have just taken the plunge and put a tuffsaw blade on my record power bs350 bandsaw, cannot believe the difference this has made, big thanks to tuffsaws and all that have recommended the blades to me, the results are amazing , if you have never used tuffsaws and your not getting accurate cuts with your existing blades I sincerely suggest you change over now!
big thanks to tuff saw
- Thread starter fanta0575
- Start date
Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:
custard
Established Member
Same thing applies to pretty much all woodworking power tools and machinery; routers, spindle moulders, circular saws, jigsaws, morticers, thicknessers, etc; sharp and good quality tooling makes all the difference.
Alexam
Bandsaw Boxmaker
fanta0575
Welcome to the forum. You are another convert to th best sawblades and to Record. Hope the bandsaw is performing well and that you are aware of the following
THE BEST FROM A BANDSAW 'Alex Snodgrass of Carter Industries has an excellent video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU on a tune up method that works well, but if you want to get the best use of your bandsaw on an ongoing basis, then the Steve Maskery DVD's will show you far more and they are a real investment. http://www.workshopessentials.com/shop/ '.
For checking the tension of your blade - A Flutter test Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8zZuDosSy0
Alex
Welcome to the forum. You are another convert to th best sawblades and to Record. Hope the bandsaw is performing well and that you are aware of the following
THE BEST FROM A BANDSAW 'Alex Snodgrass of Carter Industries has an excellent video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU on a tune up method that works well, but if you want to get the best use of your bandsaw on an ongoing basis, then the Steve Maskery DVD's will show you far more and they are a real investment. http://www.workshopessentials.com/shop/ '.
For checking the tension of your blade - A Flutter test Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8zZuDosSy0
Alex
transatlantic
Boom!
That Alex Snodgrass video was intertesting. Every other bandsaw tune up video I've seen says the wheels should be coplanar. Yet he says, in most cases, they shouldn't?
blackrodd
Established Member
transatlantic":1jwk9qpw said:
Yep! on the lines of if it ain't broke, don't fix it, follow his demo and you'll be pleased.
Rodders
Steve Maskery
Established Member
It might not be critical to the millimeter, but more than a very few mm out of co-planar can start to give you tracking problems. Having said that, I've only ever come across one BS where the wheels were seriously non-co-planar.
Even if you do successfully eliminate drift (as opposed to just compensating for it with the fence, which is poor practice, if a common one), you can get problems with stopped cuts such as tenons. If the wheels are out you can end up with a blade that leans backwards, for example, so that when you cut your tenon cheek and stop cleanly at your shoulder on top, when you turn it over you find that you have cut further than you wanted. Not too much of a problem on a softwood door that is going to be painted, but not what you want for the rails of your dining chairs.
1 or 2 mm, no problem - 5mm, go to the trouble of fixing it, it shouldn't be difficult.
Even if you do successfully eliminate drift (as opposed to just compensating for it with the fence, which is poor practice, if a common one), you can get problems with stopped cuts such as tenons. If the wheels are out you can end up with a blade that leans backwards, for example, so that when you cut your tenon cheek and stop cleanly at your shoulder on top, when you turn it over you find that you have cut further than you wanted. Not too much of a problem on a softwood door that is going to be painted, but not what you want for the rails of your dining chairs.
1 or 2 mm, no problem - 5mm, go to the trouble of fixing it, it shouldn't be difficult.
condeesteso
Established Member
re OP, I needed some blades suddenly Friday, called Ian (they were an odd size for an odd machine) and he called back about 1/2 hr later, even though a house move was scheduled that afternoon. All sorted, made and out tomorrow I expect. He's a star.
Steve Maskery
Established Member
Woodpig
The co-planar test is done with no blade on the machine. With the table removed or tilted out of the way, a long straight edge should touch the top and bottom of both wheels all at the same time. In that way, you have maximum degree of tilt fore and aft so you can eliminate drift by adjusting the tracking. If one wheel is significantly out of line with the other, your degree of movement is limited, and the blade may well reach the very edge of the wheel and still not be tracking properly. It's then that people start to muck about with the fence, which is a fix of sorts, but makes any kind of cross-cut impossible using the standard mitre fence.
Co-planar wheels, appropriate blade properly tensioned and tracked, straight rip and cross-cuts, big smile on face.
The co-planar test is done with no blade on the machine. With the table removed or tilted out of the way, a long straight edge should touch the top and bottom of both wheels all at the same time. In that way, you have maximum degree of tilt fore and aft so you can eliminate drift by adjusting the tracking. If one wheel is significantly out of line with the other, your degree of movement is limited, and the blade may well reach the very edge of the wheel and still not be tracking properly. It's then that people start to muck about with the fence, which is a fix of sorts, but makes any kind of cross-cut impossible using the standard mitre fence.
Co-planar wheels, appropriate blade properly tensioned and tracked, straight rip and cross-cuts, big smile on face.
When I bought my BS300E it didn't cut very well so I bought some Tuffsaw blades and it still wouldn't cut straight. I read up in a bandsaw book about co-planar wheels and tried to line them up. I even made some new parts to align the wheels but the body of the machine simply wasn't wide enough to allow it. I put the machine back to "as built" and pondered what to do next. Setting the fence at a funny angle didn't seem right to me and then I (luckily) saw the Alex Snodgrass video which has solved the problem. Now, I can't say if the BS300E is badly designed or badly built but mine is not co-planar by a long shot so perhaps I have a rogue machine. Then again maybe they're all like it. I take the point about the blade being perpendicular to the table but being co-planar won't ensure this once the blade has been tracked. Just my personal experience with my own machine but given Alex Snograss's video I suspect many machines are not co-planar by a long shot but it needn't make a difference if you take his advice.
Alexam
Bandsaw Boxmaker
My own BS400 a mile out from co-planar, which at one time I thought was important. I have found it is not, but perhaps on some of the older machines it may be a consideration, although my original old De-Walt 3051 was also not co-planar but cut wonderfully. I know that the wheel leveling has been talked about for years so it must have had an effect at one time.
Alex
Alex
Thanks for all your comments, i was getting slight drift with the old bandsaw blades as soon as I changed to tuff saw blade the results were perfect, i thiught it may have been my set up as you do worry about ci planing and other issues, a new blade was the remedy, just a question how long can we expect a good blade to keep giving these results?
Woodmatt
Established Member
I have to agree with everything that has been said about Ian and Tuff Saws,excellent advice and service.PS my wheels are not coplainer but with the Snodgrass video and Ian's blades my machine NOW works a treat.
condeesteso
Established Member
Called Ian friday, made and packed Monday, 2 blades here today with a note - added a 1/8th to try, no charge. Does not get any better.
Alexam
Bandsaw Boxmaker
condeesteso":24r0w39s said:
Which bandsaw do you have for the 1/8" blade?
condeesteso
Established Member
It's a weird thing Alex, a 2-wheel Burgess I got to play with... it might not stay. The others are a 352 and an Inca 260.
Alexam
Bandsaw Boxmaker
Dougas, be very careful with using the 1/8" blade or you will ruin it quickly. Your side guides need to be behind the teeth and it doesn't leave you much room. Make sure that your thrust bearing is a close as possible since when you cut, any movement of the blad backwards will be damaging the teeth from with side guides.
My bandsaw is awaiting a visit from Record to change the motor, which arrved today. Unfortunately that will not be until after the olidays, so it's the New Year before I can get cuttng again.
My bandsaw is awaiting a visit from Record to change the motor, which arrved today. Unfortunately that will not be until after the olidays, so it's the New Year before I can get cuttng again.
Steve Maskery
Established Member
You can quite safely use a 1/8" blade on just about any BS. I have 1/16" blades which I use for dovetails.
Alex is right in that you need to keep the teeth away from any metal parts, just as with any other blade, of course. So the trick is not to use metal guides. Or at least, not metal on the surface where the blade is supported.
If your BS has square block guides, simply replace them with wooden ones of the same size.
If you have face-bearing guides, like on my Scheppach, then simply stick on a disk of thin (2mm) MDF. You can adjust the guides right up to touching the blade quite safely. The teeth will cut into the wood or MDF, but only as far as the set of the teeth, the body of the blade will still be properly supported, which is what you want.
HTH
Steve
Alex is right in that you need to keep the teeth away from any metal parts, just as with any other blade, of course. So the trick is not to use metal guides. Or at least, not metal on the surface where the blade is supported.
If your BS has square block guides, simply replace them with wooden ones of the same size.
If you have face-bearing guides, like on my Scheppach, then simply stick on a disk of thin (2mm) MDF. You can adjust the guides right up to touching the blade quite safely. The teeth will cut into the wood or MDF, but only as far as the set of the teeth, the body of the blade will still be properly supported, which is what you want.
HTH
Steve
Possibly the only time Which did a test of "proper" tools, they reckoned that little two wheel Burgess was a best buy!
condeesteso
Established Member
Thanks for the tiops re 1/8th blades. I've only put the 1/4 10tpi on so far - it's a fine little machine but probably won't be hanging around as I won't make much use of it.
Similar threads
