Bevelling on a bandsaw

[Sachakins]

Does the saw cut drift when cutting normally?

 

[Niall Church]

Does the saw cut drift when cutting normally?

That's a good question yes and no! One or 2 pieces cut quite straight others drift left or right,but,not as much as when I'm doing these bevelled bevelled pieces! I should point out,I did a batch a while ago and they seemed reasably ok,but I think I had somethjing pressed up against the wod to contain it while cutting.

 

[Sachakins]

Sounds like the blade tension is a bit slack, or/and dulling blade maybe.
If bandsaw is for max 3/8th blade, and blade 1/2 inch, it won't get or maintain enough tension as the frame not made for it?

 

[Niall Church]

Sounds like the blade tension is a bit slack, or/and dulling blade maybe.
If bandsaw is for max 3/8th blade, and blade 1/2 inch, it won't get or maintain enough tension as the frame not made for it?

I might not have explained it properly,but,the saw came with the 1/2", the tension gauge,which i'm aware are not reliable was pitched at 3/8" tension,so, I have put a little more tension on it now!

 

[Sachakins]

This a good video on bandsaw setup

 

[Orraloon]

I mostly use the bandsaw for angled ripping as it saves me taking the splitter and top guard off my older style tablesaw to do it. Have the fence on the down hill side of the blade for the wood to ride on. As others have pointed out the blade needs to be sharp and the saw properly set up. The Snodgrass video above is the best explanation of how to set up a bandsaw. Properly set up everything you do on the saw will be better.
Regards
John

 

[Matt_0222]

I might not have explained it properly,but,the saw came with the 1/2", the tension gauge,which i'm aware are not reliable was pitched at 3/8" tension,so, I have put a little more tension on it now!

If you’re still using the blade the saw came with - that might be your primary issue. High quality blades have been reported here to make a big difference to the accuracy of the cut and in minimising drift.

 

[Nail]

Does that really matter?

Nothing really matters but it might help with an alternative idea.

 

[Jacob]

Main thing is to mark up the wood with a gauge, then if it goes offline on the bandsaw you can stop and try again, or finish off with a hand plane etc.

 

[sams93]

Well,I will hsve to at this again,I have noticed the gauge on bandsaw say 3/8, but,it's a 1/2 inch blade

a 3/8 or 1/2 inch blade is proabably fine for what you are trying to do. The more important bit here is the tooth count, as explained above you need an appropriate TPI for the material thickness, in this case between 4-6TPI. If you are trying to cut it with a 12TPI blade it will not work well at all, particularly given the length of cut you are trying to make.

I'm thinking 3 ft lengths,to go thru bandsaw!

Ok so you won't need infeed or outfeed supports for that length, you should be able to manage them by hand.

Great answer sams93,lots to think about,I have the standard blade in scheppach basa 3 saw,it's 12mm,i could get a 16mm,(3/8"),if it does better job,the lengths will be 3ft! The blades will be from starrett,zi hear they're good,but,I have not used them! Table saw might be a bit dangerous for me,oh,and the wood is pine! What fo you mean by , BETWEEN THE FENCE AND THE BLADE RATHER THAN OTHER WAY ROUND?

I mean that the fence should be set up so that you can run whatvever stock you have through and it will cut you out the part you want. So in the photo below the person is cutting thin strips about 4mm thick, the machine is set up so that the fence is 4mm away from the blade, so he can run his stock through as many times as he wants and will get 3mm strips each time. You need to do the same with your setup, make sure that the fence is positioned so that the finished bit you want will be between the fence and the blade. Then you can run your stock through as many times as needed. The wrong way round would be to have it so that the 'offcut' is the bit you want.

You normally have the fence to the left of the blade, but for this you can put it to the right, so gravity is on your side. Depending on dimensions and column height etc., you might need a spacer, typically a length of something similar x section to that which you are cutting, to keep the fence far enough from the blade. It always takes me a few minutes of hard thinking to work out the angles, fence position and so on.


(A few weeks back I accidentally cut a horrid gash in the end of my push stick, but I still have all my fingers. A persuasive case for always using a push stick.)

This is still doing the same as what I have explained above (in that the fence is positioned so that your final finished piece will come out between the blade and the fence), but as richard explained by changing the side of the fence you are allowing gravity to help you.

What’s the end purpose of the pieces?

Does that really matter?

If you want advice from people on here, lots of whom have a huge amount of knowledge and experience, then you will probably have to answer their queries about what you are trying to do.

Yes it does really matter. If you are making intricate pieces for use in a piece of small furniture or that need to be very accurate and consistent then a bandsaw isn't the ideal tool to do this on and you will never get what you want (as it will always be a rougher finish, may have some inconsistencies depending on user experience, and the cut surface will need sanding afterwards.) If it is something where a bit more tolerance is permissible then you might be fine with the bandsaw.

As mentioned before the table saw would be ideal for this task and leave a cleaner finish which might only need a light sand.

I do have fence on the right side,asI said there's some drifting of the cut,I wonder, if I put a featherboard at startand end of piece pressed against the wood, would that help lessen the drift?

I still think you need to tell us what the blade TPI is - this may be the sole cause of your problem.

If you did need to use a featherboard it only really needs to go where the blade is cutting, as this is where the pressure wants to be applied. A featherboard probably isn't neccersary in this situation with just 3ft lengths though. You should have enough hands to apply the pressure manually (using an appropriate block to keep your hands well clear of the blade).

 

[Richard_C]

I used to think that tpi didn't matter as much with softwoods but now think the opposite. Too fine a blade in a resinous wood can end up with a sticky mess.

My bandsaw isn't particularly good and I often need to 'fiddle about' even after the initial set up and blade choice. Very small adjustments to tension, tracking, guides and how I hold and feed the work gets me from disaster to good-enough job. An online forum can give lots of helpful pointers but in the end it's an iterative process that only you can do.

 

[Sachakins]

You could always go the jig route instead of tilting table top...

 

[Grandad455]

Not a reply, but another question about bandsaws. I have an SIP 10" and want to be able to cut metal, mostly aluminium but some thin (2mm) steel.
I have read that cutting metal on a wood bandsaw ruins it. Would my SIP be OK for both purposes, or would I be better getting another bandsaw and using that just for metal, with an appropriate blade and slow feed. Was thinking of a Draper 8". Your comments would be very much appreciated.

 

[Nail]

Not a reply, but another question about bandsaws. I have an SIP 10" and want to be able to cut metal, mostly aluminium but some thin (2mm) steel.
I have read that cutting metal on a wood bandsaw ruins it. Would my SIP be OK for both purposes, or would I be better getting another bandsaw and using that just for metal, with an appropriate blade and slow feed. Was thinking of a Draper 8". Your comments would be very much appreciated.

You would be better starting a new thread about this!