Grizzly with a resaw twist - what to do next?

[Brian Kent]

My recently purchased 513x2 bandsaw has been excellent with all of the blades - 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" - so far. I love it.

I tried today to set it up for resaw with the 3/4", 2-3tpi suffolk blade. It is twisting about 5 degrees off center when I try to follow a line. It also creates a groaning noise when it gets about 3-4 degrees off center.

I started again with set up:

I set the blade to track center.

Did the flutter-removal tensioning.

I adjusted the upper and lower, side and back guides according to instructions.

I lowered the guides to the correct height.

Glasses on / plug in /power on / sawn to a line on a 4/4 x 5" wide board.

Off by 5 degrees, with the same groan.

What is the next step?

[Pat Germain]

I have the same bandsaw, Brian. Did you adjust the fence for blade drift? The instruction are in the manual. Basically, you make a long cut, shut the machine off, clamp the board in position, then align the fence to the board.

Also, The Wood Whisperer has a very good video about setting up a bandsaw. He demonstrates how to adjust for blade drift, among other things. I highly recommend viewing this if you haven't done so.

[Brian Kent]

Yes, Pat, I was in the process of adjusting for the drift when it just seemed like too extreme of an angle. It was a greater angle than the fence would adjust and it was obvious something was rubbing wrong.

I'll check the video if I can find it.

[Pat Germain]

Also understand with resawing you h-a-v-e t-o g-o v-e-r-y s-l--o--w... I Learned this the hard way. If you push too hard, the blade will twist and drift hard to one side, then the other. You'll end up with an undulating board.

[Brian Kent]

The swerve is so severe I am actually wondering if there is a problem with the blade. I double checked everything again, set everything with a feeler gauge, had the fence as far as it would go (far end of fence to the right) and slowly moved the 4/4 x 5" oak into the blade, starting a 1/4" thick resaw, and the blade had twisted to where it had left the board (on the fence side) within 2" of the beginning of the cut.


Exact same results when I tried increasing the tension from 5 to 6.

All other blades I have used in the past were spot on.

[Ed Beers]

The groan is probably being caused by the blade being wedged side ways.

[Mikail Khan]

Yes, Pat, I was in the process of adjusting for the drift when it just seemed like too extreme of an angle. It was a greater angle than the fence would adjust and it was obvious something was rubbing wrong.



You can try adding a wedge between the rip and resaw fences to increase the angle. I did this with my 514X and a new blade recently. If you use a wedge double check that the fence is perpendicular to the table before you take a cut.

I have read about adjusting the blade tracking if the drift angle is outside the adjustment range of the fence, but I have not tried it myself to see if it works.

[Brian Kent]

You can try adding a wedge between the rip and resaw fences to increase the angle. I did this with my 514X and a new blade recently. If you use a wedge double check that the fence is perpendicular to the table before you take a cut.

I have read about adjusting the blade tracking if the drift angle is outside the adjustment range of the fence, but I have not tried it myself to see if it works.

I could try the wedge except for the noise that the blade is making from being too far sideways (as Ed said). The size of the angle and the noise really make me uncomfortable.

I will adjust the tracking. I'll bring it back on the wheel towards the back of the blade.

When I feel the blade (saw off) the teeth side feels like it has significantly less tension than the back side.

[Peter Quadarella]

When I feel the blade (saw off) the teeth side feels like it has significantly less tension than the back side.

That sounds strange. If you resaw with the 1/2" blade, is everything ok?

[Brian Kent]

Yes, both with the Suffolk 1/2", 3tpi and the fine tooth 1/2" that came with the tool. I was surprised that there was no noticeable drift on either one, although I had just resawn a foot at a time and no long boards yet.

On this blade the blade literally left the board after 2" (even after the fence was adjusted to its max).

[Ben Rafael]

Sounds like the blade.
Call Suffolk, they might be familiar with your saw for that blade and can narrow down what the solution is. Could be something as simple as the blade position on the tire.

[Curt Harms]

Yes, both with the Suffolk 1/2", 3tpi and the fine tooth 1/2" that came with the tool. I was surprised that there was no noticeable drift on either one, although I had just resawn a foot at a time and no long boards yet.

On this blade the blade literally left the board after 2" (even after the fence was adjusted to its max).

I'd guess the blade has an issue. I've had similar happenings with blades from both Timberwolf & Supercut. I know what happened to the SuperCut blade-trying to resaw very wet wood and twisting the crap out of the blade. My fix was a new blade. The old blade would resaw but with quite a lot of drift. I prefer the no-drift-correction-cuts-great blades. I kept the drifting blade for general and curvy cuts.

HTH

Curt

[Pete Bradley]

I've found it difficult to get that band (especially the 2TPI) to run stable without more tension than the flutter method alone would give you. If you're getting 5 degrees of deflection with the guides properly set for a 4/4 board, you don't have enough tension.

What you're describing also suggests a dull or damaged band. Is it possible you've caught something metal (table insert, guide block,etc) with it, especially down one side of the teeth?

That band should work, but you may well find that a 1/2" band delivers optimal resaw performance on your saw.

Pete

trivia: if you look at the 2 TPI teeth, you'll see that they're actually a raker-3 configuration instead of a raker-5 like other Suffolk bands to help maintain stability with the big teeth.

[glenn bradley]

I have the G0513X and run the TW 3/4" 2-3T without issue. Since your other blades track fine I would suspect the blade. Just for future reference (and for what its worth) I prefer the 1/2" blade as it seems to cut easier and I notice no cut or tracking improvement with the 3/4". That's just my experience, YMMV. The 3/4" is fine, I just don't think I'll replace it when its done.

[Brian Kent]

I've found it difficult to get that band (especially the 2TPI) to run stable without more tension than the flutter method alone would give you. If you're getting 5 degrees of deflection with the guides properly set for a 4/4 board, you don't have enough tension.

What you're describing also suggests a dull or damaged band. Is it possible you've caught something metal (table insert, guide block,etc) with it, especially down one side of the teeth?

I backed the blade up on the wheel and there is equal tension on the front and the back of the blade. Still 5 degrees of deflection.

I increased the tension to the top of the scale (over "8" instead of a flutter-free "5") and the deflection has increased to 8 degrees.

I just started using the blade and know of no damage to the teeth.

[Charlie Plesums]

Each of your posts/comments made me think "bad blade." A couple degrees drift is a lot, IMHO, and usually indicates a worn out blade. The fact that your other blades work fine suggests the saw is okay. Since your blade is new, perhaps it was welded wrong, or was kinked, or something.

Suffolk folks are very knowledgeable and responsive... give them a call.

[Brian Kent]

I took off the 3/4" blade, put it away, put the 1/2" back just to make sure the saw was still OK, and I cut (resawed) several feet of the same board to a line without the fence.

Deflection was only 1/2 of one degree.

I'm done with that 3/4" blade. I'll see if Suffolk wants it back for their own sakes, or maybe they'll send a new one, but I am happy with the other 3. It was buy 3 get a fourth for free anyway.:)

As for now I'm just happy the saw works right with this 1/2" blade.

Thank you all for your troubleshooting ideas. I learned a lot even if I couldn't get that blade to work.

[Pat Germain]

As luck would have it, today I received the 1" resaw blade I ordered from Suffolk Machinery for my recently purchased G0513X2. Having read about Brian's issues here, I wanted to give it a try.

I cleaned the blade and applied some dry lube. I mounted it, set the tension and readjusted the guides. I then burnished the back side of the blade, made a test cut and used that to set the fence for drift.

To test this blade, I really wanted to give it a challenge. You can see what I cut and how it turned out in the picture here. I'm no expert, but I think it turned out downright peachy. This blade is a 1" 2 TPI. Yep, that's a pretty hairy bandsaw blade.

[Brian Kent]

That's beautiful, Pat, but it looks like it left big ol' brown and white stripes all over your board!:rolleyes:

[Pat Germain]

^^ Yeah, I'll have to call Suffolk Machinery about that. ;)

Just to state the obvious, Brian, did you pull your side-to-side guide bearings out to sit just behind the teeth of the your blade? I mention this because I was being a biscuit and forgot to do this when I first installed that 1" blade. I went to set the gap between the blade and the bearings, then realized they were way too far back. Doh!

[Brian Kent]

Yes I did, Pat. Thanks for checking.

[Ed Beers]

I could try the wedge except for the noise that the blade is making from being too far sideways (as Ed said). The size of the angle and the noise really make me uncomfortable.


If you get the angle right, the work won't get wedged in between the fence and blade. I agree with the others though, it is probably a bad blade.

[Jeff Duncan]

I'd say stick with the 1/2" and smaller blades. With smaller saws (18" and less) 1/2" is recommended as the widest practical blade for use. Even though the manufacturer may say it will handle a 1" blade, wider blades are thicker and not so hot for smaller wheels, at least according to the "Bandsaw Handbook" I've been brushing up on recently.
I've tried from 1/4" up to 1" blades on my 20" saw, and ended up using a decent 3/8" blade for just about everything, including re-sawing up to 5" maple. It just seems to work well as an all purpose blade and keeps me from having to change blades everytime I need to do a different type of cut. I haven't tried re-sawing anything thicker, but a buddy of mine used it to slice a 13" sq. chunk of maple in half without any problems.
good luck,
JeffD

[Stephen Edwards]

Your problem is just the opposite of one that I had when I recently got my new G0555X. I had trouble resawing with a timberwolf 1/2 inch 3 tpi that I ordered with the saw. BAD drift. I checked the saw thoroughly and found that the lower blade guide assembly weren't set square to the trunion. I fixed that. Grizzly replaced, free of charge, the 1/2 inch timberwolf blade.

In the meantime I ordered the buy three get one free deal directly from Suffolk of the 3/4 3tpi. I put one of those on the BS and have had no problems. There is no drift at all. I've resawn 12 inch mahogony and 10 inch purple heart, 2 feet and 4 feet long with consistent widths the lenght of the cuts. I don't have to adjust the fence for drift.

Hope you are able to solve your problem. I agree with the others, though I'm sort of new to resawing on a BS, that it's probably a bad blade.

[Barry Reade]

This is a great thread for me as I have a G0514X2 on order and am waiting for it to be shipped around 6/6. I have been waiting to call Suffolk and order my blades but I think I will do it today.

Thanks to everyone that contributed to this thread.

[Brian Kent]

It has been over a month now. I have sent three friendly e-mails beginning May 27 (Info@SuffolkMachinery.com) and have never received any response.

During their open hours I rarely have time to call, but can try next Thursday when I'm off.

Meanwhile, has anyone gotten good e-mail service from them? They are so responsive on the phone that this surprised me.

[Charlie Plesums]

Suffolk is totally phone oriented. Note that you cannot buy anything on their web site, so I am not surprised that they are weak on the email as well. It's like they hired a talented kid to build a web site to get us technically oriented folks off their back, but ... well, enough of the rant.

[Brian Kent]

Suffolk is totally phone oriented. Note that you cannot buy anything on their web site, so I am not surprised that they are weak on the email as well. It's like they hired a talented kid to build a web site to get us technically oriented folks off their back, but ... well, enough of the rant.

I can live with that. I'll give them a call on Thursday and not try again on the e-mail. Thanks Charlie.

[Billy Chambless]

Suffolk is totally phone oriented. Note that you cannot buy anything on their web site, so I am not surprised that they are weak on the email as well. It's like they hired a talented kid to build a web site to get us technically oriented folks off their back, but ... well, enough of the rant.

Yeah it's like they have an email address just ebcause "businesses are supposed to have an email address".

With that said, I've found their service to be friendly, helpful, and fast, and the blades themselves excellent.

[Brian Kent]

I just spent a few minutes before work today - on the phone with Suffolk. Problem solved. They say it is a blade with a twist of some kind and a new blade will ship tomorrow. They won't have 2-3 tpi stock in for a month, bit 3 tpi / 3/4" is just fine with me.:)