strange bandsaw cut

[sunnybob]

I've been very pleased with my new 350 bandsaw, up till today.

For the first time I ripped a piece of padauk that used the full height available (195mm)

The piece was 30 cm long and I was cutting a 12mm wide plank (veneer?) off a 30mm wide piece

When the two came apart, the cut was extremely uneven in the middle. But it was quite good along the outer edges. Viewed from the side it was like a mild skate park course.

I had to skim it on the router sled and there was more than 2mm difference between the high and low spots.

Any Ideas? and no, at the moment I dont have a tuffsaws blade. I'm using axminsters "axcalibur" blade, 1/2" wide, and its fairly new with easy cutting so far. I didnt rush it either.

 

[Baldhead]

I've been very pleased with my new 350 bandsaw, up till today.

For the first time I ripped a piece of padauk that used the full height available (195mm)

The piece was 30 cm long and I was cutting a 12mm wide plank (veneer?) off a 30mm wide piece

When the two came apart, the cut was extremely uneven in the middle. But it was quite good along the outer edges. Viewed from the side it was like a mild skate park course.

I had to skim it on the router sled and there was more than 2mm difference between the high and low spots.

Any Ideas? and no, at the moment I dont have a tuffsaws blade. I'm using axminsters "axcalibur" blade, 1/2" wide, and its fairly new with easy cutting so far. I didnt rush it either.

I could never get the axcalibur blades to stay on the wheels of my axy bandsaw, bought a couple of blades from Ian (tuffsaws) and it transformed the saw, I won't use anything else now.
Ring Ian, tell him what you intend to cut etc etc and he'll tell you what blade(s) you need.

Stew

 

[Brentingby]

How many teeth? My guess is too many in the kerf meaning the gullets are too small to carry away all the sawdust causing the blade to wander.

You should contact Steve Maskery here on the forum. He's the resident expert and can help you sort out the problem.

 

[custard]

Maybe you're cutting too fast? I'd guess your blade is 4 tpi, for a cut that deep with a 4 tpi blade you need to go at an absolute crawl, 5 seconds or longer per inch of cut, otherwise the gullets will get packed with sawdust and the teeth will no longer be able to cut, which makes the blade deflect and bow. It sounds impossibly slow but that's how I cut veneers from similarly wide boards, find something good on the radio and you'll be fine!

The other possibility is that the board you cut the piece from wasn't uniformly dry, so the falling piece is wetter on one side than the other, if so it's pretty much guaranteed to ripple as it comes off the saw.

 

[sunnybob]

The blades I bought with the machine seem to be a bit on the long side. I have the adjustment spring completely tight coil to coil and the blade is barely achieving the flutter test. This is the third blade I have used (not broken, just trying different widths and pitches) and none of them seem to be quite as good as I expect them to be.

I've never tried wood this tall before, but I did go slowly, allowing the blade to catch up with itself frequently.
The board is dry in terms of its an old piece of wood and has been kept in the workshop for many weeks so I'm sure thats not the problem.

I have been undoing the tension wheel 3 turns when I know I'm not going to use it for a day or two, but re-tightening those three turns is a whole wheetabix and a half job, which makes me suspect the blade length.

I think I will have to get tuffsaws, trouble is I'm looking at almost 2 weeks for shipping to me.

 

[CHJ]

If you do order new blades from Ian make sure you check the actual length required for the tension adjustment to be in a reasonable position, don't just take the figure given in the manual.

1. are the blades as supplied the same length as listed in the manual or longer.
2. is the actual blade length required to meet the mid tensioning travel range smaller than the manual figure (you'll need a length of wire to measure this not string)


You may be able to judge if making a blade 10mm shorter would still be in the adjustment range.

 

[sunnybob]

I've just now emailed Ian for a quote and mentioned the blades seem a bit long. I will have a go at measuring one tomorrow, but the adjustment spring is wound fully tight and I dont believe that should be so.
the spec length is 2616mm.
i'll let you know what I get tomorrow, once I find a way of measuring. I suppose I could cut one and lay it flat. As I have suspicions theyre wrong anyway it wont be much of a loss and I have to get the best from the saw to justify the cost of it.

 

[Steve Maskery]

That is a deep cut.
You have to ask yourself the question, "Where is all my sawdust going to go?"
You need lots of space for all that sawdust and that means big gullets, which means very few teeth. A standard ripping blade of, say, 4 or even 3 teeth is still going to be fine for that job. By fine I don't mean good, I mean too fine!
Get a proper resawing blade from Ian and keep it just for resawing. Yes, it means a lot of blade changing, but that's what you have to do.

You CAN resaw with a 3TPI blade, but, as Custard has said, you have to take it very slowly indeed to allow that sawdust to come out cleanly. If it doesn't have the chance to come out, it gets pushed to the side, forcing the blade into peculiar shapes in profile, which results in the wonky cut.

 

[sunnybob]

I've just been out and checked the blade. I think it has 4 tpi (starting at one tip, I count 4 to get to one inch. I assume I dont count the tip I started with?). So that means I was expecting too much from it. Which is good. Operator error is easily fixed.
Thanks for explaining that particular problem.
Now I need to find out how long these blades are. I suspect they will be oversized but will let you know.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Aside from the operator issues, you'll find Tuffsaws blades are far superior in quality than all the other commonly available ones, in another league in fact and that alone will make a marked difference.

By a happy coincidence, they're also less expensive

 

[DiscoStu]

I put a tuff saw blade in mine yesterday and it has revolutionised my saw. Honestly it's like I've bought a model two or three further up the price scale.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rhossydd]

I think I will have to get tuffsaws, trouble is I'm looking at almost 2 weeks for shipping to me.

No excuses, everyone said buy some when you first asked what saw to buy... how many months ago ?

 

[sunnybob]

Thats strange, my last message hasnt shown up in which I explained my delay. But yes. i did think that a blade sold by axminster would be as good as tuffsaws. i find it astonishing that a relatively small company can be so far ahead of the rest of the world in making blades that cut.
Comparisons will be very interesting when i finally get some.

 

[sunnybob]

Right, I've measured the two spare blades I have, and they are both 2616 give or take a mm, so they are in spec.
BUT, heres the spring adjuster mechanism. you can see its as tight as it will go. All coils are rammed against each other, and the blade doesnt seem to be overtight as There is still a very minor flutter on it now.
Looks like I will need a blade 10mm shorter.

 

[Rhossydd]

But yes. i did think that a blade sold by axminster would be as good as tuffsaws.

Why ? There are a lot of contentious subjects discussed on UKW and rarely is there a complete consensus that one particular product or brand is 'THE best'. The exceptions are that you don't read bad comments about Tuffsaw bandsaw blades and Hegner scroll saws. Users recommend them and people that buy them always return and say what good recommendations they are.

It's not as if Tuffsaw blades have a premium price either.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Call Ian and ask hid advice on the appropriate mod to the blade length. He will make a custom size for you if it's not a stock item...also for no extra price

By which I mean don't just assume 10mm is the correct adjustment amount....ask Ian first.

 

[paulm]

A while back I had a need for a replacement blade for my small rexon bandsaw that I keep fitted with a narrow blade for tight curves, and as I was okay for blades for the bigger bandsaw I didn't want to put such a small order in to tuffsaws and pay p&p and wait for a few days, so I popped down to my local axi store, about five minutes away, and picked up one of their blades.

I should have known better really, but it seemed barely any sharper than the old tuffsaw blade that I had just taken off the machine to replace ! It was quite noticeably disappointing, and sure enough I did what I should have done in the first place and put the order in to tuffsaws for three replacements so I wouldn't run out for a while, and binned the axi one as soon as they arrived. The new ones were like chalk and cheese compared to the axi one.

Cheers, Paul

 

[Eric The Viking]

(Sounds a bit obvious when I type it, but) don't forget that 10mm shorter is only 5mm more travel on the adjuster.

Aim for a length that gives you a lot of adjustment, and don't rely on any 'tension gauge' that's fitted (sounds like you're not doing that anyway). Axi were selling off some aluminium handwheels recently. I'm fitting a wide one to my own bandsaw, to replace what's there, so that I have max torque for tension/slacking-off. I only do five half-turns either way presently, but then mine is a slightly smaller saw than yours.

I agree about the effort needed. I clean and re-grease the adjuster thread fairly often but I've never got it to be 'easy' to tension a blade.

 

[CHJ]

.....I did what I should have done in the first place and put the order in to tuffsaws for three replacements so I wouldn't run out for a while, and binned the axi one as soon as they arrived. The new ones were like chalk and cheese compared to the axi one.

Cheers, Paul

Yes, I believe Ian bases his business on selecting the best quality band stock for its purpose, not on wholesale price, this then gives him the confidence that he can maintain his reputation.

I have never met him but have never regretted taking his recommendation, either from his web site details of personal quote mails, in the past when having problems with large batch cutting of components in the hundreds he has even sent 'trial material" blades to see if they would perform better in the context they were being used.

 

[Bod]

To measure the length of a bandsaw blade.
Tie a length of cotton or string, around one gullet.
Then measure around from string to string, being carefull not to let the measure slip in relation to the blade. For good measure, repeat measuring the other way.

Bod