twisting a bandsaw blade

[dafixer]

I'm new to this forum and renewed to woodworking and working with a Shopsmith. I used a friend's Mark V back in the late 80's. I now own an '05 Mark V 520 (50th Anniversary version, bandsaw, DC3300, universal lathe kit and pieces) I was just watching one of the sawdust sessions (http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Arch ... lude_2.htm) with Drew demonstrating the twisting of a bandsaw blade to a 45^ angle. Has anyone had a need to twist the blade to that angle? In what situation would you need to do that?

[Gene Howe]

Hi fixer and welcome to the forum.

The reason for twisting the blade (and using the angled guides) is to allow for cutting longer pieces.
I tried it once and found that it's easier to use the TS, at least for straight cuts.

[dafixer]

Okay, thanks. I'd probably use the TS for long cuts as well.

[JPG]

It allows CROSS CUTTING a board of any length as long as the board width is less than about 3 - 4 inches. The throat(blade to vertical support) limits cross cutting to shorter lengths with the blade guides 'normal'.

[Mike907]

JPG is correct. You are limited to 3 7/8" board width, and the offsetting should only be done with 3/8" or 1/2" blades. You could use this method to cut a 4X4 in one pass, for example.

The info starts on page 29 here:

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/manuals/845539.pdf

Mike

[dafixer]

Well, I think some of the language used in the manual is what's confusing me a bit. When the manual says...3-7/8" wide...I envision a board that is 3-7/8" flat on the bandsaw table. But, from what I've gathered in all y'all's posts, the 3-7/8" is the height of the piece of wood above the table...so you don't put the angled blade under too much stress. You're keeping the board down a good bit below the blocks...am I right?

Secondly, the advantage of twisting the blade to a 30^ or 45^ angle allows me to run a board through the band saw at 30^ or 45^ to the vertical plane of the blade. So, I could run say a 2x8 that will have a longer cut off than 10-1/2" to the left.

If I'm still not thinking straight, I'd really like some correction here...

[JPG]

Well, I think some of the language used in the manual is what's confusing me a bit. When the manual says...3-7/8" wide...I envision a board that is 3-7/8" flat on the bandsaw table. But, from what I've gathered in all y'all's posts, the 3-7/8" is the height of the piece of wood above the table...so you don't put the angled blade under too much stress. You're keeping the board down a good bit below the blocks...am I right?

Secondly, the advantage of twisting the blade to a 30^ or 45^ angle allows me to run a board through the band saw at 30^ or 45^ to the vertical plane of the blade. So, I could run say a 2x8 that will have a longer cut off than 10-1/2" to the left.

If I'm still not thinking straight, I'd really like some correction here...

Off setting(twisting) the blade does not affect maximum depth of cut(thickness of workpiece above the table). It remains at about 6". Depth is measured from top of workpiece to bottom sitting on the table.

That 3 7/8 is the maximum width(start of cut to end of cut out the other edge). Width is measured from the starting edge to the trailing edge of the workpiece.

No a 2x8 cannot be cross cut through(see previous statement).

Yes it allows cross cutting pieces that create a left side cutoff greater than 10 1/2", but it cannot be wider(length of cut across) than 3 7/8".

[dafixer]

Thanks for that info. Now, do you know why your straight line travel is limited to 3-7/8" on the angled blade?

[BuckeyeDennis]

Because if you try to cut something wider than that, the workpiece will hit the "riser" portion of the bandsaw housing before you complete the cut.

[dafixer]

I understand now. When you're using the blade turned to 30^, 3-7/8" is as wide as you can go before you hit the neck of the BS. However, check out the attached link. The method will allow you to cut a piece of wood, safely, up to about 6-7/8" wide.

http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Arch ... lude_2.htm