Bandsaw Table Losing Parallel

[Jonzjob]

I am with you JSW in that the only I take the tension of of my saw is to change the blade. And I have always used a 1/4" 6 skip for the 30 years I have had my Startrite 301S. I also use Tufsaw's M40 blade, at least I think it's that one? I also have a couple of Axy blades as backup.

 

[Ewan C]

I am with you JSW in that the only I take the tension of of my saw is to change the blade. And I have always used a 1/4" 6 skip for the 30 years I have had my Startrite 301S. I also use Tufsaw's M40 blade, at least I think it's that one? I also have a couple of Axy blades as backup.

Okay, I’ll not un-tension it for a couple of nights, and see it it can stay parallel. Thanks, Ewan.

 

[TRITON]

Another thing to note is what has the blade been used for ?. If its only straight cuts, then it pretty much cuts straight, but if its been used to cut curves,especially tight ones the blade woont cut parallel to the miter slots.
You can usually tell if you draw a straight line along a piece of timber and hand feed it through the blade. If it starts to wander where you need to angle the workpiece by say 5 or 10 degrees thats a sign the blades been used to cut curves and using a fence wont allow you to cut straight, it will always try to find its own natural route.

 

[Orraloon]

I made this fence.
Universal Bandsaw Fence - YouTube
If your blade is sharp and the saw is perfectly set up then the factory fence does an OK kind of job. The universal fence is so easy to make and overcomes any blade drift you can't tune out. I use it instead of the factory fence anytime I resaw thicker wood. Added bonus of a zero clearance cut and you can have a bit more table surface for larger work.
Regards
John

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Hi, I have a small Record Power BS250 bandsaw, and the table seems to have a problem staying parallel with the blade, by this I mean that when the fence is attached it’s not parallel to the blade.

I have a bandsaw buddy, which I use to get the fence parallel, but then after I’ve finished with the bandsaw and leave it for a day or two, the fence is un-parallel the next time I use it.

So I have to un-tighten the bolts on the bottom of the table again and get it back to being parallel again.

Anyone know if there is a way to fix this, as I can’t imagine it’s meant to be like this?

Thanks in advance.

Something that hasn’t, or I can’t see that it has, been mentioned is tracking.

the first unclear point is that you say that the blade isn’t parallel to the table, as if this has a significant meaning, and can only be changed by moving the table in relation to the blade.

The important point is not “is the blade parallel to the table” but does the blade cut parallel to the fence.
You can not discover this by using the bandsaw buddy (FWIW it looks to me to be a rather overpriced piece of kit that has little to no value doing what you want to do)

if the blade is not cutting parallel to the fence minor adjustments are done by changing the blade position on the wheels. Unless the blade is new and has been manufactured perfectly, unusual, it will not cut perfectly parallel to its body.

so if the blade is 1 or 2 degrees out of parallel to the fence at rest is irrelevant if it cuts true.

Junk the bandsaw buddy for anything but initial setup (it’s not needed then but you’ve already got it so why not) day to day initially, then week to week, then when needed, check by cutting test pieces and adjust for blade drift by adjusting the tracking.

 

[Ewan C]

Something that hasn’t, or I can’t see that it has, been mentioned is tracking.

the first unclear point is that you say that the blade isn’t parallel to the table, as if this has a significant meaning, and can only be changed by moving the table in relation to the blade.

The important point is not “is the blade parallel to the table” but does the blade cut parallel to the fence.
You can not discover this by using the bandsaw buddy (FWIW it looks to me to be a rather overpriced piece of kit that has little to no value doing what you want to do)

if the blade is not cutting parallel to the fence minor adjustments are done by changing the blade position on the wheels. Unless the blade is new and has been manufactured perfectly, unusual, it will not cut perfectly parallel to its body.

so if the blade is 1 or 2 degrees out of parallel to the fence at rest is irrelevant if it cuts true.

Junk the bandsaw buddy for anything but initial setup (it’s not needed then but you’ve already got it so why not) day to day initially, then week to week, then when needed, check by cutting test pieces and adjust for blade drift by adjusting the tracking.

Hi, I think you might’ve misread my post for some points you’ve mentioned, for the others I apologise.

The blade not being parallel:

by this I mean that when the fence is attached it’s not parallel to the blade

So, it unfortunately does not cut parallel to the fence.

On my bandsaw changing the tracking only changes the position of the blade in the z axis along the tyre, not the angle of the blade, which is my problem.

I understand that the blade won’t cut perfectly.

I think this issue’s been resolved now.

Thanks for your reply,

Ewan.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

On my bandsaw changing the tracking only changes the position of the blade in the z axis along the tyre, not the angle of the blade, which is my problem.

There is no definition of a z axis for bandsaws so that doesn’t automatically mean anything to other people.

I was writing assuming that your tyres are crowned or designed to be crowned. If they are the altering the position of the blade on the wheel will change the angle of drift and the angle of the blade. If the tyres are flat but the saw designed to be used with crowned tyres then you need to crown them. This will be contributing to the problem.

If the tyres are not crowned and not designed to be crowned (this is true for a very very few makes) then you adjust the fence to the blade drift. The blade tracking for uncrowned tyres is also significantly different.

My saw uses uncrowned flat tyres but going into the details of tracking for it will not help you, just confuse.

Looking at the manual it shows a wide blade tracking roughly centered on the tyre this is correct for crowned tyres not flat ones.

as I said the angle of the blade to the fence is mostly irrelevant and usually doesn’t tell you anything very useful about the cut, as others have said once you cut anything but a straight line with a blade it will drift to one side, sometimes even if you always cut straight, this is adjustable by the position the blade tracks on the tyre (for crowned tyres) or angle of fence for both crowned and flat tyres.

once again for anything but a new unused blade at rest, the blade being parallel to the fence/table means little to nothing. This is because a used blade almost certainly will not cut at exactly 90 degrees but at some percentage off 90 maybe 89.8 or 90.1. Incidentally even a new blade isn’t guaranteed to cut at a perfect 90 degrees as it doesn’t need to.

The majority of bandsaw adjustments need the blade to be moving, some very slowly others at full speed.

 

[Ewan C]

There is no definition of a z axis for bandsaws so that doesn’t automatically mean anything to other people.

I was writing assuming that your tyres are crowned or designed to be crowned. If they are the altering the position of the blade on the wheel will change the angle of drift and the angle of the blade. If the tyres are flat but the saw designed to be used with crowned tyres then you need to crown them. This will be contributing to the problem.

If the tyres are not crowned and not designed to be crowned (this is true for a very very few makes) then you adjust the fence to the blade drift. The blade tracking for uncrowned tyres is also significantly different.

My saw uses uncrowned flat tyres but going into the details of tracking for it will not help you, just confuse.

Looking at the manual it shows a wide blade tracking roughly centered on the tyre this is correct for crowned tyres not flat ones.

as I said the angle of the blade to the fence is mostly irrelevant and usually doesn’t tell you anything very useful about the cut, as others have said once you cut anything but a straight line with a blade it will drift to one side, sometimes even if you always cut straight, this is adjustable by the position the blade tracks on the tyre (for crowned tyres) or angle of fence for both crowned and flat tyres.

once again for anything but a new unused blade at rest, the blade being parallel to the fence/table means little to nothing. This is because a used blade almost certainly will not cut at exactly 90 degrees but at some percentage off 90 maybe 89.8 or 90.1. Incidentally even a new blade isn’t guaranteed to cut at a perfect 90 degrees as it doesn’t need to.

The majority of bandsaw adjustments need the blade to be moving, some very slowly others at full speed.

Hi, thanks for your reply but this issue has been resolved now, and I’m managing to get good cuts, as others have.

damn that thing just cleaves it's way through, and parallel every time.

This is what I meant by the z axis,

I’ve been told the tyres on my bandsaw don’t need crowning due to the flat wheels, and I’ve checked the manual but I can see anything, apologies if I missed something.

However I’m managing to get good cuts now, so I don’t think this would be needed.

Regards,

Ewan.

 

[J-G]

This is what I meant by the z axis,

The 'normal' use of the [Z] axis in this context is 'Up and Down', [X] is 'left to right' and [Y] is 'Front to Back'

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Hi, thanks for your reply but this issue has been resolved now, and I’m managing to get good cuts, as others have.



This is what I meant by the z axis,

View attachment 117925

I’ve been told the tyres on my bandsaw don’t need crowning due to the flat wheels, and I’ve checked the manual but I can see anything, apologies if I missed something.

However I’m managing to get good cuts now, so I don’t think this would be needed.

Regards,

Ewan.

The pretty diagram still means nothing as it is still not related to a bandsaw. Do you mean that the wheel is rotating in the X Y plane? With the Y axis controlling tension?

if you are using flat tyres then the blade should not track in the centre of the tyre but the teeth should overhang the edge. You will find many instruction videos on blade tracking but virtually all of them assume crowned tyres.

Probably most bandsaw wheels are flat, often it’s the tyre that is crowned not the wheel. The only picture I could find from what looks to be your bandsaw manual is this one.

that position is for a blade on a crowned tyre not a flat one, it allows the teeth to bite into the tyre quite deeply, so over time will need a replacement tyre much sooner.

The adjustments for a flat tyred bandsaw to cut parallel to the fence require that the fence is adjusted to the drift of the cut and will probably need occasional adjustments with a single blade and definitely when you change the blade.

Its good to know that you are now cutting parallel to your fence. Do you know the adjustments that allowed this. If so then you should be able to get drift both toward the fence and away so know what you need to do when blade wear changes blade drift.

If that is the manual for you saw it doesn’t say anything about the tyres being designed to be flat or crowned but the tracking information is for a crowned tyre. With a crowned tyre the exact location of the blade on the tyre will change blade drift. With a flat tyre it doesn’t.

I’ve been told the tyres on my bandsaw don’t need crowning due to the flat wheels

where did that information come from? Having done a little more research the flatness of the wheel is no indication of the designed for/benefit of crowned tyres or not. It also seems that a crowned top tyre will work with almost any bandsaw and can be achieved with a couple of strips of duct tape and makes adjustment for drift much easier