I have several nice pieces of wood that I would like to square up and make
into pen blanks and assorted small turnings. My problem is that when I use
my bandsaw, the blade wanders. I'd like to get a straight cut. At first I
thought the blade might be dull, so I took it to the tool suppy store, but
they said it was sharp. Can anyone give me advice?

Thanks,

Tom

Make sure your wheels are coplaner and that your tension is enough (need to
find a book on bandsaws to determine that for yourself because everyone is a
little different. Lastly, make sure your table is 90 degrees to the blade
and take it slow. If it still wanders, and I would consider using a "point
fence" instead of your regular one and then go slowly by eye. I just did
this today with a 2" square chunk of Bacote.

Don

"Margret Huntress" wrote in message
...
I have several nice pieces of wood that I would like to square up and make
into pen blanks and assorted small turnings. My problem is that when I
use
my bandsaw, the blade wanders. I'd like to get a straight cut. At first
I
thought the blade might be dull, so I took it to the tool suppy store, but
they said it was sharp. Can anyone give me advice?

Thanks,

Tom

Gerald wrote:That's pretty common with a bandsaw. Draw a line and follow it,
forget
the fence.


That's it, freehand it. Tom
Work at your leisure!

Margret Huntress wrote:

I have several nice pieces of wood that I would like to square up and make
into pen blanks and assorted small turnings. My problem is that when I use
my bandsaw, the blade wanders. I'd like to get a straight cut. At first I
thought the blade might be dull, so I took it to the tool suppy store, but
they said it was sharp. Can anyone give me advice?

Thanks,

Tom


That's pretty common with a bandsaw. Draw a line and follow it, forget
the fence.

--

Gerald Ross, Cochran, GA
To reply add the numerals "13" before the "at"
............................................
People will occasionally stumble over
the truth, but most of the time they
will pick themselves up and carry on.




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In article ,
"Margret Huntress" wrote:

My problem is that when I use
my bandsaw, the blade wanders. I'd like to get a straight cut. At first I
thought the blade might be dull, so I took it to the tool suppy store, but
they said it was sharp. Can anyone give me advice?

What's the tooth count on the blade? I'm thinking that if it's too fine
then you might be pushing too hard and/or it might be following the
grain. When resawing and blank roughing I use a 3 tooth - matter of fact
I almost always use the 3 tooth since I hate to change blades.

"Margret Huntress" wrote in message

I have several nice pieces of wood that I would like to square up and make
into pen blanks and assorted small turnings. My problem is that when I
use
my bandsaw, the blade wanders. I'd like to get a straight cut. At first
I
thought the blade might be dull, so I took it to the tool suppy store, but
they said it was sharp. Can anyone give me advice?

I experienced a similar problem with a fine skip-tooth blade, but it
disappeared when I went to a 3 or 4 tooth hook blade. I was probably
pushing too hard on the skip-tooth because it wouldn't rip very fast. The
hook tooth blades do very well for resawing.

Max

Tom,
Why do you need a perfect straight cut if you're going to round it?

Find the "path" or wander line of your blade (on a scrap), put a piece of
masking tape on the table along that line, guide your wood along the tape
and you'll cut a near perfectly straight cut.

Like Owen, I use a 3 tooth blade; and like Owen, I use it for everything
because I'm too lazy to change it!
(but I do that with turning tools, too--I'll make whatever tool is in my
hand do as much as possible)

Ruth

--
www.torne-lignum.com
"Margret Huntress" wrote in message
...
I have several nice pieces of wood that I would like to square up and make
into pen blanks and assorted small turnings. My problem is that when I
use
my bandsaw, the blade wanders. I'd like to get a straight cut. At first
I
thought the blade might be dull, so I took it to the tool suppy store, but
they said it was sharp. Can anyone give me advice?

Thanks,

Tom

Margret Huntress wrote:
I have several nice pieces of wood that I would like to square up and make
into pen blanks and assorted small turnings. My problem is that when I use
my bandsaw, the blade wanders. I'd like to get a straight cut. At first I
thought the blade might be dull, so I took it to the tool suppy store, but
they said it was sharp. Can anyone give me advice?

Blade width is also important. A narrow blade can easily twist and
wander. I use a half inch 3tpi blade from Viking (formerly TimberWolf)
and happily resaw 6 inch material. Next I would check the blade tension.

In my experience bandsaw blades always want to lead to one side or the
other. This makes fences a pain to set up, so I always cut free hand to
a line. For really accurate cuts I will scribe two lines with a marking
gauge, one line either side of where the kerf has to be. I find this is
easier to follow than a single line as you can see the instant the cut
starts to wander.

If you want to learn all there is to know about tuning a bandsaw, I
would recommend the Bandsaw Handbook by Mark Duginske. Its a great book,
but portrays the bandsaw as depressingly complex for anyone who just
wants to switch on a saw and make cuts

--
Derek Andrews, woodturner

http://www.seafoamwoodturning.com
Wedding Favors ~ Artisan Crafted Gifts ~ One-of-a-Kind Woodturning

Hi Tom,
Your problem is the blade. I had the same problem with a blade I purchased.
From the first time I used the blade it would travel at a line that was way
off of square to the fence. I looked at everything I could on the saw and
nothing seemed out of kilter. I finally switched blades and the new one cut
straight. I can't explain what was wrong with the one blade but it was
definitely out of whack. Try a new blade.
Tony Manella
ndd1"at"prolog.net (remove "at")
http://home.ptd.net/~ndd1/
Lehigh Valley Woodturners
http://www.lehighvalleywoodturners.com/

"Margret Huntress" wrote in message
...
I have several nice pieces of wood that I would like to square up and make
into pen blanks and assorted small turnings. My problem is that when I
use
my bandsaw, the blade wanders. I'd like to get a straight cut. At first
I
thought the blade might be dull, so I took it to the tool suppy store, but
they said it was sharp. Can anyone give me advice?

Thanks,

Tom

Ruth wondered. "Why do you need a perfect straight cut if your're
going to round it?"

For the same reason I need to round a bowl blank perfectly before I put
it on a
machine made for perfect rounding.....my lathe.

Ruth, We are happy to have you back. Don't let your 'wander line" take
you away from rcw again. All best, Arch

Fortiter,


http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

Not a solution, Tony, just coincidence.

Most, if not all bandsaw blades have some "lead" in them. They've got some
unremoved burrs, aren't tracking well on the wheels, teeth have taken a
modest dulling hit on one side from dirt or your guides, one guide is
dragging, etc.

Such a well-recognized fact that folks like Duginskie, whose book is
exceptional, recognize that long fences are often more trouble than they're
worth. A pivot block, clamped the right distance laterally, and with it's
apex at the first point of contact with the teeth allows the operator to
keep the sides parallel and compensate for lead. The greater the resaw
depth, the taller the fence, so in this case, a 1/2 or 3/4 piece of scrap
rounded at the business end would work.

"Tony Manella" ndd1atprolog.net wrote in message
news
Hi Tom,
Your problem is the blade. I had the same problem with a blade I
purchased.
From the first time I used the blade it would travel at a line that was
way
off of square to the fence. I looked at everything I could on the saw and
nothing seemed out of kilter. I finally switched blades and the new one
cut
straight. I can't explain what was wrong with the one blade but it was
definitely out of whack. Try a new blade.

At the end of the day bandsaws are great for cutting curves, only fair at
straight lines. If you think about how you cut curves it is by eye-hand
guidance and this is pretty much the same for ripping.

- Make sure your upper blade guide is as low as you can get it and clear
your stock and fence.
- Make sure your blade tension is set correctly.
- If your fence is so high it impedes lowering the guide, use a temporary
spacer fence (like a smooth, straight piece of wood or plywood) between
fence and stock.
- If you don't have a point or "ripping bar" on your fence, make one and
clamp it to the fence. This can be as simple as a piece of dowel tacked to
a piece of plywood and clamped to the fence.

If none of this works, go freehand.


"Margret Huntress" wrote in message
...
I have several nice pieces of wood that I would like to square up and make
into pen blanks and assorted small turnings. My problem is that when I
use
my bandsaw, the blade wanders. I'd like to get a straight cut. At first
I
thought the blade might be dull, so I took it to the tool suppy store, but
they said it was sharp. Can anyone give me advice?

Thanks,

Tom