Need help with bandsaw

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armyturner

armyturner

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Sep 1, 2006
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Location
Oil Trough, AR, USA.
I have a Jet 14" closed base band saw that I have never been able to get set up correctly. When I try to cut anything, hardwood or softwood, dry or green, the blade wants to run out th the right. I have tried adjustments to the tension, blade travel on the pulleys, and multiple blades of different sizes with the same result. Does anyone know what my issue may be?
 
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Heck, I'd love to have the band saw for myself. There are hundreds of adjustments to those buggers. I have a cheap Craftsman 10" and the blade wants to drift right. I found a worn nylon bushing that was to hold the angle of the top wheel. It wasn't tracking right, but you have already checked that I guess.
 
My first thought is that band saws do not necessarily cut straight to the table. This means you cannot set a mitre gauge in the tables slot set to 90 degrees and get a 90 degree cut through a piece of wood. you have to adjust your gauge to the drift of the blade. even worse is that the drift will change as the blade wears or is changed.

My next thought is that there is a lot to correct set up of the saw. any one of those steps not being done correctly could be causing your problem. My best guess at what to look at first is the wheels. are they clean? is the blade tracking on them correctly? are the wheels Co-Planier?

My next suspect would be blade tension and finally the guides.
 
DO you have the upper bearings as close to the top of the wood as possible? The more space you have up there, the more chance of it walking. Also, are you putting too much pressure on the wood to force it through the blade? I was always heavy handed and was forcing the wood through too quickly and causing myself problems.
 
Blade Drift

Sounds like blade drift. Take a piece of scrap about 24 inches long draw a straight line down the center. Cut the line free hand making sure the blade stays on the line. When you are 3/4 of the way through turn off the saw, making sure the piece of wood stays in the same line. Adjust the take a pencil and draw a line on the table on the side of the wood closest to the fence. Adjust the fence to match the angle of the line. That should fix it. The only other thing I can think of is your wheels are out of alignment. Also where do your blades sit on the rubber part of the wheel?
 
Have you checked the placement of the blade on the upper wheel (tracking) ? Is it on the top of the crown of the tire ? This adjustment is the main reason for blade drift . you need to get the blade at the top of the crown of the tire , if it is too far to the front of the wheel the blade will want to drift to the left (facing the teeth of the blade) and too far to the rear will cause the blade to drift right . Even if your just a little bit off here it will cause drift .
Also the guides , both top and bottom , have to be adjusted correctly and in good shape . If you are using the "Rub blocks" that came with the saw you will have a very hard time getting the blade to track straight . Replace the rub blocks with good set of roller bearing guides , I have the Carter guides and a 1/2" 3tpi "Wood Slicer" blade on a well tuned HF 14" band saw w/riser and can consistently resaw 1/32" thick veneer on a flat fence .
Your best bet is to get a book on how to properly tune your band saw , there are several but I think the "Bandsaw Handbook" by Mark Duginske was the best one I read but read as many as you can get your hands on .
There are several changes that can make a good band saw into a super band saw , Urethane tires , bearings (if needed) , roller guides and several other things that will get your Jet in shape .
 
Could be the guide blocks or bearings whichever is fitted.
Make sure they are about 1/16" behind the gullet/teeth of the blade. that way most of the blade is between the guides and is unable to twist off line.
Also, make sure the guides are as close to the blade surface as possible, the gap should be paper thin.
regards, Bill
 
I would have said a dull blade. But you tried several blades. Unless they are all dull, the setting of the upper guide, as others have pointed out, is the most likely culprit.
BTW, I am not in agreement with Daniel. I, and many others, get very accurate cuts on our bandsaws using the miter. It is the rule, not the exception.
 
I was having the same trouble this morning....I slowed my feed down to a crawl and that took care of it....and mine is a small delta
 
You should go back to your owner's manual. Ensure everything set up per instructions for that saw. May also find those procedures for adjusting a fence for blade drift in the manual.

Before spending, any money on upgrade hardware also recommend trying a slower feed rate. You can have the same problem whether band saw has blocks or ball bearing guides if saw not set up correctly. Remember bandsaw blades notorious for dulling quickly.

Would recommend you get a copy of the Band Saw Handbook, by Mark Duginske. I still go back to my copy all the time. The Bandsaw Book by Lonnie Bird is popular too.
 
Adjusting the fence for blade drift is not something you should have to do with a properly set up band saw . Blade drift occurs because of two different problems . First is cheap , dull bandsaw blades , if you are using either old blades or poor quality blades you will have drift because the blade is not cutting the wood cleanly and efficiently meaning you have to push the work harder to get it to cut . This makes the blade flex and causes the blade to drift . This is one of the major reasons for drift but not the only one .
The second major reason for drift is placement of the blade on the tires/wheels . If you look at the rubber tire on a bandsaw you will see that the tire is slightly rounded (thicker in the center then the edges) . This is the Major adjustment for correcting blade drift , not the fence .
If your bandsaw is in perfect alignment (both wheels and overall frame are in perfect alignment) then the correct place for your blade to be is dead center on the tire . However on most bandsaws either the wheels are slightly warped or the bandsaw frame has a slight twist to it or both , meaning that you must adjust where on the tire the blade rides to correct for these problems .
Behind the upper wheel somewhere below the wheel/bearing/tensioner assy is a bolt with a locknut . This is the adjustment bolt for where the blade rides on the tire (tracking) . Adjust this bolt until the blade is close to the center of the tire (you have to turn the wheel a few revolutions to reseat the blade after making this adjustment) , Then take a test cut to check for blade drift .
If it drifted to the left (looking at it from the teeth side of the blade) then your blade is riding too far forward (towards you) so you have to tighten (or losen if the blade drifts right) the adjusting bolt a 1/4 turn and check the drift again . Keep doing this until the blade is cutting straight without drift then tighten the locknut on the bolt .
There are several other reasons for drift , like too fast a feed rate (pushing too hard) bad or misaligned rub blocks/bearings , too much space between the work piece and the upper guides .
Once you get your saw tuned up you will be able to cut thin veneer with the wood laying flat against the fence and you will cut perfectly square cuts using any quality miter gauge riding in the miter slot .
As for upgrades , almost any 14" bandsaw will benefit allot from better guides and urethane tires , but try the adjustments first .
The Lonnie Bird book is also an excelent book but no one book should be considered as the gospel when it comes to bandsaws , Read everything you can find .
 
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I will add that there are several books by Mark Duginske. Check the public library first. I have "Band saw : workshop bench reference".

A good blade makes all the difference in the world! Timberwolf blades are very good high quality blades.
 
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