Band saw woes

[Ed in Tampa]

Okay I will bite my comments have been basically ignored, that tells me no body else thinks the tooth set or something rubbing on one side of the blade can cause this problem.

Can you tell me why?

I have always been taught that if the tooth set was wrong the blade would clear too much wood on the side with the most tooth set and eventually the blade would bow and bind. Is that not true?

I have seen saws where the lower guides were set wrong and the left guide which was steel was rubbing on the actual tooth. I don't have perfect memory recall but I seem to remember the blade warping to the point of binding.

Is my memory that bad?

[gr8mesquite]

Ed,

I haven't ignored your post. As a matter of fact , it's yours and Bob's that prompted me to start over with a new blade. My cool blocks are ok, and I checked for impediments against the blade--nothing. Nevertheless, after I install the Slicer, I will check again.

Thanks

Jerry

[dusty]

Okay I will bite my comments have been basically ignored, that tells me no body else thinks the tooth set or something rubbing on one side of the blade can cause this problem.

Can you tell me why?

I have always been taught that if the tooth set was wrong the blade would clear too much wood on the side with the most tooth set and eventually the blade would bow and bind. Is that not true?

I have seen saws where the lower guides were set wrong and the left guide which was steel was rubbing on the actual tooth. I don't have perfect memory recall but I seem to remember the blade warping to the point of binding.

Is my memory that bad?

I am so sorry Ed that I appeared to have ignored your comments but I did not. In fact, no comment was made because I have always thought that band saw drift was just that - reaction to a blade that cut more aggressively on one side than the other.

[bobgroh]

BTW Bob(Groh), I'm sure you're aware that if you covet the Highland blade, then 1/2" is the only choice you have. While Highland makes a 3/4" blade, SS warns against using anything larger than a 5/8" on our machine. Right?

Thanks again
Jerry

Absolutely right - again I just don't think the Shopsmith has enough mechanical strength to tension a larger blade. Plus the wheel size is too small for the bigger blades (again I am using 'The Bandsaw Book' for my bible here) - bigger blade on smaller wheel = too much bending! So for a number of reasons, I am going to limit my blade size to 1/2" and the Wood Slicer really seems like my best shoot at decent resawing on my SS. Not that any good 1/2" 3-4T (i.e. skip tooth blade with good deep gullets, sharp teeth, etc) shouldn't do a good job. I just don't have enough time to fiddle around and try to save a couple of bucks! Anxious to learn out your struggle comes out.

[gr8mesquite]

Thanks to all.

Turns out it's the ole KISS adage (Keep It Simple Stupid)--nothing more complicated than a faulty blade.

Brought my rig up to my new friend John Farley, who was gracious enough to spend the whole morning with me doing tests. Not only did we solve the problem, but I had a couple of his wife's incredible best-in-the world muffins, and admired some of John's amazing work.

We sawed on his rig, my rig, then swithched blades. Cuts on his machine with my blade were faulty; cuts on my machine with his blade were smooth and straight. The final cut, a thin veneer cut-off from a raw mesquite log, was astoundingly perfect.

My 5/8" Shopsmith blade is reatively new with little time logged on it. That's why I got so baffled , and reasoned it was either my machine or technique. No...it was an imperfect blade.

Gonna try a Highland Wood Slicer. I'm betting life will be simple then.

Many thanks John.

Jerry

[horologist]

Gonna try a Highland Wood Slicer. I'm betting life will be simple then.

Many thanks John.

Jerry

I'm coming in a little late on this thread but have the Wood Slicer on my saw and couldn't be happier.

Troy

[dusty]

[quote="gr8mesquite"]Thanks to all.

Turns out it's the ole KISS adage (Keep It Simple Stupid)--nothing more complicated than a faulty blade.

Brought my rig up to my new friend John Farley, who was gracious enough to spend the whole morning with me doing tests. Not only did we solve the problem, but I had a couple of his wife's incredible best-in-the world muffins, and admired some of John's amazing work.

We sawed on his rig, my rig, then swithched blades. Cuts on his machine with my blade were faulty]

I am so pleased that you and Farley were able to get together to resolve this band saw issue. But boy am I ever disappointed. I'll bet those muffins were great and I was only ten minutes away. What a bummer.

[fjimp]

I am so pleased that you and Farley were able to get together to resolve this band saw issue. But boy am I ever disappointed. I'll bet those muffins were great and I was only ten minutes away. What a bummer.

What Dusty wasn't invited to the party? Now that could create a seam in the universe:eek: Fjimp

[gr8mesquite]

Not to keep this thread alive, but I mounted a 1/2" Wood Slicer on and ran a sledded mesquite log thru. Wow...like a hot knife thru butter. Perfect cuts, even untra thin veneers. The lesson for me; don't dismiss the obvious/don't overthink the problem.

Jerry

[charlese]

Thanks, gr8mesquite! It is a real good thing when folks post their successes. Glad the slicer worked for you!:)