Bandsaw speed

[Thomschuck]

Fellow Geniuses,
I just completed a round of adjustments on my bandsaw. Lubed the wheel and adjusted my blocks, that sort of thing. I have a like new SS 1/4” blade mounted up. What is a solid standard speed setting in a letter? I have mine set at “B”. It just seems like it is dragging or not getting up to speed. Cutting thru 8/4 poplar took forever. PI do need to locate a bearing that gives off a bit of noise. Not constant but there. What speed are you folks using on your 1/4” blade? Thank you much. When I am cutting my blade is coming in contact with the thrust bearing. But it spins freely and quietly.
Thom Schuck
Portland, OR

[garys]

I use A or B for the bandsaw. The slower, the better it seems to work for me. However, 8/4 wood is too much for a 1/4" blade. I use either a 1/2" or 5/8" blade for that heavy work. The larger resawing blades cut fast on oak or other hardwoods.

[DLB]

The SS charts, which is the speed you'd get on a PowerPro if you followed the menu system to select, says 950 RPM for a 1/4" blade in hardwood. Correlates with "C" on a conventional headstock. Since Poplar is only technically a hardwood, recommended for softwood is 1050 RPM which correlates with "D."

- David

[jsburger]

What is the tooth count (TPI) of your blade? It is more about the TPI for thick stock than the width. Think band saw boxes. You are cutting thick stock with sharp curves. A 1/2" or 5/8" blade will not do that. For straight line cuts you want a wide blade as in resawing. In 8/4 stock you want a TPI of 3 to no more than 6.

As an aside, the Timberwolf blade charts specify a thinner stock range for soft woods than for hard woods for the same blade. That is probably counter intuitive for most of us.