Replies

1. 
   JohnWW | Jan 28, 2010 03:51pm | #1

   Try cutting a few inches into the stock freehand, swinging the piece around until you find a feed angle that allows you to keep feeding in a straight line, then angle your fence to match this angle. I for one don't buy into the argument that fence angles don't ever have to be adjusted.

2. 
   Eef | Jan 28, 2010 04:24pm | #2

   erich,

   thanks for the clear/detailed explanation. sounds to me you've done your homework and after all that, were it me, i might examine my technique. i love resawing crotched walnut and have noticed that my very initial approach of wood to saw blade is important. slow is good. let the blade do the work. any forcing, on my part, seems to create drift. the blade must be sharp etc.

   i don't know that i have said anything that you have not already considered...

   also, i do not use a guide or fence when re-sawing. not boasting here, it's just how i was taught. may be worth a try, as the poster ahead of me suggested.

   eef

3. 
   Don01 | Jan 28, 2010 05:48pm | #3

   1. Unlike John, I subscribe to Fortune's no drift approach.

   The blade tracking adjustment is there to make minor adjustments to the cutting angle. Blades are manufactured independently of the saw and are full of little surprises. The upper wheel shaft is floating so you can easily compensate for inconsistencies in blades, tire wear etc.

   I have a 3/4" bimetal blade that is a bit tough to adjust, but I have no issues with 1/2" or 5/8" blades.

   Ar your tires in good order? I just replaced mine after5 years. The old ones resembled inner tube rubber. I replaced with urethane tires.

   Sometimes just taking the damn wheel off and giving everything in the top end a good cleaning seems to help. A little bit of dust in the wrong place can drive you nuts.

   You may have to go get another manufacturers blade as a check. It is possible that you have one or two bad blades.

   2. The blade contact with your work is small so having it perfectly parallel to the miter slot is of no big consequence. Unlike the table saw, the bandsaw blade only cuts in one direction.

   3. The casting holding the guide post could be off a bit but should not cause any great problems. More important is changes to the position of the guide bearings as you raise and lower the post. If they get to close to the teeth, the blade is ruined.

   Don

4. 
   Rich14 | Jan 28, 2010 09:40pm | #4

   Michael Fortune's
   Michael Fortune's article.

   https://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuidePDF.aspx?id=24093

   Priceless. The best advice you'll ever read on the subject.

   A band saw should not have drift. It's not hard to adjust it away.

   Rich

5. 
   BruceS | Jan 29, 2010 08:52am | #5

   As to your upper guide post. I had the same problem after adding a riser block. Solved it by adding long strips of shim stock under the riser. I also had to remove the indexing pin, it was WAY out of orientation for proper alignment.

6. 
   nboucher | Jan 29, 2010 04:47pm | #6

   Erich: I have the same set up as you (though it's the 555X) have it set up with just about no drift. That Michael Fortune article is the bible. Making sure the blade is tracking in the center of the upper tire is crucial, and that's something that needs tweaking from time to time. Also, getting the guides adjusted just as M. Fortune recommends really helps as well, and don't forget the guides under the table. I resaw 6"-plus boards on that saw all the time with no problems. With a little bit of patience, you can get it to track with barely any drift, and one you get, you'll have a good feel for what to do if it gets out of line again.

   Norman

7. 
   AlanWS | Jan 30, 2010 02:29pm | #7

   As the OP stated in the first post, he is trying to follow the Fortune article, but is having problems.

   You might want to check that your guide blocks have square faces, as they might be causing a slight blade twist. Or, even though the blade is new, it might have dulled on one edge enough to cause drift; a different blade might behave.

   If the wheels were sufficiently out of coplanar that the blade rode far from the crown on the bottom wheel when the p was centered, I would expect that would affect the drift angle. It is conceivable that in such a case shimming a wheel might get things close enough that the tracking could be used to set the cutting direction parallel to the fence.

   But if you just want to cut the stock you have, skewing the fence might be quickest.

8. 
   old saw | Feb 15, 2010 07:08pm | #8

   Hi:

   Like several others here I have to endorse what Michael Fortune wrote in his article, because I came to similar conclusions independently, many years ago. I will, however, add one bit of knowledge, which I've never seen mentioned anywhere. Fortune says to set the fence parallel to the miter gauge slot in the table, and so one should - but as you ask, how does one insure the slot is parallel to the blade? I can tell you how I've done it over the years, both on several Delta 14 inch saws and on an 18 inch, shop-built saw - the technique even worked on an ancient 36 inch monster that had no miter slot in its table.

   When setting up a table saw one must adjust the table on its mounts so that the miter gauge slot is parallel to the plane of the blade. This is done because setting the fence parallel to the miter slot is relied upon for insuring the fence's parallelism to the blade. On a table saw the setting is checked by means of a snug-fitting miter gauge and a dial indicator (or with feeler gauges.) Distance between a marked saw tooth and something held by the miter gauge is checked for the back position of the tooth and the forward, rotated position. But how is one to do something similar for a bandsaw?

   On a bandsaw, after all other tune up procedures have been carried out as per Michael Fortune (and everyone else,) remove the blade guard at the left hand side of the machine so as to furnish access to the "up" side of the blade. Mount, tension, and track the widest blade that is likely to ever be used and find the weld where it was put together; position the weld at top dead center or bottom dead center. Next move both sets of blade guides out of the way so that nothing touches the blade either above or below the table. Checking with a small square adjust the tilt of the table so that its surface is ninety degrees with the flat side of the blade.

   A straightedge long enough to reach from the down-side across to the up-side of the blade will be needed, as will a flat square of some sort, such as a large drafting triangle. Find or make a straight-edged stick to fit snugly in the outboard miter gauge slot; this is for one side of the square or drafting triangle to register against. Lay the long straightedge behind the blade and against the other leg of the square or triangle; the straightedge itself must have parallel sides. See if the straightedge touches both upside and downside of the blade back equally while resting against the square (a sharp eye or a feeler gauge will do.) If it does, you're done. If not...

   Loosen the bolts holding the bandsaw table to its trunion segments slightly and tap the table one direction or another until things line up. Carefully tighten the bolts and recheck with the square and straight edge. Adjust the fence so that it is parallel to the miter gauge slot. As long as blades are always tracked with their centers aligned with the center of the wheel crowns their sides should always run parallel to the miter slot.

   If the bandsaw does not have a miter gauge slot, as is often the case on older and very large saws, a modified version of the above can be used. Simply adjust and lock the fence so that it is ninety degrees square to the front edge of the table, or parallel to its edge, and then gauge off the fence with the square or drafting triangle instead of a miter gauge slot. If for some reason the saw table cannot be adjusted on its mounting, then adjust the fence so that it is ninety with the long straightedge touching the back of the blade. Be sure to replace all guards and blade guides as the last step.

   I have have always had success with these methods; I've never had to re-adjust my fence for "drift." Do keep one thing in mind, however: if the front edge of the saw table or the bar against which the fence locks is not straight, the fence will not remain parallel throughout its travel. This is equally true on table saws as well.

   Regards,

   JW