Getting blade lead with my G0513x2

[Matt Campbell]

I'm getting blade lead when I try resawing. How do I correct it? I'm using the stock blade since I have no other blade currently so that may be the problem. Everything is parallel, and the blade is properly tensioned. At least I think so. Also, I'm slowly feeding it through instead of forcing it. What else could be the problem? :confused:

[Fred Belknap]

I don't have the same saw but you usually can adjust the fence to lead. Use a ¾" board about the length of the table. Draw a line on it parallel to the edge. Cut it half way through by eye following the line. Stop the saw and clamp the board to table without moving it. Line the fence up with the board and you should be able to rip using the fence. Hope this helps.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Matt,

Fred is dead on. You will probably have to adjust for drift with every blade change. My b/s fence has one bolt and a pin that holds the fence to the fence handle assembly. I did as Fred suggested, loosened the bolt adjusted the fence. I did a 2nd cut and made a 2nd very minor adjustment and bingo. I was able to cut 1/8" slices from boards using just the fence.

[Matt Campbell]

Fred, I can't quite picture what you're explaining. I do much better with pictures if anyone has a picture of what he's saying. :confused:

[Anthony Watson]

Ken and Fred,

I have a Grizzly G0555 bandsaw with a riser block I bought a couple of years ago (and barely used). I installed a 1/2" 3 pos blade I bought from Grizzly and followed the same technique you describe. However, I have more drift than the fence allows adjustment for. So for now I've just resorted to drawing a line and trying to follow by eye.

Any ideas what would cause the drift to be so excessive, and what can I do to correct it?

Thanks,

Anthony

[Jake Helmboldt]

I'm getting blade lead when I try resawing. How do I correct it? I'm using the stock blade since I have no other blade currently so that may be the problem. Everything is parallel, and the blade is properly tensioned. At least I think so. Also, I'm slowly feeding it through instead of forcing it. What else could be the problem? :confused:

Before messing about with it too much I'd get a decent blade. The stock blades are notorious for being pretty lousy and not suited to resawing (if like mine it is a higher TPI).

[Cary Falk]

I deal with drift from the blade side not the fence side. The blade needs to be cnetered on the crown of the wheel. If the blade is on the back side of the crown the blade will veer to the right. If the blade is in front of the crown the blade will cut to the left.

[jerry nazard]

The Grizz 513 stock blade is worthless for anything other than rough set up of the saw. Get a decent blade and then do your fine tune up. With a good blade, the 513 is one heck of a great saw!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Matt and Anthony,

Do yourselves a favor. Buy Mark Duginske's latest book "The New Complete Guide to Bandsaws"....available at Amazon for $14.96.



Mark goes into great detail in explaining how to properly position a blade on the wheels and how to adjust for blade drift.

There are a lot of myths out there. Mark's explanations, illustrations and procedures are first class IMHO.

No relation to Duginske or Amazon. Just bought the book and appreciate the knowledge it imparted.

[Burt Alcantara]

A good blade and proper tensioning will probably remove all of these problems. Each saw has its own idea about what the proper tension is. Try tensioning the blade until you can't flex it any more the 1/4" side to side without your finger turning white.

But most important is a good blade. All else is folly.

Burt

[glenn bradley]

Lots of good replies here. I have a G0513X and did do some test cuts with the factory blade. I kept it in case I need to cut something nasty later on. I picked up some Tiberwolf blades. I had used Suffolk stuff on a previous saw and liked them. I can generally position the blade on the wheel such that I don't have to adjust the fence for drift but as stated by others; blades are different. Get a decent blade, follow setup recommendations and adjust from there. I think you'll do fine.

[Fred Belknap]

Tony you may need to adjust your table to the blade. Use the same procedure but aligne the miter slot to the blade drift then adjust the fence. Try a cut with the miter gauge and see if it is 90°. If it isn't you may need to adjust the table. Loosen the mounting bolts and there should be enough play to adjust the table.

[Bill White]

3 tpi resaw blade. Then adjust as needed. Anything else (beside a good blade first) will be like trying to "wingshoot" with a shotgun loaded with buckshot.
Bill

[Greg Cole]

+1 for Glenn's set up. I don't set up for drift as I get none with my set up, it's dead nuts oer say (part of the reason I dislike changing baldes for cutting a curve is undoing the dead nuts part).
Get a good blade or 3 and then worry about resawing and dailing in.
+1 for the bandsaw book Ken mentioned if you want to know more than you think you need to know about bandsaws.

Greg

[Dave Avery]

Before messing about with it too much I'd get a decent blade. The stock blades are notorious for being pretty lousy and not suited to resawing (if like mine it is a higher TPI).


Agree. I followed the manual for adjusting the saw AFTER purchasing a 3/4" Lenox TriMaster blade. It took all of 15 minutes and I'm mechanically challenged in the extreme. I know the blade is a lot of $, but adjusting the fence for drift was not required and I can peel off relatively smooth very thin pieces with ease. It's actually FUN! Best. Dave.

[Anthony Whitesell]

Before I make it this far with my G0513x2, I have a question about drift. Does it vary with the thickness of the board? In simple terms, would the drift be different (better or worse) when resawing a 2x8 than resawing a 2x4?

[Wilbur Pan]

Having just gone through a bandsaw tuneup session last night, to me it looks like drift is fairly independent of board thickness. What seems to change more with board thickness is the possibility of getting a barrel-shaped cut.

[Chris Padilla]

Wilbur,

Drift is blade-dependent and also it depends on how in-tune your saw is (wheels balanced, inline with each other, parallel, wheels crowned?) and also on the tension your saw imposes on the blade. Your guides are also important in keeping the blade where it is supposed to be so it does not wander. Mark D's book is great and a must for every bandsaw owner to realize their tools full potential.

Oh yeah, Lenox Trimaster blades RULE! It is amazing how they can slice through anything so smoothly and effortlessly....

[Anthony Whitesell]

The Lenox blades may be great, but I couldn't find a good place to get them and Suffolk had a buy 3 get 1 free sale. So I opted for a variety of Timberwolf blades to ruin...I mean...get me started. After I make a test cut or two with the stock blade to ensure everything is running and connected, it will end up with the rest of the "sacrificial" blades and the Timberwolf will be installed immediately.

I still need to figure out how the tension gauge works on the G0513x2, it's just a scale of number (1-9 I think) with no sizes listed. What I don't need is to break a blade while tensioning it. I do know is that the starting point to tension the stock 1/2" blade is ~5. I figure 3/4" Timberwolf will be slightly higher 6-7, and the Timberwolf 1/2" will probably be ~4. Not a clue for the 1/4" blade.

[glenn bradley]

Anthony, use the flutter method (http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/six_rules.asp)as described by Suffolk for Screw and Spring Tensioning Machines. There is no need to get a TW blade anywhere near tight enough to break.