Bandsaw Table

gk777 · Post by **gk777** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 11:35 am

to start I am calling left, the left side of the SS, the side the teeth of the bandsaw blade are on. My table seems to be titled left to right about 2.5 degrees. I noticed this when cutting a rabbit out of the end of a 2x4. I was cutting 3" by .75" rabbit. When I got to the end of the cut and removed the scrap I noticed the cut was perfect on one end but cut further into the wood on the other side. Any suggestion on how to fix? Front to back is within .1 degrees but I can not find anthing for left to right adjustment.

billmayo · Post by **billmayo** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 1:00 pm

I used some shims or very thin washers under the 2 bolts holding the trunnion on the lower side. Same shims as used for the main and extension table alignments. I used a 6" engineer's square on the side and back of the bandsaw blade for alignments.

gk777 wrote:to start I am calling left, the left side of the SS, the side the teeth of the bandsaw blade are on. My table seems to be titled left to right about 2.5 degrees. I noticed this when cutting a rabbit out of the end of a 2x4. I was cutting 3" by .75" rabbit. When I got to the end of the cut and removed the scrap I noticed the cut was perfect on one end but cut further into the wood on the other side. Any suggestion on how to fix? Front to back is within .1 degrees but I can not find anthing for left to right adjustment.

cincinnati10 · Post by **cincinnati10** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 4:54 am

I'm understanding your left to right designation is from the teeth-side of the blade to the back of the blade. If this is correct, then when cutting, you are either pushing the wood up hill or down hill 2.5 degrees.

You can correct this with shims, but I don't yet see what difference this makes in a cut?

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 7:22 am

I didn't know when I read your post just how many shims I used to level the table. I went out and checked. If it wasn't for the shims, I would be pushing material uphill on the bandsaw table too.

Get a stack of washers and use whatever is needed.

curiousgeorge · Post by **curiousgeorge** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 4:15 pm

You can correct this with shims, but I don't yet see what difference this makes in a cut?

cincinnati10,
On a straight through rip or cross cut... none. But, just try cutting a tenon on the end of a board, with the table not level, and see what difference it makes on the shoulders of the tenon.

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 8:42 pm

gk777 wrote:...When I got to the end of the cut and removed the scrap I noticed the cut was perfect on one end but cut further into the wood on the other side. Any suggestion on how to fix? Front to back is within .1 degrees but I can not find anything for left to right adjustment.

A) You can fix the rabbet by putting glue into the open kerf, then pounding a wood shim into the glued kerf. Clean up with a chisel.
B) My saw was such that the top of the blade exited the wood before the bottom. With shims (washers) and an engineer's square it is a lot better, but the bottom now exits just a hair before the top of the blade. (Good enough for me!)
C) A dado blade and a few passes over it may be a better choice of tool.

gk777 · Post by **gk777** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:18 am

[quote="curiousgeorge"]cincinnati10,
On a straight through rip or cross cut... none. But, just try cutting a tenon on the end of a board, with the table not level, and see what difference it makes on the shoulders of the tenon. ]

That is exactly the problem I was having, When cutting out notches that will show on the outside of my project I was having the problem, If you are cutting all the way through it is a dont care. The thicker the piece of wood you are cutting the more pronounced the varitions causes. So for thin pieces with notches probably not a concern.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:11 am

gk777;

I can't tell from the postings whether or not you have resolved your problem. Do you see how the installation of washers, under the table on the low side of the trunnion, will level your table?

This will allow you to "square your table" to the blade in all directions.

If not, maybe some photo images will help. Just ask.

gk777 · Post by **gk777** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:13 am

I have not purchased the washers from shosmith yet, but I am sure this will fix the problem once I have added them.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:54 am

Since this was not a "precision" adjustment, I did not use the thin washers from Shopsmith. I am using a stack of common, ordinary flat washers.

The shims that you get from Shopsmith will be thousands of an inch thick for extremely accurate adjustment. It sounded in your post as though you had a much more significant adjustment to make.

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