Replies

1. 
   CharlieP | Feb 04, 2004 11:38pm | #1

   I have other Ridgid tools, and like them, although I don't know about their band saw.  However, I have a different brand of 14 inch bandsaw, and successfully resaw with it, but NOT with the factory blade. 

   I suggest that you try a good blade, and go very slowly, before you give up on the saw.  (If you do switch saws, you will probably be able to reuse the blade, so get a good one.)  In my experience, blade drift like you describe is caused by a poor blade (such as the free blade that came with my saw), a worn out blade, inadequate tension, or attempting to cut too fast. 

   For resawing I use a Timberwolf 1/2 inch 3 tpi blade on the 14 inch saw. 

   ________________________
   Charlie Plesums  Austin, Texas
   http://www.plesums.com/wood

2. 
   creekwood | Feb 04, 2004 11:44pm | #2

   You've done well to get everything lined up concerning the guides, but what you need to do now is align the fence in relation to the blade. Take a piece of scrape,  say 3/4 to 1  and 1/2", and mark a line down the center on the edge of the board. The board needs to be about 2 to 3 feet long, and maybe about 2 to 4 inches wide.  Slowly resaw the board, following the line as close as possible. About half-way through the cut, stop the board, hold it where it won't move, and stop the saw. It's very important to keep the board from moving right or left. With a pencil, mark a line on the table along the edge of the board. This is the line where the wood travels straight in relation to the blade drift. (This line can change from blade to blade.)

   Now take your fence, loosen the screws that secure it to the table attachment, and slide it onto the table. Set the fence parallell to the line you've drawn, and re-tighten the screws. Your fence is now adjusted for the blade drift, and should allow for a straight cut. Also, make sure the fence is 90 degrees to the table.

   Hope this takes care of your frustration.

3. 
   JohnWW | Feb 05, 2004 12:14am | #3

   Bandsaw performance is greatly affected by the blade and how the saw is tuned up.  You need a new sharp blade meant for resawing if you are going to have any sucess cutting thick stock, the blade supplied with the saw is more than likely very low quality and too fine of a pitch. 

   In addition you should probably read a book or a few magazine articles on setting up and running a bandsaw before you try resawing valuable wood.  There is a fair amount to know about using a bandsaw and it isn't nearly as intuitive a tool to use as a tablesaw, for instance.

   On 14 inch bandsaws, the tension capacity is usually tested with a half inch wide blade on the machine.  Most resaw blades work best at this tension but a few will give a better cut at lower tension. 

   A saw that can tension a 1/2 inch blade to 15,000 psi would be able to tension a narrower blade to an even higher tension.  Blades can withstand much higher tensions than this, but a wide blade at high tension puts a fair amount of stress on other parts of the saw, so 15,000 psi on a 1/2 blade is usually the maximum recommended for 14 inch bandsaws of the type you purchased.

   The spring that tensions the blade is also a shock absorber, you should never fully compress it, you could damage the saw.

   If the saw you bought has orange paint on the wheel housings, it was made in China, the bandsaw reviewed in FWW was made in Taiwan.  The switchover to Chinese manufacture began in only the past few months.  The Chinese saw appears to be nearly identical to the earlier Taiwanese model, but the quality of the workmanship may, or may not, be as good as the Taiwanese made saw, which was very nicely made.

   John W.

   P.S.  The fence on the Ridgid saw made in Taiwan had a relatively limited adjustment range for drift, this could be easily corrected by disassembling the fence and grinding the sides of the cast iron head where it went into the aluminum fence bar.  I don't know if the Chinese saw has the same fence or the same problem.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 2/4/2004 4:31:02 PM ET by JohnW

4. 
   CharlieD | Feb 05, 2004 12:16am | #4

   I'm certain that the blade suppiled with the saw is of poor quality, and that this is largely responsible for your drift. However, as noted by other responses, adjusting the fence for drift is key; all bandsaw blades drift somewhat, and event that drift will change as the blade loses its edge.

   But still, we're not done--if you want to resaw successfully, you MUST have the right blade for the job. Typically, for a 14" saw like yours, a 1/2 hook tooth blade with 3 teeth per inch (TPI) is considered a good choice. Then, it has to be tensioned properly. Check out highlandhardware.com, and click on their WoodSlicer link; somewhere in there, you'll find instructiuons on how to tension properly for resawing. The WoodSlicer is a resaw blade, and works wonderfully, but I find that they dull very quickly. A MiniMax guy told me that it's a modified meat blade.

   Anyway, the right blade and the right setup and your saw will amazeyoiu, I'm certain of it. A good book will do wonders for you too--I like Lonnie Bird's book on bandsaws.

   Charlie

   I tell you, we are here to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. --K Vonnegut

5. 
   HowardAcheson | Feb 05, 2004 12:16am | #5

   The OEM blade supplied with most bandsaws in about the same quality as the tablesaw blade supplied with most new tablesaws. It is only meant to fill the spot, it is not meant for actually cutting. It certain is not the correct blade for resawing.

   First, get yourself one of the bandsaw books by either Mark Duginske or Lonnie Bird. Get either. Both will show you how to set up your saw, get it aligned and then explain the different types of blades that are used. There is no one general purpose blade for a bandsaw. Each type of operation and radius cut requires a different blade. Get the ones that match how you plan to use the saw. The books will also explain how to best use your saw.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 2/4/2004 4:17:39 PM ET by Howie

6. 
   DougF | Feb 05, 2004 01:18am | #6

   Brian,

   My earlier laments posted in this forum sound even more plaintive than yours for the very same reasons.  I too was ready to throw the damn thing (Grizzly 14" with riser)away even after investing in the good (Timberwolf) blades.  Then I ran into the Timberwold rep at a ww show and he changed everything.  When resawing, the angle of the cut was extreme, the cut cupped regardless of the blade tension, and it burned the wood to some degree.  I don't know if this is your problem but I'll pass along what he said: If the aluminum blade table insert is nicked, you have damaged the set of the teeth and that will make the blade pull/cup/burn the wood.  Mine was definitely nicked.  I replaced the metal insert with a nylon insert, put a new 3/4" Teimberwolf blade on, tensioned according to the directions (Timberwolf's directions) and proceeded to slice the most perfect 1/16 thin piece of 8" hard maple, perfectly parallel to the fence.  Its been perfect ever since.

   Hope this helps you.

   Doug

7. 
   forestgirl | Feb 05, 2004 01:48am | #7

   Excellent advice given above.  I'll provide Suffolk's phone number:
   800-234-7297

   And suggest you call them.  Provide the following info:

   Type of wood you're sawing (oak, maple, pine whatever)
   Green vs. kiln dried
   thicknesses (width, in the case of resawing)

   When someone says the use xxtpi and such and such a tooth configuration, that doesn't tell you all you need to know.  What type of blade you order depends on the above.  Especially green vs. KD.  It's not that you need a whole bunch of different blades, but maybe 2 or 3.  I have a different blade for resawing 6" KD cherry than the one I use for 10" wet spalted maple.

   Here's a Suffolk page that gives a little basic info:
   http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/sixrules.html

   And one that describes their different lines of blades.  Still best to call for the first order or two though. 
   http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/importantinfo.html

   forestgirl Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)  you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)

1. 
   brianmexico | Feb 05, 2004 04:59am | #8

   Hey there everybody, I won't write a seperate response to each of you but I would just like to say thanks for the great advise. Forestgirl, I will be looking into the info that you past along to me, thank you. To answer a few of the questions that I heard amongst the comments, John W asked (or commented) about the orange paint. There's only metalic grey on my machine. The other thing that I thought was a little odd was the lack of a fence. There was no mention of a fence in the parts list and only talked about it as an accesory. Does this mean something? (No miter gauge either)

   I live about a thousand miles down the Baja Peninsula and had a friend send the saw down to me so I'm going to be putting all the above suggestions on my shopping list for my next trip up to the States. I'll probably wind up ordering the accesory fence as well. Are there any nifty aftermarket fences that are better?? (I was thinking of making one)

   Among the things that I'm going to be resawing are some great pieces of cactus that has a really interesting grain pattern, and another one called a boojum tree. These trees are endagered and you can't buy them but every now and then one dies or is found in the dessert dried and well preserved. the wood looks really cool. I'm told that this tree only grows in the central Baja region, nowhere else in the world!! I'll send some digital pictures when I succesfully resaw the pieces I have. (I bettin John is going to like those)

   Thanks a lot everybody (the frustration boogeyman is on vacation)

8. 
   GHR | Feb 05, 2004 07:11am | #9

   brian ---

   I disagree with a lot of what has been said.

   For your saw to cut straight the upper and lower blade guides need to hold the blade straight. In general, the upper blade guide can twist.

   In addition, the guide blocks need to be tight against the blade. Ball bearing guides are best.

   You need a tall fence. For 8" stock and 8" fence works well. You need keep the staock against the fence.

   Cheap blades work just as well as good blades. But you do need something around 1/2" 3TIP.

   Today I resawed about $400 worth of 8/4 x 12" rough sawn H. Mahogany. I used a Delta 14" band saw with a riser and a cheap blade. My fence was only 6" high and the wood had some cup, but the cut was good enough that the saw mrks on both sides were gone at about .95" and I finish sanded them to .77".

1. 
   VeniciaL | Feb 05, 2004 10:29am | #10

   George,

   I don't know what you mean by a cheap blade. But I have to agree with the previous advice that a superior blade will do the job better than an inferior blade. If the machine is properly adjusted, any bandsaw will do the job well IF it has a blade up to the task.

   But your point about a high fence is right. The higher the better.

   As has been described, a damaged or worn blade is a disaster, and many workers don't realize they have damaged a blade by barely nicking the throat plate.

   I have experienced profound improvement just by "upgrading" to Timberwolf blades over several other makes and following Timberwolf's instructions for setting blade tension. It's no accident that an admitted novice is getting 1/16" slices with a good blade properly set up.

   The guides certainly do not have to be ball or roller bearings (although if that's what's on the machine, they will work just fine). Friction blocks are perfectly functional, as you say, set very close. I have gotten identical results with Carter guides as using blocks of hardwood.

   With a high fence and a 2-3 tpi blade, the trick is to feed the wood at the right rate. Too slow is just as bad as too fast. The machine will be happiest just below the feed rate that sounds like it is being forced. It takes a little courage to feed it as fast as it can actually take the wood. Once you get that "feel" the boards will be uniform with a minimum of blade noise.

   VL

1. 
   brianmexico | Feb 05, 2004 07:05pm | #11

   Hey thanks for the tip. Anybody out there know anything about uprading the guides of the machine that I already own to the bearing type. Is there an aftermarket application for Ridgid bandsaws??

1. 
   forestgirl | Feb 05, 2004 08:08pm | #13

   Brian, you really don't have to upgrade to BB guides to get good resaw results, and there are some disadvantages under certain situations to BB guides.  To tell the truth, I'm not remembering the details, but sometime in the last year I read an article in FWW or maybe Wood that went through the whole guide-selection thing, and it indicated that BB guides are good for everything.  I'll try to find the article.

   The Carter guides are very expensive.  They are sold by several of the major catalog companies (try Rockler, Woodcraft)   You can get Cool Blocks (graphite/phenolic) guides or ceramic guides from Iturra Design.  They run $12-$24.  Iturra makes their own bearing-type guides in Bandrolleres (~$62) and their "System Three" guides (~$98). 

   I get excellent results resawing with the original guides on my Grizzly saw, but would like to upgrade to Cool Blocks so I can place the guides closer to the blade.  The Cool Blocks also lubricate the blade as they're used.

   I have to disagree completely that the quality of blade is an insignificant factor.  I've used my stock blade and a dedicated, well-designed resaw blade and the difference is incredible.  The better your band saw cut is, the less work you have to do further on in the milling process.  Any curve in the surface is totally unacceptable, IMO.  And, given that 14" saws traditionally aren't capable of significant tension, the low-tension Timberwolf blades from Suffolk are excellent on these saws.forestgirl Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)  you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)

1. 
   AlanWS | Feb 05, 2004 10:10pm | #14

   A good blade will make a big difference. But if the question is, what can he do now, without access to supplies, to improve the cut, there are some answers. Look here: http://www.tools-for-woodworking.com/page.asp?id=3 for several useful instruction sheets.

2. 
   Mackwood | Feb 06, 2004 04:45am | #19

   I was advised by a guy who ran a boat building shop in Anacortes to make some guide blocks out of lignum vitae.  He told me the natural oil in the wood works great and the blocks would last forever on my saw.  I don't know about the forever part yet but they've been on there ten years or more, work superbly and need  no clearance.  I have a set of Carter guides for my saw.  They have been in a box since I started using the LV blocks.  Enjoy!

   Mack

   Edit: I've seen lots of magazine articles about BS & guides but I've never seen Lignum Vitae mentioned much less compared.  Try it, you can but a block big enough to cut some guide blocks out of for very small money compared to the whistles and bells.

   Edited 2/5/2004 8:51:55 PM ET by Mack

3. 
   forestgirl | Feb 06, 2004 08:50pm | #23

   I'd love to try some lignum vitae to replace the stock guides on my Grizzly.  Unfortunately, they are round!  I just realized, though, a plug cutter might work.  Is LV too tough for plug cutters to work well?forestgirl Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)  you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)

4. 
   AlanWS | Feb 07, 2004 01:26am | #24

   This place http://www.lignum-vitae.com/ seems to sell Lignum Vitae in rounds, though they don't have a price on their website -- you need to ask for a quote. I wonder if oil-impregnated bronze would work well? It was developed to replace lignum vitae, which I understand was the only thing that worked well as propellor bearings in WW2 submarines. http://www.mcmaster.com/ sells 2" of 1/4" oil-impregnated bronze rod for $2.50. Though cool blocks work fine.

5. 
   forestgirl | Feb 07, 2004 02:04am | #25

   Wow, they actually make round ones.  I'm surprised.  I've never seen round Cool Blocks in any store or at the shows.  Finally Googled, and got to the manufacturer's site (Olson).  Yep, they sure do.  Thanks for giving me a kick in the bee-hind!forestgirl Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)  you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)

2. 
   Napie | Feb 05, 2004 11:36pm | #15

   My Delta 14" with a riser block, 1-1/2 hp motor, Carter guides and Timberwolf blade is a resaw dream.  Bought the original saw for $450.00 and added another $250.00 to it and love it.  Though, that 20" MM at the show might tempt me......

3. 
   JohnWW | Feb 06, 2004 02:25am | #16

   Brian,

   Properly set up, the stock solid steel guide blocks are perfectly adequate for resawing.  There is no clear advantage to roller bearings on a small saw like yours and the expense simply isn't justified. 

   Get some good blades and tune up the saw and use it with the stock guide blocks before you start upgrading unnecessarily and at some expense. 

   If you do decide to upgrade, all of the Taiwanese saws are nearly identical when it comes to the guide blocks.  Any aftermarket blocks or bearings that will fit a Jet or Grizzly 14 inch saw will fit the Ridgid. 

   The Ridgid fence is well made and works well once the head is slightly modified as I outlined in my first posting.  There are a few aftermarket fences available but they don't have any great advantages over the stock fence.

   John W.  

4. 
   ChippingWood | Feb 06, 2004 03:05am | #17

   Hey everyone-

   I was lucky and got the Carter guides for Christmas! My lovely wife...

   Anyway- I have a Jet 14" with a bi-metal blade and I have to tell you I am awe struck with the difference between the Carters and the Cool Blocks. Okay- the Carter's are a lot more expensive, but after using them for a while now I think that in hindsight I should have bought them a long time ago. The saw is more quiet, the blade is when cutting feels a lot more solid, and it seems to track a lot more consistently. Actually tried resawing 6" Jatoba... and you can see the sun through it, no blade marks... nice and smooth. I seriously feel like I went from resawing if I had to a resawing genius. Installing them was "okay", but tuning them was much, much easier than blocks.

   But, they are a LOT of money. But... I spend a lot more on wood. And, uh, more on sparkly stuff for my wife. So in the end... what's $150? A brilliant Christmas present! Hehehe. Ahem. Sorry, sorry.

   Anyway hope that helps.

5. 
   HowardAcheson | Feb 06, 2004 03:50am | #18

   In a review of bandsaw blade guides in FWW last year, the conclusion was that for 14" saws the best guides were Cool Blocks. They supported the blade the best and maintained the point of support close to the workpiece. For a saw dedicated to resawing, the Iturra Bandrollers were OK but not better than the Cool Blocks.

   The large diameter roller guides like the Carters actually did not do a good job. They raise (or lowered on the bottom) the support point of the blade which allowed less control of the blade.

   All in all, the Cool Blocks were best. They did not damage the blade if the blade mistracked nor do you have to replace the roller bearing if the blade mistracked. You can adjust them to be in actual contact with the blade and on thin blades, you bury the blade in the Cool Block. Cool Blocks are also the least cost solution. Best of all.

1. 
   JohnWW | Feb 06, 2004 04:48am | #20

   Howie,

   The article you refer to was actually in the April 2001 issue of Fine Woodworking.  Reading it closely you will find that the only real advantage the author claimed for cool blocks over steel was that if you screwed up setting the guides properly the cool blocks wouldn't damage the blade.  While not damaging blades is an advantage, it is really not that hard to set up a saw properly, in which case there is no advantage to the cool blocks.

   In the same article, the author also highly recommended Carter and Black Diamond guide assemblies both of which use metal guide blocks and aren't functionally much different from the stock guides on 14 inch saws.

   In my experience, cool blocks wear very quickly, sometimes in a matter of minutes, and once their faces become rounded they no longer support the blade nearly as well as steel or my personal favorite, ceramic blocks.

   John W.

2. 
   Napie | Feb 06, 2004 06:47pm | #21

   I can just say from personal experience that going from Cool Blocks to the Carter guides was like night and day.  They really hopped up the performance of that Delta 14”.  That said, proper set up and adjustment and the right blade also makes a huge difference.

2. 
   GHR | Feb 05, 2004 08:02pm | #12

   Cheap means a blade that is not sold based on brand name or blade composition.

   The blades that come packaged with a saw are cheap bldes and they work very well. They have the wrong pitch for resawing but ...

9. 
   GHR | Feb 06, 2004 07:14pm | #22

   If you llok at all that has been said ---

   Everyone does what works for them. Find your own way.