot of stress released by the saw it allows the wood to move around a bit without binding your blade. .......................... As big as your table is you could make an auxiliary fence to saw taller boards out of MDF or plywood and have even better control.
Got to agree with Ron on all three points.:D

One thing I do is if I'l cutting really thin slices is that I'll raise up the board that is attached to my fence about 1/2", and then I take a nice smooth (waxed) piece of 1/2" plywood set the fence the the thickness I want (1/8") and then slide the 1/2" plywood under the fence about half way through the board, this gives me an aux table around the blade, making a zero clearance table for resawing thin stuff...............hope that makes sense... :eek:

Oh yeah........................what..............no pictures..........?

:D:D:D

[Doug Shepard]

...

That little aluminum disk that sets in the hole around the blade bent some. It now lets the front edge of the wood catch the table on the way through. Not good when I am slicing thin pieces. Are there other disks of harder steel or aluminum that can go in that hole?
...


I dont know that you'd need something harder. I've seen pics where folks have made their own out of ply or MDF though IIRC those may have been for saws with square insert openings. Eagle also has these round inserts made of 3/16" UHMW and that stuff certainly isn't very hard.
http://eagleamerica.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_485%2D2000
If you can't get your's flattened, you could probably make some from quite a few different materials. Hammering your's between a couple blocks of wood or squeezing in a vise might do the trick.

[John Kendall]

I'll try with the original fence to see how things go. I've not had bad luck, but thought there might be a better way that I didn't know of. I'm still in my learning curve that hasn't seen everything or learned enough to be comfortable enough to venture or experiment without asking first.

What about a feeding system? Do you usually feed everything by hand with a push block or use a mechanical feeding system?

[Bart Leetch]

I make my inserts for both a 12" & 14" band-saw out of
1/8" masonite.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

I'll try with the original fence to see how things go. I've not had bad luck, but thought there might be a better way that I didn't know of. I'm still in my learning curve that hasn't seen everything or learned enough to be comfortable enough to venture or experiment without asking first.

What about a feeding system? Do you usually feed everything by hand with a push block or use a mechanical feeding system?
Yep John, you have to look for good ideas and then adapt them to your specific situation, you are doing this the right way round.

As for feeding, yeah, push blocks are the way to go, them bandsaws cut meat real well you know.... :eek:

42716
Frozen solid Tuna..... do you think your thumb stands a chance?

[David Rose]

Amen to that! And especially when resawing, you have a few inches of that blade hidden. If something should cause the blade to wander, you don't know where it might emerge. :eek: I've not had that happen, but I think about it every time I resaw.

Stu shows a very good example (the best I've seen! ;) ) of why you don't want to touch that blade while it's moving.

David


Yep John, you have to look for good ideas and then adapt them to your specific situation, you are doing this the right way round.

As for feeding, yeah, push blocks are the way to go, them bandsaws cut meat real well you know.... :eek:

42716
Frozen solid Tuna..... do you think your thumb stands a chance?

[Mike Cutler]

Which is the best way to cut the slice off? With the thin side between the blade and fence or on the outside of the blade, with the thicker part between the fence and blade? I am planning on cutting a 1" down to 1/4" or 3/16" slices. I'm hoping to get 3 pieces, if that's possible.

John.

With 1/4" slice you will get three. With the 3/16" slice you might get four.

If I was going to resaw to 1/4" I would set the fence to 1 1/16"" and place a piece of 3/4" mdf in between the blade and the fence. The MDF would have a sacrificial stop block at the back. This way there would be some room",1", between the blade and the fence . The stop block keeps your hand from getting any closer to the blade than necessary.

I always feed by hand, so I have to think through how to push the last of the material through the blade safely. This is why I use the MDF with a stop block. I usually make the stop block long enough to push through the blade, and still have plenty left.( I ain't going to be that tuna in Stu's post)


That 1" Tri Master is a bit intimidating, isn't it? I try to keep my hands away from it also.;)

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Hey Mike, could you post a pic of your set up, sounds good.

Cheers!

[Mike Cutler]

Hey Mike, could you post a pic of your set up, sounds good.

Cheers!

I assure you, it's nothing exotic. I don't use one all the time, but if you have a lot of repetetive resaw cuts to do it actually works well. You do have to cobble one together to fit the project though.
I don't know that I actually "came up" with the idea, but I first used it to slice some live edge stuff for a friend.
You will see a piece of MDF sitting on the Bandsaw. Once I get it going I push that against the exposed material. When I did the live edge piece I started the material out sandwiched between two pieces of MDF. It worked well. The MDF acted as a true reference of sorts. Here are the pics in some form of order.
I use MDF for a lot of jigs. It's cheap, and easy to work with.

[Ron Blaise]

I assure you, it's nothing exotic. I don't use one all the time, but if you have a lot of repetetive resaw cuts to do it actually works well. You do have to cobble one together to fit the project though.
I don't know that I actually "came up" with the idea, but I first used it to slice some live edge stuff for a friend.
You will see a piece of MDF sitting on the Bandsaw. Once I get it going I push that against the exposed material. When I did the live edge piece I started the material out sandwiched between two pieces of MDF. It worked well. The MDF acted as a true reference of sorts. Here are the pics in some form of order.
I use MDF for a lot of jigs. It's cheap, and easy to work with.

It kind of looks like my Rikon, or is it a Jet? Nice jig by the way.
Ron

[Mike Cutler]

Ron.

It's an Rikon 18", 10-340. Good eye.;) How do you like your Rikon?

The fence isn't stock anymore though.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Thanks Mike, that is really clear, and a very clever idea, mind if I steal it :D

[Mike Cutler]

Thanks Mike, that is really clear, and a very clever idea, mind if I steal it :D

If it'll work for ya' Go for it. I'm pretty much certain I picked it up from someone else. It's way too simple for me to come up with. I usually think things to "infinity and beyond". :eek: ;) Maybe that's why I'm so slow.:D

[John Kendall]

Great pictures! It gave me what I needed to get to work on my project. I'll have to get some more MDF since I tossed the last scraps I had of it away. I was able to save 1 piece to put up along the fence. Now to get a thin piece for fence to rest on like Stu described.

When you are resawing thicker pieces +3" to you use a taller fence?

I'll have to get some pictures of my project to show you. That way if I make, or looks like I might be making a mistake, you can let me know.

I hope all my questions are not driving you all nuts. I appreciate all the input!