Laguna 14suv setup

[George Yetka]

So I hate bandsaws. I have spent hours trying to figure this thing out. I followed instructions on setup to the tee and somethings not right.
-It has lagunas ceramic guides.
-I have gullet centered on wheels and tracking seems to be on.
-Ceramic guides end at the gullet
-I used the dollar bill trick for spacing and ended up with lots of sparks.
-opened up just a little bit and sparks went away but blade tracks in the wood so I added tension till I was off the scale and it still tracks

someone help me to like this tool

[Art Mann]

The manual that came with my Laguna said you would see sparks with the ceramic guides and that it isn't a problem. My saw has been doing that for years now and there has been no problem so far. I don't put a dollar bill between the saw and guides. I just apply light pressure and let the guides touch the ceramic. It controls the blade better.

[Doug Hepler]

George

As Art Mann said, sparks are not a sign that you have set it up wrong. I suggest that you reduce the tension to the recommended level. The gauge may not be accurate, but it will probably be OK. The dollar bill is an OK way to space the guides. In my experience, the quality of Laguna bandsaw blades is not consistent. If the blade is consistently tracking off to one side it may well be that the teeth are set differently on one side than on the other. The blade I bought with my Laguna BS was defective in that way and it drove me crazy for a while. A new blade eliminated the problem. If it is wandering, either the blade is dull or you are feeding too fast (or both -- that is a balancing act).

I found that Laguna customer service is excellent. Give them a call.

Band saws require some getting used to. They are not like table saws. My BS (Laguna 14/12) is my "go-to" rip saw, but it took me a while to feel that way about it.

Doug

[Geoff Crimmins]

If that saw has crowned tires then you can adjust the tracking of the blade on the wheel until you find the spot where there isn't any drift. If you don't want to mess with that or if the tires are flat then you can adjust the angle of the fence to compensate for the drift. Tensioning the blade off the scale isn't likely to help. If you think there's more to the problem then that, then please post more information about what blade you're using, how old the blade is, what kind of wood you're trying to cut, and how thick the wood is. That will help everyone give better suggestions. As Art said, it's normal for the guides to spark some.

[Curt Harms]

If you haven't done so, I'd try a different blade. I had a bandsaw blade that wouldn't cut straight. Everything appeared to be set up correctly so I changed nothing but the blade. Fixed, the new one tracked straight. I know of no way to tell by looking at a bandsaw blade if it will track as expected or if it'll drift. I have two nails driven into a joist. On one nail are bands that tracked straight the last time I used it, on another nail are bands that I don't trust and are not used for resawing or where straight cuts are not required.

[John TenEyck]

Lower the tension back to what the scale says. If the blade flutters at that setting turn the tension up a little until it runs smoothly. Put the back of the gullets on the center of the upper wheel, and adjust the tracking so it stays there. Adjust the guides per the manual. OK, does it cut straight now? If not, adjust the tracking on the upper wheel so the blade moves towards the front if the blade leads to the right, and towards the back if it tracks left. Make a small adjustment and check how the blade cuts. If it still won't cut straight after moving the blade forward/backward on the wheel then the blade is bad, either unequal set or the teeth are duller on one side. Even brand new blades don't always cut straight, but if two in a row don't then there is likely something wrong with the alignment of the wheels on the frame. Let's hope that's not the problem.

A BS is such a versatile machine when properly tuned.

John

[George Yetka]

Thank you guys for the help I've ordered new blade. Once I get it I'll try again with Laguna's recommendations.