Lenox trimaster gullets different sizes

[Ben Rafael]

I have a lenox trimaster that I installed on my new MM16.
I have noticed that all the gullets are of at least 6 different sizes. There
is no pattern to the gullets either.
Is this normal?
I am having trouble getting the saw to resaw smoothly, I am asking this in order to eliminate what the problem may be.
Thanks for any help.

[Brad Schmid]

Varying gullet size is a result of the variable tooth spacing (2/3, 3/4 - assuming 1" blade). It is the design of the blade and likely not what is causing your problem unless there is truly a manufacturing flaw with the blade. Perhaps tracking, tension, alignment, etc. is more likely the cause?

BTW - there actually is a pattern to it, it's just not obvious especially if you look at just a short segment of the blade.
Cheers

[Doug Shepard]

That blade should give you about the smoothest resaw cut that you can get on a BS.
Fence locked down square to table?
Blade tracking OK on the wheels with the teeth just hanging off the wheel edge?
Guides set just back of the gullets?
Bottom edge of board jointed square to the face against the fence?
Not enough tension? Mine's usually set a fair amount higher than the MM16 scale reading for that blade width.
Can you post pics of the cut?

[Mark Singer]

It is a variable pitch blade. I love it!

[Chris Padilla]

I have one as well and Doug has nailed all the fine points. With proper setup, you should get *almost* planer like finishes from resawing. It truly is an amazing BS blade!

I bet tension is your problem...crank it up and forget about what the scale on the BS says!

[Mike Cutler]

Ben

I use the 1" Tri Master also. I don't think there is a better blade for a bandsaw, at least not a shop bandsaw.
I don't get super smooth faces during resawing, but I have a little vibration with my bandsaw. I do however get uniform, consistent thicknesses of the resawn material.

This is a link to a review of my Rikon 18" Band saw with some pictures of the effects of vibration on the blade and material. I have to move my band saw and weight it to get smoother cuts.
Are your results better or worse?

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=17055

[Ben Rafael]

It's a new saw. I'm not sure if it is set up correctly. Especially the part about the tooth overhanging the wheel, I'm not sure if I have enough or not.
My last saw was a ridgid, I got very smooth cuts on it, but then again, it took about 4 minutes to resaw a 1foot length.

At what rate should I be feeding the wood for a planer smooth finish? This thing will take the wood as fast as I can push it, it has power.

[Mike Cutler]

It's a new saw. I'm not sure if it is set up correctly. Especially the part about the tooth overhanging the wheel, I'm not sure if I have enough or not.
My last saw was a ridgid, I got very smooth cuts on it, but then again, it took about 4 minutes to resaw a 1foot length.

At what rate should I be feeding the wood for a planer smooth finish? This thing will take the wood as fast as I can push it, it has power.

Your not trying to feed for speed. You're trying to find the rate at which you can feed that yields a nice result. Start slow and increase the rate. Watch the back of the blade. When it makes contact with the rear thrust bearing, stay at that speed for a bit. You can go faster, but we're trying to figure out how fast. A nice even rate with no stops. Analyze the cut afterwards, looking primarily for a nice uniform thickness.
I don't have my teeth overhanging the wheel. I know some folks do, but it didn't work as well for me. I think Jim Becker has the same Band saw that you do and is also running a Lennox triMaster. he may be able to share some setup insight

[Robert LaPlaca]

Ben,

A MM16 + a Tri-Master is a re-sawing fiend..Simply an amazing blade, I would call the quality of very good, but not planer good.

The MM euro guides need to be set pretty close to the blade, I set mine with a .003 feeler gauge, are your guides that close?

[Ben Rafael]

.003 is essentially touching.
I try that and see what happens.

[Doug Shepard]

It's a new saw. I'm not sure if it is set up correctly. Especially the part about the tooth overhanging the wheel, I'm not sure if I have enough or not....

I dont really measure or even know if there's a recommended offset but I think the tips of the teeth on mine are typically about 1/8" off the wheel.

[Ben Rafael]

I dont really measure or even know if there's a recommended offset but I think the tips of the teeth on mine are typically about 1/8" off the wheel.
I'll try that, mine are hanging off at least a 1/4".

[Chris Padilla]

A MM16 + a Tri-Master is a re-sawing fiend.

I have a MM20 spinning my Tri-Master. :D

[Chris Barnett]

Teeth off the wheel? Hope you are speaking of the bearing wheel and not the main wheels.

[Tom Henderson2]

I have a lenox trimaster that I installed on my new MM16.
I have noticed that all the gullets are of at least 6 different sizes. There
is no pattern to the gullets either.
Is this normal?
I am having trouble getting the saw to resaw smoothly, I am asking this in order to eliminate what the problem may be.
Thanks for any help.

As others have mentioned, this is a design feature.

If you look closely at the tread pattern on your car tires, you will probably see a similar semi-random pattern. That reduces noise and "singing" on the road. Similar spacing on bandsaw blades has the same effect when sawing.

-TH

[Brad Schmid]

Teeth off the wheel? Hope you are speaking of the bearing wheel and not the main wheels.

Chris,

We are speaking of the main wheels and tires... MM (and some other) bandsaws run a "flat" tire as opposed to a crowned tire on a traditional bandsaw. If you run the teeth on the wheel/tire, a few negative things can/will likely happen:

- Tooth damage - carbon steel blade will lose it's set, carbide (trimaster) could chip/break from tension on the side of the tooth
- Tire damage - teeth cutting into the tire


cheers