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

Yes, there certainly are bandsaw issues. The bandsaw is my
father-in-law's. It's an old Rockwell-Delta that he keeps in his
garage next to the door. There is no insulation or heat and he usually
works with the door open, so it has a fair amount of rust. He got it
used and doesn't seem to be interested in caring for things much past
keeping them out of the rain. His drill press is in his barn, which
has a caved in roof and collapsing floor and it's heavily rusted.

While I was sawing, the blade jumped the wheels twice and parts
usually keep slipping a bit and require you to stop sawing and tighten
them back up evey so often. We already changed the blade once and the
second is showing definite signs of loosing it's edge. All his backup
blades are either dull, rusted or both.

Since I don't have room for one of my own, I'm not picky on where I
can get things done. I'm glad he let me use it. I've tried to convince
him to clean it up a bit but he just doesn't want to spend the time.
I've offered but he declined. So I use it as carefully as I can and
figure I'll just forgo getting much fresh cut wood anymore. I'll have
to be more selective about what I keep, turn and carve.

Thanks for the advice tho. I'm hoping I can afford to expand my shed
next year and get my own bandsaw, but until then I have to make due
and deal with this current wood as best I can. At this point, if I can
at least salvage some of the pear, apple and cherry, I'll live without
the ash, walnut and others as they are easier for me to get than the
fruit woods and I like them carved.

`Casper