On Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:00:11 -0500, Casper wrote
(in message ):


I am rather constrained by my location as to what I can store. I was
hoping to cut up this wonderful 150 year old pear wood and turn/carve
it this winter but after two days at the band saw, I am exhausted and
quit because some is just too dense/heavy (wet?) to cut. (I borrowed
my father-in-law's band saw and already jumped the blade 3 times and
had to replace it once since it wore out.)


some of your bandsaw issues can be traced to the blade itself, and how it is
tensioned, the condition of the wheels, and the way the wood is fed through
the saw. I have cut wet birch and wet pitchy pine with my bandsaw with little
or no problem. My success is partly because of the coarse wide blade I use
for this kind of cutting. About 3/4 inch wide blade, variable pitch tooth
count, averaging 5 tpi. The tires on the wheels are clean and crowned, and
the wheels are true and squared with each other. It might be the case that
your sawblade is too narrow and the teeth are too fine for this job. There
has to be enough space between the teeth, and the depth of the gullet between
the teeth has to be big enough to carry the sawdust through the cut without
jamming or dragging, causing undue force loading on the wheels. the blade
tension has to be enough to keep the blade true and not so much as to hasten
its failure due to breakage. I can reverse my saw to clean the blade with
some spirits on a wad of felt - teeth won't catch or snag the felt. (this is
a very dangerous operation, even with the blade running reverse - keep track
of your fingers)

This is not intended to sound like a diatribe, just a group of possible
problems with a bandsaw, which is possibly the second most useful tool for a
turner, after the sharpening equipment.

Respectfully,
tom koehler


--
I will find a way or make one.