"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 24 Dec 2004 08:49:06 -0500, Nova
calmly ranted:

The blade friction is still there and has to be overcome. Unless the
blade slips on
the wheels the torque is taken by the frame. Think of it as pushing a
rope which is
the reason for barreled cuts.

I think of it as the wheel pulling the teeth down, into the wood. The
majority of the tension on the blade is between the table and the
bottom wheel on the downward side. Since the wheels are connected,
there may be a very minor amount of "pushing", but the fact that the
band is laying on the -outside- of the wheels precludes much of that.
Any attempt at pushing would simply make space between the blade and
the wheel, and that could come only if there was no tension on the
blade at all. No, it is my understanding that barrel cuts are the
result of insufficient tension on the blade.


How about this:

The free-wheeling upper wheel gets ahead of the driven, but loaded lower,
causing the blade to bunch into the gap. Doesn't take much difference in
speed to start the process, which then increases in effect as the bunched
part slows....