Bandsaw!

R

Ryan Meyering

Joined
May 4, 1999
Messages
534
I just got my Grizzly bandsaw this weekend and profiled a few blades yesterday. Sure is better than hacksaws, but it's awfully hard to cut curves! The blade kept stopping and running off the wheels. I ended up with very jagged handles that will take a lot of work to smooth out. Is this just the nature of this machine, or am I doing something wrong?

Ryan

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For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23


 
Ryan,
The tension on your bandsaw blade is not tight enough. If it stops and gets thrown off the wheels, this is a good indication of it being too loose.
A bandsaw will not cut curves very well. It is good for rough shaping but don't expect "laser accuracy" with one. Just rough it out (get it as close as you can) then it is time to use your grinder for the tighter work.
I have the exact same bandsaw you do and my only complaint was in the table. What I did was cut a piece of plywood and mount it on the table surface with some screws and nuts. This prevented the work piece (knifeblade) form getting caught by the blade and pulled or pushed downward towards the lower guide bearings.

C Wilkins
 
Hi Ryan
I bought my Grizzly bandsaw 10 years ago and have no complaints at all.
The only thing I did was replace the guides with the roller style.
Blade tension, as above, will allow too much play and cause the blade to come off.
Another culprit may be the way you are handling the workpiece: If you get the blade slightly bound [the roller guides stop this] and then try to back the piece off the blade it will pull the blade off the tracks regardless of blade tension.
Be very careful when you adjust your guides so that any pressure on the blade forces it against the guides rather than against the rotating bandsaw wheels.
Good Luck!
Dave Evans

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[This message has been edited by WinDancer (edited 04-17-2000).]
 
Thanks, guys. It's probably part tension and partially my technique, or lack thereof. Dave, where did you get the roller guides? Are they an accessory available from Grizzly?

Ryan

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For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23


 
Hi Ryan,
I don't have a Grizzly bandsaw but I think mine is similar to it. It does have roller guides. I've always used blades with 24 teeth per inch and had pretty good luck with them. The thinner the material you cut like 1/8" steel more teeth per inch works better and the blade is a little thinner too. Mine is a bi-metal blade that cost about $20 but it lasts a long time and cuts stainless steel good. Recently I went to the store here locally where I had been getting them and they were out of that one. I decided to try one they had with 16 teeth per inch and found that it came of my pulley wheels a lot due to the teeth catching in the steel. I couldn't saw near as tight curves without it binding up as I could with the finer blade. I also had to adjust the blade tension tighter. Therefore I'm going to get the 24 tooth blade next time. Hopefully they'll have it by then. Maybe this would help you too. Good luck.
 
It was the blade tension; thanks for the responses. I tightened it up and it ran fine, much smoother. I'll also try using a fine tooth blade; right now I'm just using the blade that came with the saw, but some of the teeth are already worn down after only 3 blades profiled. I've got some bimetal blades that I'll use after this one is used up, so I'm sure that will help, too.

Thanks,

Ryan

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For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23


 
Ryan,
I had this problem with mine. You might want to check the blade guides, as mine where so tight they deformed the bandsaw blade. Fixing this and the proper blade tension has worked wonders.

Good luck,
Garrett

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The Bitterness Of Poor Quality Remains Long After The Sweetness Of Low Price Is Forgotten
 
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