Bandsaw Problem

[Ken Wright]

I have an older model (1990 or so) Jet 14" bandsaw that was given to me a year or so ago by a friend. It had been dropped and the table mounts were broken. I ordered the parts from Jet and made the repairs.

I've been resawing some 1" x 4" x 24" Peruvian Walnut using a homemade fence. Its gone pretty well but for some reason, occasionally, the saw seems to stall out and just quit cutting as though there is something that is blocking the forward movement of the wood through the blade. The speed of the blade never slows down ... it just doesn't cut. I'm unable to find anything that is obstructing the cut.

First logical question is what kind of blade am I using and unfortunately I'm not near the shop and I just don't recall other than it is a resaw blade and is about 1/2" wide. Its been lightly used.

Any idea what might be causing this intermittent problem??

Thanks for the help!

[Paul Kunkel]

I have an older model (1990 or so) Jet 14" bandsaw that was given to me a year or so ago by a friend. It had been dropped and the table mounts were broken. I ordered the parts from Jet and made the repairs.

I've been resawing some 1" x 4" x 24" Peruvian Walnut using a homemade fence. Its gone pretty well but for some reason, occasionally, the saw seems to stall out and just quit cutting as though there is something that is blocking the forward movement of the wood through the blade. The speed of the blade never slows down ... it just doesn't cut. I'm unable to find anything that is obstructing the cut.

First logical question is what kind of blade am I using and unfortunately I'm not near the shop and I just don't recall other than it is a resaw blade and is about 1/2" wide. Its been lightly used.

Any idea what might be causing this intermittent problem??

Thanks for the help!
Ken, could it be just a splinter or rough spot dragging on the blade insert? The down force of a resaw blade is considerable, and if the wood is not smooth at the table, hangups are common.

[Mike Circo]

Yeah, I'm with Paul on this that the wood may be snagging on the table.

If it was dropped sufficiently to break the table supports, perhaps other table damage has been done to misalign the two halves of the table. I often snag on the table split on the far half of the table.

First thing is to be sure you have, and are using, the table alignment pin. It is a tapered pin that is lightly pounded in the hole in the table edge. It is intended to help align the two table halfs.

Another thing I did was to chamfer the slit separating the two halves with a triangle file. This gave a smoother transition and eliminated the snagging.

[Steve Inniss]

I'm with Paul and Mike here - the symptoms sound right, especially since the blade isn't slowing. I have an 18" Jet, not that the brand really matters here, but I had the same problem. That downforce can be huge and your material will stall on anything it can. If your insert is similar to mine (aluminum and a bit cheesy), chamfering the edges helps - or make your own.

Steve

[Ken Wright]

My apologies for not thanking you guys for your input on my band saw problem ... no excuse other than it just got by me ....

I have tried most everything and nothing seems to solve the problem... think it may be time to look around for a replacement. This time it has to re-saw a 12" board at least......

Appreciate your help and again sorry for not thanking you sooner.

[Dave Smith]

The chips are accmulating in the slot behind the blade. When enough chips accmulate they wedge in the kerf and stop the board. Took me a while to figure out what was going on. The chips or I should say shreds hangup at the end of the slot. I usually lift the back of the board slightly to get it moving again.

Good luck.

Dave Smith

Chilly nights in Longview, WA.

[Ken Wright]

for the tip Dave ... I'll check that out tonight .......




The chips are accmulating in the slot behind the blade. When enough chips accmulate they wedge in the kerf and stop the board. Took me a while to figure out what was going on. The chips or I should say shreds hangup at the end of the slot. I usually lift the back of the board slightly to get it moving again.

Good luck.

Dave Smith

Chilly nights in Longview, WA.