Bandsaw Help

[pwarmes456]

Hi. I have a Rikon 10 inch bandsaw use it to make/trim pen blanks. Recently, it has started grabbing the work when I feed it into the saw. It only happens with small/round stock but it seems to be worse when I have glued different materials together and then try to saw them. I'm using the largest blade I can (1/2") and that may be the issue. Any thoughts? PWArmes

 

[Edgar]

What is the TPI on the 1/2" blade?

Two possibilities that I can think of - speed too low if it is a variable speed saw and too few teeth per inch.

 

[pwarmes456]

What is the TPI on the 1/2" blade?

Two possibilities that I can think of - speed too low if it is a variable speed saw and too few teeth per inch.

I think 4tpi. I think it is technically a resaw blade.



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[Herb G]

Get a 10 tpi blade instead.

 

[Curly]

.....It only happens with small/round stock but it seems to be worse when I have glued different materials together and then try to saw them......

With a bandsaw you must always have the wood below the teeth of the blade in contact with the table. If you present round wood to the saw as in a crosscut the first contact is a the 3 o'clock part of the wood. The support is behind at 6 o'clock, so the blank rolls into the blade. If you were to present the wood as a rip from the centre of the end the blade contacts at 12 o'clock and is supported at 6 o'clock so it doesn't roll and can't grab. If you want to cut across a round blank or misshapen one you need to clamp it to a bigger board to stop the roll and resulting grab.

If this is not what you are doing then beats me.

 

[Edgar]

Yes, what Herb & Curly said. A 4 TPI blade is not a good choice for what you are doing - it should have at least 8 TPI & 10 would be better. You also need to clamp the blank as Curly suggested. I clamp both square & round blanks when crosscutting, but it's especially important with round blanks. Also, start feeding into the blade very slowly - you can speed up the feed a little once you get the cut started.

 

[flyitfast]

There is always the issue of how sharp the blade is. As it gets duller, it will grab the wood rather than cut it.....................Gordon

 

[Herb G]

FWIW, I get my bandsaw blades from here.

Band Saw Blades and Band Saw Accessories - From allbandsawblades.com

They sell just about every imaginable blade you could want.
They are a division of Peachtree Woodworking company too.

Anyway, I have around 10-12 different blades at any one time.
If one breaks, I have a spare.
But I don't cut a lot of wood all the time, just a lot of wood at one time.

HTH.

 

[pwarmes456]

Very helpful. Thanks to all. Paul A


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[jttheclockman]

All good info. Main one yes the blade is one you should consider changing to with more teeth per inch. Next make yourself a simple jig to hold the blanks. You can add clamps if needed or just put some sandpaper on the back side and bottom side of the sled. This will help from grabbing also.