Who Stands with Alex Snodgrass on Drift?

[vince mastrosimone]

My original thought was to determine if a home-use type bandsaw in reasonably good condition could be setup/tuned to eliminate drift. What I’m understanding is the answer is yes. It sounds like if you have everything square, a good sharp blade, guides properly set and the blade set on the tire properly, you should be good to go.

it has been fun reading the responses. Thanks to all of you who have contributed.

[Edward Weber]

My original thought was to determine if a home-use type bandsaw in reasonably good condition could be setup/tuned to eliminate drift. What I’m understanding is the answer is yes. It sounds like if you have everything square, a good sharp blade, guides properly set and the blade set on the tire properly, you should be good to go.

it has been fun reading the responses. Thanks to all of you who have contributed.

I took a few pictures a while back to illustrate this exact point. I know this is only a 2x4 but it proves that ANY saw can be tuned to cut straight and parallel to the fence.
IMG_3574 (600 x 450).jpgIMG_3581 (600 x 450).jpgIMG_3586 (600 x 450).jpg

[Wes Grass]

A friend had several Amada cutoff saws. Went in there one day and he was cutting 8 inch plus stainless. Not a problem ... get the feed pressure right ... and ...

He'd 'dress' the blade every few cuts with a large oil stone. On the sides... look at which way its drifting and dull the appropriate side to straighten it out. 1-1/4" bi-metal blades... not cheap ... just figured into the quote as 'perishable tooling'. And he'd squeeze every last penny out of them.

Biggest saws he had, HA-400, would do 16" round. I'd personally want to stay somewhere below 'forklift required'.