Shopsmith Forums

Hello all,
I was attempting to resaw some 1 3/4 purpleheart in half for a book match and my bandsaw keeps stalling out partially through the cut. I initially tried a 6 inch wide piece and when that wasn't successful a 3 inch, same results.

It's a relatively new 1/2 blade, 4 teeth/inch and tensioned a bit past the 1/2 on the indicator, which feels about as much tension as reasonable. It's a mark v and was set to the slowest speed. The piece of pine used as a test to check the settings cut without issue.

Am I just asking too much of the saw with dense wood like purpleheart or am I missing something?

Thanks,
Lew

What's moving, and what isn't?

So, the blade stops moving. Does the power coupler stop rotating? How about the quill end? Is the blade slipping on the bandsaw wheels?

Good questions. I can't say for sure, the first time I tripped the circuit it was plugged into, that was fun, the basement lights are on the same circuit. Can't say I noticed if the power coupler or quill stopped rotating. I was wondering about the wheels as I'm assuming they're original, I'm at least the second owner. As far as wear on the wheels, any tell tale signs I should be looking for?

If you are tripping the circuit breaker each time then nothing is slipping. The motor is being over loaded. Purpleheart is very dense. Slower feed rate and a brand new blade should solve the issue.

Thanks. I ordered a new blade and will see how it goes.

Are you sure that the bandsaw stalled before the breaker tripped?

I have my bandsaw on a Power Station, and the closest outlet is on the same circuit as my shop lights. But the lights alone draw about 10A. Heavy cutting wirh the bandsaw will reliably trip the breaker. So when I’m doing heavy cuts, I run a 12 AWG extension cord to a dedicated 20A machine circuit. I’ve never tripped that one.

Also, make sure you have the headstock speed set low enough. The lower the speed, the more gear reduction you get and the more torque to the blade on the bandsaw. That puts less load on the motor so it runs easier.

The first time it stalled prior to tripping the circuit breaker. I tried inserting a wedge into the kerf thinking maybe the wood was closing up on the blade but when trying to proceed with the cut is when the circuit tripped.
I switched it to a different circuit for subsequent attempts, no tripped breaker but the blade did come to a stop. I was quicker at shutting it off so not sure if the circuit would have tripped if I persisted. The headstock was set at the slowest speed.

You say the blade is fairly new, so I assume you only recently installed it? Check to see if your band saw blade is installed upside-down. When uncoiling a new band saw blade (or any coiled band saw blade), it is possible to have the blade uncoil inside-out. When this happens and the blade is installed normally, the result is that the exposed saw teeth face up where they should face down. The inside-out/upside down band saw blade will still cut soft or thin wood but would definitely bog down while re-sawing purple heart. I know because I've done it myself! viewtopic.php?p=302443&hilit=inside+out ... aw#p302443

I just double-checked, I was hoping it was just me have a brain fart, yesterday was one of those days, but it is installed properly.