I just bought a 1hp Delta 14" band saw. I got a 1/2" 4tpi blade for it and
have been playing with it.
It resaws 6" of mahogany easily enough, but bogs down on 6" of oak. I made
lumber out of black locust firewood, but it struggled.
It would be great to install a riser and be able to deal with larger pieces,
but since it doesn't do 6" all that well, I can't see doing bigger pieces.

I would appreciate some advice on this from someone experienced.
Will installing a riser block change it's performance on smaller pieces, or
will that be pretty much the same as it is now?

The black locust lumber is pretty neat; any reason it is not used?

"Toller" wrote in message
...
I just bought a 1hp Delta 14" band saw. I got a 1/2" 4tpi blade for it and
have been playing with it.
It resaws 6" of mahogany easily enough, but bogs down on 6" of oak. I
made lumber out of black locust firewood, but it struggled.
It would be great to install a riser and be able to deal with larger
pieces, but since it doesn't do 6" all that well, I can't see doing bigger
pieces.

I would appreciate some advice on this from someone experienced.
Will installing a riser block change it's performance on smaller pieces,
or will that be pretty much the same as it is now?

The black locust lumber is pretty neat; any reason it is not used?


You absolutely need fewer teeth per inch. Look for something in the 1.3 to
2 teeth per inch range. The blade you are using is too aggressive for thick
ripsaws.

You can try the "fewer TPI", or just feed slower, and you _could_
upgrade the motor. Tom

Also use a good quality blade, such as Timberwolf.

B.

"tom" wrote in message
ups.com...
You can try the "fewer TPI", or just feed slower, and you _could_
upgrade the motor. Tom

On Sat, 01 Apr 2006 22:22:08 GMT, "Toller" wrote:

I just bought a 1hp Delta 14" band saw. I got a 1/2" 4tpi blade for it and
have been playing with it.
It resaws 6" of mahogany easily enough, but bogs down on 6" of oak. I made
lumber out of black locust firewood, but it struggled.
It would be great to install a riser and be able to deal with larger pieces,
but since it doesn't do 6" all that well, I can't see doing bigger pieces.

It might not be happy about 12", but what about 8" or that 6 3/8"
piece that makes you go "Doh!" when it just hits the guide.

Keep in mind you do lose about an inch of width between the blade and
the saw frame with the block. So it becomes more a question of which
limitation do you think you're going to hit more often. From what I
understand it doesn't affect the cutting perfomance for thinner stuff,
and the longer blade will last longer.


-Leuf

Hi,
I had similar issues with my saw before some adjustments were made. As other
people have said, the blade is everything. A 1/2" blade with 3 TPI seems to
work the best, and it should be of good quality. The motor which came with
my saw was a little weak for resawing to I made a new mounting bracket and
installed a full 1 hp motor, boy what a difference. Finally, all adjustments
and settings were checked and minor tuning was done. Things like the blade
guide adjustment, wheels being coplanar, etc. The saw will now resaw
anything that fits between the upper guide and table. Incidentally, adding
the riser block will only make your problem worse if things are not adjusted
correctly and the motor is weak.

Bob


"Toller" wrote in message
...
I just bought a 1hp Delta 14" band saw. I got a 1/2" 4tpi blade for it and
have been playing with it.
It resaws 6" of mahogany easily enough, but bogs down on 6" of oak. I
made lumber out of black locust firewood, but it struggled.
It would be great to install a riser and be able to deal with larger
pieces, but since it doesn't do 6" all that well, I can't see doing bigger
pieces.

I would appreciate some advice on this from someone experienced.
Will installing a riser block change it's performance on smaller pieces,
or will that be pretty much the same as it is now?

The black locust lumber is pretty neat; any reason it is not used?

On Sat, 01 Apr 2006 22:22:08 GMT, "Toller" wrote:

I just bought a 1hp Delta 14" band saw. I got a 1/2" 4tpi blade for it and
have been playing with it.
It resaws 6" of mahogany easily enough, but bogs down on 6" of oak. I made
lumber out of black locust firewood, but it struggled.
It would be great to install a riser and be able to deal with larger pieces,
but since it doesn't do 6" all that well, I can't see doing bigger pieces.

I would appreciate some advice on this from someone experienced.
Will installing a riser block change it's performance on smaller pieces, or
will that be pretty much the same as it is now?

The black locust lumber is pretty neat; any reason it is not used?

I cut some pretty thick bowl blanks with my 14" 3/4 hp ridgid..
The riser kit was good for several reasons, I'll try to think of a few on what
little caffeine I've had so far:

Raises the top wheel and case of the saw... since my saw is near the garage
door, higher wheel and more clearance over the table means better light..

Lets me cut up to 11" or so, if I want to..

Lets me not worry if my new table that I'm building is an inch thick..

lets me cut something that might only be an inch or so thick but is maybe
branching out from or attached to something taller, like standing up a 10" high
log and cutting a branch stub off..

As to the actual cutting... slow and easy, like any power tool that you care
about... I tried resawing with a 3/4" blade and all it did IMHO is add drag and
friction to an already underpowered saw..
I do most everything now with 3/8 blades.. I'm doing a lot of pens at the
moment, so I have an 8tpi on it..
When resawing, I use the blade recommended by my saw shop.. it's 3 tpi and
something rake or no-rake?? have to ask the techies on that one..
In my limited (less than 2 yrs) experience, a well tuned bandsaw with a sharp
blade and proper blade tension should cut whatever will fit in the opening...
some things just take longer.. *g*

Mac

https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm