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Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: BMorv on April 11, 2019, 02:25:50 PM
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I have a couple month old 17" Grizzly bandsaw, and I set it up per the manual and the initial 3/8" blade worked out fine.
I tried out a new 3/4" 3 tpi timber wolf blade and I can't get it to cut in a straight line to save my life.
I tuned the BS per the manual and per this instructional https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU, and it still cuts aggressively toward the fence. It also wobbles a lot more than the other blade and makes more noise.
Here's a list of the things I've tried:
- set the fence in line parallel to the blade. It was off a bit.
-adjusted the tension on the blade from almost max to light pressure
- blade tracking from way front, middle, to way back
Nothing seems to make a difference. I'm pretty frustrated. Any suggestions?
I haven't tried the draw a straight line on a board and cut free hand tip, but I don't think my fence can even adjust as far as this thing is out of square. And that wouldn't solve the noise and vibration issue. I'm thinking it's the blade.
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Do you by chance have a second blade to try, maybe the blade is the issue.
I tried the Snodgrass method on my 14" and created myself more stress than anyone needs. I went back to the manual and did it how Grizzly recommends and it works much better.
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I tune my band saw the same as you and have no isues maybe your tires have more camber to them & works with narrow blades better I had a issue with one blade & realized the dimension of the blade was longer then the rest of them and more blade tension solved it , just a dumb question is the back side of the blade smooth I had one that wasn't and had a minor burr that would catch the thrust bearing and throw things off I took a file while it ran and smoothed it up and no more isues , the only other thing I can think of if you can't find a sweet spot between blade position and tension is upper lower wheel alignment , how wide are your tires on that saw ?
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I have the original blade, but it's teeth are worn badly. I bet it still would cut much more accurately than this timber wolf.
I can't see why I would have to adjust the fence this much. It's cutting at like a 20 degree angle. It's ridiculous.
Yeah I agree with the Snodgrass method. He makes is seems so simple. "Just tap the blade and it should move about 1/8". Ohh ok. Put a 3/4" blade on there and let me know how tapping your little finger works out for ya. Sorry, I'm aggravated... :banghead:
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Ritchie,
Not sure about the back of the blade. I'll check.
I adjust the guide blocks and thrust bearing to the proper gaps, rotate by hand and everything is good. I turn it on, and it engages the thrust bearings and guides a little. That's why I'm leaning toward something wrong with the blade. And when I rotate by hand, the gap on the thrust bearing changes. So you may be right about the back.
The wheel is wide btw, 1.75" I believe. It can accept a 1" wide blade.
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"when I rotate by hand, the gap on the thrust bearing changes. " I was going to mention the bearings other than the wheels (tires) probably covers any would be issues.
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I ordered 2 new blades from Grizzly, so I'll know in a couple days if it's the blade.
Just aggravating that this TW blade was $50 and it's giving me all this trouble.
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I been using the Timberwoof blades. Put a 3/4" on my 14"BS, cuts good. I radiused the back like Ritchie suggested, make sure the wheels are coplaner and set the fence drift adjustment freehand. I just replaced the stock rubber tires with urethane. Never would have believed that would make such a dramatic difference, in tracking and vibration.
I also put a heavy duty Die spring and tension rod on it. Not an issue for your 17" , but being able to crank the tension way up made a big difference for my saw. One other thing that has helped my resawing, I replaced the blade guide blocks with UHMW plastic and press them hard against the blade.
If you want to try UHMW, let me know, I have a pile of small chunks.
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Sometimes the blade is welded together crooked.
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It may be something as simple as that Roy.
It seems that there's one spot on the blade that's out, and when that comes around it closes the gap on the thrust bearing. And that would explain the noise and vibration. I'll check some more when I get home.
Flem, the bandsaw is essentially new. Maybe one hour of run time. So I would hope the wheels are set right and the tires are in good shape. And the cheap 3/8" blade that came with it cut like a champ.
I may take you up on that UHMW offer after I figure this out. Thanks
Any idea how much I should tension a 3/4" blade on the 17" saw? Mine just has a tension guide 1 through 8, it doesn't correspond to a blade width.
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I thought as Roy did. When you said the gap changes between the back of the blade and thrust bearing as you rotate the wheel by hand, it sounds like the blade wasn't aligned properly when it was welded. Since the original blade worked great, I'm guessing this new blade isn't right.
I have my saw set up pretty decent, but don't use a standard fence for bow work. For sawing lams and cores, I use a Kreg resaw fence, which is a short curved fence, so you can slightly angle the work piece to account for drift, while cutting a measured amount.
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That would suck to get a skewed blade. Put a long straight edge against the back of it and see if its got a angle welded in.
I don't own any Grizzly tools, but I know they are good quality. Seem even the best tools still require some dialing in.
If your saw runs blocks, you would like the plastic. If nothing else, its nice not to have to set a gap.
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Not sure what is wrong with your blade, just try a new one, but I agree with Flem... If you got rubber tires on there get rid of them and put on some good urethane ones... Makes a big difference...
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Just for the heck of it I read the reviews on TW blades on the big A and a lot of reviewers describe same isues as you ! I have had good luck with Lenox blades !
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I was down to 1 blade and needed to cut something out one day, I could see the blade was welded crooked and it vibrated like heck when running.
Having nothing to lose, I cut the weld apart with a dremel tool, laid the two ends along a straight edge and hit it with the mig welder, then cleaned the weld up with the dremel tool.
After that it ran better than any blade I ever used.
All it takes is being off a few thousands to cause vibrations.
Ya got a mig welder, Mr. Ben?
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I don't have a welder, but here at work we have about 20. But I'm going to wait till the new blades come in before I waste anymore time with this blade.
I looked at it last night. I removed it and checked the back for square with a long straight edge like was suggested, and there's a couple spots that are maybe 1/16" out of line. I put it back on the saw and rotated the wheels by hand and there's 2 times in a complete revolution of the blade that contact the thrust bearing.
I'm pretty convinced it's the blade, but I'll see for sure when the others come in.
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Cool..
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Your best bet on blades is find some one local that can make them for you. Imperial Fastener is one place and a lot of the nut&bolt places that carry tools make them.
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I have a local place make mine @ 9 bucks a piece for 93.5".
I believe they use lennox steel.
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I have a local place make mine @ 9 bucks a piece for 93.5".
I believe they use lennox steel.
Are you going to become a distributor Roy? That price beats the dickens out of anything we have hear.
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Skeat they’re pink tho...
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:jumper: :wavey:
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I have a local place make mine @ 9 bucks a piece for 93.5".
I believe they use lennox steel.
For that price I would not care if they were rainbow colored.
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If pink is cheap then bring it on.
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I got enough pink here, pink bow, pink chaps, pink string silencers, pink arrow wif pink fedders......
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I got enough pink here, pink bow, pink chaps, pink string silencers, pink arrow wif pink fedders......
I never would have guessed you to have a side like that Roy, you ole softy.
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Ya, just wait till I visit ole gobbersan this summer:)
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9 bucks wow. You should re sell for 15 bucks I would buy several.
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I'll have to check the price now, last time I got them, which was 5 years ago, I bought 6 of them for a bulk price reduction.
They are good blades that I change once a year and we do a lot of cutting, but no glass bows.
They have a website, I'll check it out later and let y'all know the $$$ now.
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I got a place on the net where I can get the Lenox carbon blades I run 185" for $26 I thought that was cheap they don't recommend the carbon blade for any saw less then 15' for some reason but they have regular steel blades to for much cheaper but no PINK :laughing:
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I may have missed it in the replies, but I thought I noticed you mentioning that you squared the fence with the blade... not what you want to do. It doesn't matter if the fence is set square or not. You want to set it according to the drift. All blades will drift differently. Most all fences are adjustably.
Do a search about adjusting for bandsaw drift.
Now it may all be a bad blade as some said.. Lord knows I've had a bunch of them.
I have good luck with wood slicer blades and lenox tri master blades. Not cheap by any stretch, but they do a good/great job.
BigJim
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The blade I use on my 14 in. Jet is a bi-metal 6/10 VP. They are a bit thicker than a regular wood blade. I think that helps sawing against the fence. If I dont crowd it resawing lams I get a really smooth cut with no drift. Can cut a ton of wood and 1/2 ton of limbs out of the same blade. Only cut limbs after it shows dullness with wood. I run the teeth right on the crown of the tires.
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Watch the video at the top:
https://www.finewoodworking.com/2018/07/16/two-fixes-for-bandsaw-drift
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A good video for sure... I never use a miter gage so that slot means nothing...
Much easier to adjust drift from the fence.
I would disagree about never having to adjust once it is set. I've got a laguna 14" suv and a 17" laguna Italian and they both need minute fence adjustments when I switch out blades. Not so much if I go back with the same blade over and over, but if I switch blades from mfg to mfg, it will certainly need some adjustment.
BigJIm
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Thanks for all the help guys.
I did like that video too.
The massive drift angle was my first concern, but the amount of vibration and noise is a bigger concern. My new blades come in today so I'll have a direct comparison.
I just hope timber wolf gives me my money back if it is a bad blade (the 30 day return window has expired).
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Ben, check youtube, lot's of drift videos there.
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Good video. I heard him mention using jigs which maybe the reason for his type of adjustment.
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I'm calling bad blade.....1st cut with the new blade on and no adjustment of the fence. :goldtooth: I went from wanting to return my bandsaw, to going through my shop trying to find things to cut. I'm happy now.
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:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Ya got a pm.
Jim ya have a point here:
A good video for sure... I never use a miter gage so that slot means nothing...
Much easier to adjust drift from the fence.
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Thats good news!
I have not had any problems with TW blades, but I'm going to think twice before I buy any more.
Ben, what brand blades did you get from Grizzly?
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Flem,
It's actually a Grizzly branded blade. 1/2 the cost of the TW. I can tell not as much time went into the Grizzly blade and it just looks rougher, but for the price and the results I don't really care.
I can say the TW is scary sharp. Much sharper than the Grizzly. I cut myself a couple times handling it. I'm not sure what the deal is with this TW blade. It aggressively grabs the wood and starts pulling it at a sharp angle. I had trouble cutting in a straight line without the fence. It was cutting at such an angle that I'm pretty sure my fence wouldn't adjust that far. Even if it could, I have no interest in cutting at a 20-30 degree angle to my table. That's just ridiculous to me.
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Sound like when you forget to sharpen both sides of a Chainsaw chain. Pulls something fierce to one side!
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Sound like when you forget to sharpen both sides of a Chainsaw chain. Pulls something fierce to one side!
Who would do something like that?:)
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I don’t know about forgetting to do one side completely. But I’ve seen guys try to hand file and end up with a different angles on each side. This will also cause the curved cut.
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What Flem said, good chance one side is either dull or you got into some glass or something that could have dulled it. Any kind of saw like that if one side is dull it wont cut straight for nothing
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Sound like when you forget to sharpen both sides of a Chainsaw chain. Pulls something fierce to one side!
Who would do something like that?:)
Old fellars like you :laughing: :laughing:
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Look here ya older than dirt geezer.
I just happen to be younger than you.
:laughing:
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Really what month ya born in.
Never said I was young :bigsmyl:
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June
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"Who would do something like that?:)".
I'm working on doing(most)everything, at least once. :saywhat:
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Well I do it twice, just to make sure I messed up:)
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Sept. Roy :biglaugh:
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Well ya young geezer pup:)