bandsaw blade skew

[Robin Cruz]

When I try to resaw, it seems to me that I need to add an excessive amount of wood to blade angle to get the blade to cut along the axis of the wood. Id say its about 10 degree skew. I cannot get good resaw output either with a fence or with the point edge guide approach.

I have tuned up the saw to:
replaced tires,
centered blade on tires
set thrust bearings properly
set guide blocks properly (using masked tape for gap)
using new 1/2 3tpi blade
Set blade tension with indicator on saw for 1/2 inch blade

its an old Rockwell 14" bandsaw.

Is that skew excessive? Any thoughts as to why?

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Robin, what is the skew required with a different blade?

Skew is a function of blade set, more on one side of the blade than the other.

A different blade may have less or more tracking error.

Regards, Rod.

[Greg Campbell]

Sounds like you need to set the "drift" on your saw, angle to set the fence to get a good cut.

To set drift, you will need a piece of scrap wood that is jointed with a true edge, draw a line parallel to the edge (about an 1/2 to 3/4 inches in), then cut to the line freehand. Once the cut is following the line stop keeping the orientation of the wood. Then adjust the fence to be parallel to the edge of the wood.

I am told that drift is a function of the saw and blade, so you will need to reset the drift each time you change a blade.

Drift is important resawing because if it is not properly set, the blade will leave an uneven cut in the wood if you stop will cutting as the blade tries to find it's drift angle.

Hope this helps. There are lots better descriptions in bandsaw books (or on the web I'm sure - check Fine Woodworking site).

[Robin Cruz]

ok. its called drift. Is an angle off blade of 10 degrees reasonable?

[Brian Kent]

I had the same problem with about 5°. Here is the thread:

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=85126&highlight=resaw+twist


Bottom line for me was the blade. Suffolk replaced the blade when I called them.

[Charlie Plesums]

It sounds like your blade tension may be low.

The blade tension on the bandsaw gauge is correct for one thickness of blade. On my saw I found it was for a blade .018 inches thick. Most of my blades are about twice that, around .035 inches thick. Therefore on my saw, the tension for a 1/2 inch blade needs to be set at the mark for a 1 inch blade.

Bottom line, don't count on the tension gauge being correct for the blade you are using. If you are using a timberwolf blade, use just enough tension to avoid flutter (Timberwolf likes minimum tension). For any other blade, that test is the minimum tension, and more is often good.

[Robin Cruz]

the tension is easy enough to try. I'll give it go. What is a good 1/2 3tpi blade and where is a good place to buy it online? I got this blade from Rockler.

[Charlie Plesums]

Timberwolf blades are very good for home-class bandsaws - Suffolk Machinery is the primary vendor. Their phone service is great including fast, reasonable shipping. 800-234-7297. They have an informative web site, but you cannot order there.

[Tom Esh]

the tension is easy enough to try. I'll give it go. What is a good 1/2 3tpi blade and where is a good place to buy it online?

I second Charlie's recommendation for Timberwolf. Performance is superb. My 14" Griz 457 tensions a 3/4" Timberwolf with ease. However their 1/2" does nearly as good a job - good enough I don't bother changing blades just to resaw a few BF.

[Mike Shields]

I have limited experience with a bandsaw, however, I did find thru trial and error that I got much better results resawing 8" poplar:

1. using the original 3/4" (3 or 4 tpi) blade over a high quality aftermarket 1/2" blade

2. using a slow feed rate against a tall fence (not the factory fence)

3. marking a pencil line along the entire top edge as the cut line

4. using a slight amount of offset on the fence to compensate for drift

5. keeping the kerf open with shims to keep the board from closing on the blade

[Robin Cruz]

I have limited experience with a bandsaw, however, I did find thru trial and error that I got much better results resawing 8" poplar:

1. using the original 3/4" (3 or 4 tpi) blade over a high quality aftermarket 1/2" blade

2. using a slow feed rate against a tall fence (not the factory fence)

3. marking a pencil line along the entire top edge as the cut line

4. using a slight amount of offset on the fence to compensate for drift

5. keeping the kerf open with shims to keep the board from closing on the blade
good tips. Ill incorporate those.