Using band saw to cut along grain

[Dennis Lopeman]

Quick question for you pros - hopefully I can acuratly describe my situatation...

I have this long 9 foot beam. Its about 3 inches wide and 2 inches thick. I wanted it to be 1 inch thick and so proceeded to try and cut it on my band saw.

Well - bottom line - it had a REAL hard time of it and I only made it a foot through it before my blade de-railed. While I was cutting, it was smoking, too. I tried changing the speeds to slower (ShopSmith) which seemed to help... but it was hard to keep a straight line (even useing a finger board) and it actually went totally of the straight...

I could think of any other way to do this and I didn't want to waste all of an inch of oak in my planer just to get it to the desired thickness...


SO - I guess my question(s) would be:

Should my bandsaw blade have worked better (i.e. get it sharpened - it seemed fine during other uses)
Is there a better method for doing what I want?
Should I just go back out on my mill and cut another piece, but make it 1 inch instead of 2??? (being kinda funny here, because that what I should have done, and will probably end up doing out of frustration!)
THANKS in advance

[Ray Gardiner]

Hi Dennis,

My guess would be your blade is blunt.

What do you mean "derailed" did the blade come off the wheels?

[Loren Hedahl]

What you want for ripping is a bandsaw blade that in woodworker parlance is meant for "re-sawing".

It will be 3/8 inch or wider and have 3 teeth per inch with large gullets to carry the shavings away.

Likely you were using a blade that was not optimum for the cut you were making, probably meant for cross cutting.

[Randy Klein]

Sounds like the blade is not sharp.

Edit: Also, like what the others have said: you need the right blade, a sharp blade, and it must be properly tensioned. What you describe sounds like your blade has too high TPI, which means it's having a hard time getting rid of the sawdust, which causes a heat buildup, which causes the blade to warp and start cutting all crazy.

[Josiah Bartlett]

You likely also need a bigger bandsaw that can provide more blade tension.

[Joe Scharle]

I routinely slice 5" walnut on my Shopsmith. The band probably de-railed because you pulled back. Next use a wide blade i.e. 1/2" or 5/8" 3 or 4 tooth per inch. I keep a building shim in my hip pocket to jam into the kerf to keep it from closing. See pic. Also, I make a deep line with a marking gage to help with the tracking.
Good luck, Joe

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/194/ResawFence2.jpg

[Lee Schierer]

Wider blades, proper tension and blade guides adjusted properly seem to be the keys for resawing with any BS. I cut some 5" maple and cherry on my 14" BS just last night with a 1/2" blade. Use a 3 TPI x 1/2" blade for resawing.

[Randal Cobb]

In addition to what everyone else has already mentioned, it sort-of sounds a little like blade drift as well... Just about all blades will have some drift to them... that's a natural tendency for the blade to cut at a small angle (i.e., not in a perfectly parallel line with the fence or miter slot). There are several threads out there on how to account for drift while resawing so I won't go into the particulars here. A search should give you a large amount of information on what it is and how to correct for it, IF that is what you are seeing.

[Jerome Hanby]

That shim is a great idea!


I routinely slice 5" walnut on my Shopsmith. The band probably de-railed because you pulled back. Next use a wide blade i.e. 1/2" or 5/8" 3 or 4 tooth per inch. I keep a building shim in my hip pocket to jam into the kerf to keep it from closing. See pic. Also, I make a deep line with a marking gage to help with the tracking.
Good luck, Joe

[Dennis Lopeman]

Hey guys - I almost forgot I posted this on here!!! Doh!

Thanks for all your inputs. I will look into a new blade (I sure there's a thread which I will search for right after this) - but anyone have any blades they want to plug!?!?

and I think I did pull back when it de-railed (meaning came off the wheels) So my fault there.

and thanks Joe for that picture - I like that guide you built into your table

about tension - I'm always afraid to make it TOO tight - I'm still learning stuff... I'll search for tension secrets too!

Thanks again everyone.

[Lee Schierer]

Timber wolf blades from Suffolk Machine are great from all reports I hear for basic blades.

[Dennis Lopeman]

Timber wolf blades from Suffolk Machine are great from all reports I hear for basic blades.

On my way home made it just in before closing at woodcraft

and I got the PS Wood - aka Timber Wolf blade...

Sorry I didn't wait for more comments; it was a split second decision! Looks like Lee would have agreed with my choice, though!! :)

Thanks!