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Thread: Bandsaw.......I got a problem here...

  1. #16
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    The capacitor won’t be here until Thursday. I should have an update by the weekend. Anyone of the above is certainly a possibility.

    I think I can rule out dull blade. The blade it started on was nearly new, I changed to second brand new blade in case the first one had a defect. I have ceramic guides but I didn’t notice any extra sparks or anything like that. The tires are both in good shape best I can see.

    Feed rate was consistent and slow. Maybe noteworthy, once it started to serpentine I tried slowing to a crawl and it still got worse. Then the very next cut it was fine........

  2. #17
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    Low tension. With enough tension the guides do little, including the rear thrust bearing.
    Wrong blade for the job.
    Maybe both.

    John

  3. #18
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    I'll throw this out for the experts to comment on. You say you cut several pieces with no problem then it goes serpentine but the next piece cuts ok. Could it just be some really wonky wood?

  4. #19
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    Good thought Doug, but no. It was all pretty straight grained 8/4 soft maple.

    Tension makes sense but I’m not sure how I screwed it up after 3 blade changes. I’ve had the saw for many many years and do it the same way I always do......but certainly a possibility.

    The blade is a 1/2” 2-3 tpi Timberwolf Vari-PC. They actually recommended it for the 8/4 soft maple. Of course that could be wrong also. But I have used that blade before on the same saw, on tougher wood, and no issue.

  5. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Jebediah Eckert View Post
    The capacitor won’t be here until Thursday. I should have an update by the weekend. Anyone of the above is certainly a possibility.

    I think I can rule out dull blade. The blade it started on was nearly new, I changed to second brand new blade in case the first one had a defect. I have ceramic guides but I didn’t notice any extra sparks or anything like that. The tires are both in good shape best I can see.

    Feed rate was consistent and slow. Maybe noteworthy, once it started to serpentine I tried slowing to a crawl and it still got worse. Then the very next cut it was fine........
    What type of blade were you using? Specifically the pitch.
    This has happened to me before. Once it was tension and the clue was that the blade was pushing too hard against the thrust bearing. Another time it was because my belt had become worn and cracked in a few places, and it was slipping thus robbing some of the power of the saw.
    I'm a bigger believer in cause/effect than coincidences and with your capacitor failing, I would do nothing and see if upon installation of the new capacitor the problem disappears. If not, pretty much all the suggestions you have received are legitimate possibilities.
    Last edited by Edwin Santos; 05-11-2021 at 12:51 PM.

  6. #21
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    The blade is a 1/2” 2-3 tpi Timberwolf Vari-PC.

  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jebediah Eckert View Post
    Good thought Doug, but no. It was all pretty straight grained 8/4 soft maple.

    Tension makes sense but I’m not sure how I screwed it up after 3 blade changes. I’ve had the saw for many many years and do it the same way I always do......but certainly a possibility.

    The blade is a 1/2” 2-3 tpi Timberwolf Vari-PC. They actually recommended it for the 8/4 soft maple. Of course that could be wrong also. But I have used that blade before on the same saw, on tougher wood, and no issue.

    What's the tension? Using the saw's indicator is pretty much useless unless you calibrated it against a tension meter.

    John

  8. #23
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    I just check the deflection with my finger against the upright side of the saw. A bit back I used the “flutter” test a try and ended up nearly identical as to where I was with my finger.

    I have never had a tension meter before. Come to think of it I’m not even sure what one looks like.

    When I get it running I will certainly try upping the tension. Would low tension make sense that it cuts fine a few cuts then goes haywire, then back fine again? Either way I will give that a try.

    Thanks

  9. #24
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    It is pretty easy to measure tension using a digital caliper. There were instructions somewhere in posts.

    I did it a couple of times and figured out that t h e gauge on my Jet was close.

  10. #25
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    Lots of people do it that way, Jebediah, but when you run into problems you have no clue if the tension is high enough. Blindly adjusting tension is like driving without a speedometer. Fortunately, cars come with speedometers and for the cost of a dial gage and an hour of your time you can have a tension meter to check the tension on your bandsaw blade. Once you know the tension at a particular setting for the on board pointer you can use that in the future to tension the same brand/size blade.

    https://sites.google.com/view/jteney...ter?authuser=1

    Increasing tension is not the right move unless it's low. Despite what Timberwolf advertises blades don't cut consistently well at low tension. 20 - 25 ksi is a good range for most blades if your saw can muster it. If it can't, and my little 14" Delta can't, then your set up has to be just about perfect to get consistently good results. If I have a new 1/2" blade on it with 12 ksi tension and have it tuned so that it cuts straight and parallel with the miter slot, it will cut fine as long as I am patient. Cranky grain, however, can still cause problems sometimes. On the other end of the spectrum, my 17" Grizzly easily tensions a 1" blade to 25 ksi. Once it's set up it will cut through nearly anything about as fast as I can push the wood into it, without wandering. Tension is your friend.

    John

  11. #26
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    Thanks John. I can’t find the one using digital calipers, but yours looks doable. I’m going to read that and make one while I’m waiting for the capacitor.

    How do I even know what the tension should be for that blade, manufacturer? Twenty years of bandsawing I never gave it this much thought, but I guess I need to eliminate that.

    Thank you.
    Last edited by Jebediah Eckert; 05-11-2021 at 8:41 PM.

  12. #27
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    I’ve never used a tension mechanism on a bandsaw blade. I just set it on the scale and go a bit over and always have my blades cut at 178 inches.
    Im not convinced it’s really wise for every saw and blade. Bandsaws have so many different blades and woods that can determine the quality of a surface.
    I think it better to focus on tooth count and wood thickness. Then the property of the wood and that’s a whole kettle of fish.
    Aj

  13. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jebediah Eckert View Post
    Thanks John. I can’t find the one using digital calipers, but yours looks doable. I’m going to read that and make one while I’m waiting for the capacitor.

    How do I even know what the tension should be for that blade, manufacturer? Twenty years of bandsawing I never gave it this much thought, but I guess I need to eliminate that.

    Thank you.
    Jebediah,

    These are some links I saved where John T wrote about bandsaw tension. I didn't go through each one just now but perhaps some are different from what you have seen. One shows the digital caliper method.

    https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....38#post3113838

    https://sites.google.com/site/jteney...-tension-meter

    https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....08#post2958508

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...33#post2640833

    JKJ

  14. #29
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    Thanks John. I’ll check them out.

  15. #30
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    The capacitor came last night and I put it in today. I could not figure out what side was “common” so I guessed at it. I know very little about these things but it seems to have polarity according to the bandsaw’s wiring diagram. I figured I had a 50% chance of getting it right. Put it on, buttoned everything up, and it ran fine.

    The blade was left “as is” when it failed. It seemed to be cutting fine but it’s not a good test yet. I only ran it for a couple minutes. The capacitor didn’t heat up and everything seemed fine. But from my previous post it doesn’t always cut wavy so it still may happen.

    I’ll cut a bunch this weekend and will report back.

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