Replies

1. 
   gofigure57 | Aug 12, 2009 07:07am | #1

   Cbrazik,

   There is nothing wrong with your saw. What you perceive as wandering  is known as blade drift.  The fence needs to be adjusted to compensate for this.

   I would be doing you an injustice trying to explain how to do this. Some one will chime in soon or you might try doing a search here on knots.

   Tom.

1. 
   cbrazik | Aug 12, 2009 03:23pm | #2

   Thanks

1. 
   mikeddd | Aug 12, 2009 05:56pm | #6

    Here is a link to an article by Michael Fortune Five Tips For Better Bandsawing , this helped me a great deal to get my band saw cutting for me, good luck and hopefully that link works.

   Mike

1. 
   Don01 | Aug 12, 2009 06:37pm | #8

   "Here is a link to an article by Michael Fortune Five Tips For Better Bandsawing , this helped me a great deal to get my band saw cutting for me, good luck and hopefully that link works.Mike"1. This response from Mike is the best advice you get for tuning your bandsaw.
   2. If these tips do not fix your problem, then look at your blade as John White suggests. No amount of adjusting will compensate for a blade that is dull or damaged.
   3. Don't over tension the blade. Follow the blade manufacturers recommendations. Actually M. Fortune's recommendation works very well.
   4. If you plan to cut a lot of circles or curves, do not use that blade for straight cuts. Overtime the teeth will wear unevenly, which will frustrate straight cuts.

   Contrary to other advice, I would encourage you to not accept blade drift. Blade drift is a sign that your saw is not performing properly - dull/damaged blade, tracking adjustment, tire/bearing wear.
   Get use to having your saw cut straight, then you will notice other problems if they arise.Don

1. 
   flairwoodworks | Aug 12, 2009 07:31pm | #9

   Sound advice, Don.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)

    - Success is not the key to happiness.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

2. 
   cbrazik | Aug 13, 2009 03:25pm | #10

   thanks to all. I am going to try the line method and setting the fence but also talked to the Suffolk Machine folks and ordered two blades arriving Monday. I do think this blade is very dull. I have had it for a long time.Chuck

3. 
   WillGeorge | Aug 14, 2009 07:16pm | #11

   Blade drift is a sign that your saw is not performing properly..

   Without starting anything, can I say, I agree and disagree?

   My 18 inch Rikon can cut a straight line using 'basic' adjustments stated in the manual. No real fussing around needed. However, the blade makes a BIG difference. 

   I have found that some wood will cut perfect while another board of the same type of wood (from the same tree) will not. I find this true especially with the Jatoba I buy. I tend to pick 'sticks' with wild grain. Sorry, I like the look... What I call face sawing goes well but a different story entirely re-sawing wild grain.

   No expert on this subject. No expert on anything in fact!

   With a good blade and a reasonably 'tuned' saw.. Feed rate makes or breaks it...

   Just my opinion.. And I agree that Michael Fortune Five Tips For Better Bandsawing is good information. Well thought out in my opinion.

   I use my bandsaw often but not every day or sometimes even every week. I think I get by pretty well. One of my friends works with a bandsaw every day, 8 hours a day. OK, so he has this huge expensive saw to use but he can cut stuff on my saw with his eyes closed! Well, not really closed.. Practice makes perfect?

   And when you look at the opening picture of Michael's PDF you will see that the 'thin' slice is between the blade and the tall fence. I see many things where the 'cut off slice' is the outside face as in the thick part is against the fence. I find that 'as pictured' works much better and safer for the fingers.

    

    

   Edited 8/14/2009 12:26 pm by WillGeorge

4. 
   Don01 | Aug 15, 2009 02:02am | #13

   Will
   You really have not disagreed at all, I think you have introduced the most variable element of all.
   We are dealing with wood not some engineered material that is manufactured to a consistent specification.
   You state that you are no expert, yet you have learned to expect different feed rates depending on what you are cutting.
   That knowledge is what flows from Knots.
   Feed rate can easily differ through the length one is cutting.
   I also enjoy the exotics - jatoba, padauk, teak, kentucky coffeetree, osage orange, tigerwood (is very sweet).
   They all cut differently, different feed rate etc, but no blade drift.
   I split some 4/4 X 6" X 8FT figured Kentucky coffeetree last fall. It just seemed to take forever to cut. I do not have a good infeed/outfeed setup - just the standard table. I use a urethane feather wheel to keep the work against the fence. I pushed it in the first 5 feet, went to the other end and pulled it out the last 3 feet. The feeding was so slow that I thought the blade was shot. Nope, just plain ugly hard wood.
   Teak on the other hand seems soft, feeds easily, but all the while it is abrading the cutting tips.
   I prefer to use the "pictured" method as well for all cuts. I set the blade to fence distance slightly proud. I don't cut thins much, only to test the machine and to confirm that I don't need to go off and buy a bigger one :-)Don

5. 
   WillGeorge | Aug 18, 2009 03:03am | #19

   Something I found..

   http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/fnr/staff/weeks/treelist.htm

6. 
   boilerbay | Aug 18, 2009 04:23am | #20

   Will,
   How about one from the North west?
   BB

7. 
   Rich14 | Aug 15, 2009 04:51pm | #14

   Don,Michael Fortune's article has been discussed here several times when this kind of discussion comes up. FWW should make it a "sticky FAQ" (along with other such references) that is easily accessible from this forum, or displayed as important information from which anyone with a band saw would benefit.The article avoids and refutes many of the useless pieces of advice (such as "drift" being a normal characteristic of these machines) often found in so-called "expert books" and is just about the best collection of advice I've ever seen on setting up and adjusting a bandsaw, especially but not limited to the smaller-sized machines that so many people have.FWW really should republish it (periodically) as they do other basic kinds of information articles.Rich

8. 
   Don01 | Aug 17, 2009 07:17am | #17

   I agree Rich. I have thought of asking why Power Tools & Machinery cannot be subdivided into sub categories at least at the archiving stage. Manpower would be a concern, but it seems that hardly a week goes by when a question is recycled. Perhaps newcomers to Knots don't know about the search engine. I have used it on many occasions to retrieve information that I knew had been provided. I think it works very well.
   On drift, a lot of bandsaw fences now have a drift compensation bulge built in aka Resaw Guide. In my opinion a total waste of throat width. If you ever happen to need the entire throat capacity, you loose out because you saw is cutting on an angle.
   Also, when I am resawing an 8ft long piece, I am am standing some distance from the blade. I have pretty good eyes, but I am not interested in making on the fly adjustments while guiding the work through the blade. Don

9. 
   mikeddd | Aug 15, 2009 05:41pm | #16

       "Blade drift is a sign that your saw is not performing properly"  I could not agree with you more, when I first had my band saw I tried adjusting the fence for blade drift with dismal results, I thought there was something wrong with my saw or me it sat along the wall mostly as a junk collector. I then stumbled on this article by Michael Fortune, so I thought I will try to set this saw up one more time, I could not belive how easy it was to get tuned in, that was a few years ago and now my band saw gets as much or more use than my table saw I would be lost without a band saw in my shop now. A tuned band saw is a joy to use, but one that is not will just frustrate you to the point that you will avoid using it. Others will disagree and that is why forms like this are beneficial, because you get more than just one view of how to do things, this is what worked for me so I will keep tuning my saw this way, just my two bits worth.

   Edit; also a good quality blade is a must, I run a 1/2" 3TPI blade for 99% of all of my band saw work, if the blade is dull or damaged you will most likely never get it to cut straight.

   Mike

   Edited 8/15/2009 10:52 am ET by mikeddd

10. 
    Don01 | Aug 17, 2009 07:20am | #18

    Mike,
    I had the same experience. I owe Michael and FWW my saw :-)Don

2. 
   mtburton | Aug 12, 2009 03:30pm | #3

   Cbrazik,

    

   OK here goes.  the wheel of your bandsaw has a crown in it.  This is normal.  All band saw wheels will have a crown.  Ideally you want your band saw blade to ride in the center of the wheel.  This minimizes the effect of the crown in the wheel.  Of course you will never get it perfect.  If your blade is a little bit toward the front of the wheel it will cause the blade teeth to tip in a little bit towards the front of wheel causeing the piece you cut to narrow as you cut it.  If the blade is a little towards the back of the blade it will cause the teeth to tip out a littl bit and cause your piece to widen as you cut it.  This is called drift.

    

   The solution is this.  You can play with the tracking on your bandsaw to try to get the blade running as perfectly centered as you can.  This will help but will not completely solve the problem.  Once you have the blade centered as best you can the next step is to adjust the fence to compensate for the rest.  There are many opinions on how to do this.  I will tell you how I do it and I am sure there are many folks with their own ideas as well.

   I draw a parallel line from the edge of 3/4 piecf of MDF about 24" long.  By eye I very slowly cut this line on the bandsaw following the line.  When I get to the half way mark of the line I stop making sure to keep the piece located exactly where I stopped.  That shows me the angle my fence needs to be.  I draw a line with a pencil and adjust the fence to that line.  Then you can make some test cuts against the fence and measure the board on each end to see where you are and you might make some minor adjustments after that.

   Once you have the fence set you can just leave it there until you change the blade.  With every blade change you will have to readjust the drift.

   A personal opinion as well.  I like my blade to tip out a little bit as opposed to tipping in which minimizes the board getting tight between the fence and the blade. 

    

   Hope this helps.

   Michael

1. 
   Frank Vucolo | Aug 12, 2009 04:27pm | #4

   Michael,

   Excellent job. That's a well written explanation of blade drift and how to deal with it.

   Frank

2. 
   cbrazik | Aug 12, 2009 06:10pm | #7

   sounds like a plan.thanks

3. 
   JohnWW | Aug 12, 2009 04:49pm | #5

   The first thing to try is a new fresh blade meant for resawing, since the blade may be dull or the wrong type. A dull blade is almost certainly the cause if the blade used to saw without drift problems. This will solve major drift problems 75 percent of the time, for the remainder adjusting the fence may be needed.

   John White
   Shop Manager for FWW Magazine, 1998-2007

1. 
   cbrazik | Aug 20, 2009 04:44am | #22

   The new blade arrived from Suffolk and I installed it with the tension suggested and it worked great-no drift.Thanks

1. 
   JohnWW | Aug 24, 2009 06:38pm | #23

   A dull or inappropriate blade is almost always the problem when a cut starts to drift. Blades don't last all that long either, keep spares on hand.John W.

1. 
   cbrazik | Aug 24, 2009 10:39pm | #24

   I received my new blades from Suffolk last week and have had several occasions to use it since and they are terrific.

4. 
   HowardAcheson | Aug 15, 2009 01:21am | #12

   How old is your blade? The number one reason for a blade to not cut true is that it is getting old and tired and dull. If the blade is set to track on the middle of the tire and all guides are aligned properly, buy a new blade.

   Try one of your other blades on the saw.

   Howie.........
1. 
   cbrazik | Aug 15, 2009 05:19pm | #15

   Thanks for your reply. I have had that blade for 12 years but honestly don't do a lot of woodworking all the time. I have tried other blades and the do work. I did just adjust the tracking and the set up and it did cut better but still wandered. I am receiving a new resaw blade on Monday and will see how that changes things.

5. 
   RalphBarker | Aug 18, 2009 08:52pm | #21

   A wandering bandsaw? I'm surprised the Roaming Gnome hasn't posted a territorial complaint. ;-)

1. 
   joinerswork | Aug 28, 2009 03:56pm | #25

   Ralph,

   Attaching the accessory as shown in the photo solved my bandsaw's wandering tendencies.

   Ray

   
1. 
   RalphBarker | Aug 28, 2009 04:36pm | #26

   Effective, to be sure. But, I wonder if that practice raises questions of ethical treatment of tools. As long as you don't moisten end grain prior to various cutting operations (aka water boarding), I guess you're OK. ;-)

2. 
   PeterDurand | Aug 28, 2009 04:38pm | #27

   :-) 

   Better life through Zoodles and poutine...

3. 
   Shoemaker1 | Aug 29, 2009 01:37am | #28

   I took off the stock belt and put on a chastity belt. That worked !!!

1. 
   joinerswork | Aug 29, 2009 04:15pm | #29

   Shoe,

   Are you positive that a chastity belt is effective for a wandering saw?  I'd think it would still have to be chaste all around the shop...

   Ray

1. 
   hamelech | Sep 03, 2009 04:43am | #32

   Ok, you get a point. I laughed out loud on that one.

2. 
   joinerswork | Sep 04, 2009 04:05am | #33

   Ham,

   ;-)

   Ray

6. 
   Carya | Sep 01, 2009 05:09am | #30

   "Jet band saw and noticed that after drawing a straight line and started it out, it started to wander towards the fence"

   The cause is most likely not using quartersawn lumber. It should be used everywhere. It will straighten out that blade...

   :)
   Andy

1. 
   joinerswork | Sep 02, 2009 03:28am | #31

   Naw, Andy,

   Qtrsawn isn't the cure for everything.  Now, cauls, clamped on both sides, there's the answer.

   Ray