I know it occurs, but I realized last week I don't
understand why. Assume the weld is straight. Then the
circumference of the back of the blade will equal the
circumference of the front (toothed) side. If the
blade is centered on the tires, why on earth
does it curve, causing drift?


-- Andy Barss

"Andrew Barss" wrote

I know it occurs, but I realized last week I don't
understand why. Assume the weld is straight. Then the
circumference of the back of the blade will equal the
circumference of the front (toothed) side. If the
blade is centered on the tires, why on earth
does it curve, causing drift?

Wide bandsaws (ie 3in and above) are tensioned to take into accound the
difference between the circumference of the back and the toothed edge due to
heating as the blade cuts. This seems to be hardly possible for narrower
bands.

Stretch a wide elastic band between finger and thumb and apply pressure to
an edge. The band will twist sideways, one way or the other.

I suspect that the only means of reliably getting a straight cut is a very
sharp blade that applies minimal pressure to the edge of the band.

Jeff G

--
Jeff Gorman, West Yorkshire, UK
email : Username is amgron
ISP is clara.co.uk
www.amgron.clara.net

Andrew Barss wrote:
I know it occurs, but I realized last week I don't
understand why. Assume the weld is straight. Then the
circumference of the back of the blade will equal the
circumference of the front (toothed) side. If the
blade is centered on the tires, why on earth
does it curve, causing drift?

It could be a lot of things. Are your guides tight, and were they
adjusted after the blade was set to track properly (i.e., withdrawn from
the blade while adjusting tension and tracking)?

If the side guides have too much play, the blade will move around in the
space between them. If the rear guide is too far forward or back,
pressure against the front of the blade as you move the workpiece in
will cause it to bow (or against the back of the blade if its riding
hard on the rear guide), and the "outside the bow" edge of the blade
will twist or wobble.

What you paid for it is what it's worth, and I made it all up.

er
--
email not valid

"Andrew Barss" skrev i melding
...

I know it occurs, but I realized last week I don't
understand why. Assume the weld is straight. Then the
circumference of the back of the blade will equal the
circumference of the front (toothed) side. If the
blade is centered on the tires, why on earth
does it curve, causing drift?


I use a lot of softwood, like pine and fir, and the dust tends
to build up between tyre and blade, probably causing most of
the drift on my bandsaw.

There is a brush, but the resin from the wood is rather
resistent to this, and if I do not scrape it off with a knife
once in a while, I get a lot of vibration and noise.

BjarteR

There was a good program on DIY Woodworking about this subject. David
Marks explained that the set on every bandsaw blade has different
variations. The saw has to be tested and the fence adjusted to the true
line of the blade cut every time a new blade is installed. Once the
proper line/angle is established the blade will cut true.
Bugs

Bugs wrote:
There was a good program on DIY Woodworking about this subject. David
Marks explained that the set on every bandsaw blade has different
variations. The saw has to be tested and the fence adjusted to the true
line of the blade cut every time a new blade is installed. Once the
proper line/angle is established the blade will cut true.
Bugs

It also has to do with the blades position on the tires. If you look at
the tire edge on you'll see it's convex with a crown in the center. If
the blade is running towards the back of the tire it's going to make
the blade point to the right, because its on the back edge of this
curve, whereas if it runs on the front of the tire the blade will run
to the left. You can leave the fence parallel to the mitre slot if you
use this to your advantage and simply use the upper tire adjustement
set scew to counter any drift instead of moving the fence.

"Andrew Barss" wrote in message
...

I know it occurs, but I realized last week I don't
understand why. Assume the weld is straight. Then the
circumference of the back of the blade will equal the
circumference of the front (toothed) side. If the
blade is centered on the tires, why on earth
does it curve, causing drift?


-- Andy Barss

Besides the other answers, a dull blade will cause drift. Apparently one
side of the blade cuts more aggressively than the other. Improper tension,
guides improperly set, and the blade does stretch some when tensioned.
Unless it stretches perfectly across its width the front and back may no
longer be coplanar.

Bjarte Runderheim wrote:
"Andrew Barss" skrev i melding
...

I know it occurs, but I realized last week I don't
understand why. Assume the weld is straight. Then the
circumference of the back of the blade will equal the
circumference of the front (toothed) side. If the
blade is centered on the tires, why on earth
does it curve, causing drift?



I use a lot of softwood, like pine and fir, and the dust tends
to build up between tyre and blade, probably causing most of
the drift on my bandsaw.

There is a brush, but the resin from the wood is rather
resistent to this, and if I do not scrape it off with a knife
once in a while, I get a lot of vibration and noise.

Maybe for the resinous softwoods you could swap in a brush with stiffer
bristles? I've been toying with the idea of installing a brush in mine.
I thought a finger nail cleaning brush was the right size, but too
stiff--but it might be just right for green/soft wood. That and a shoe
brush cut to the same size for normal stock...

er
--
email not valid

Andrew Barss wrote:
I know it occurs, but I realized last week I don't
understand why. Assume the weld is straight. Then the
circumference of the back of the blade will equal the
circumference of the front (toothed) side. If the
blade is centered on the tires, why on earth
does it curve, causing drift?


-- Andy Barss

It's usually caused by the way the blade is sharpened and the teeth set.
The geometry for the teeth on one side of the blade doesn't exactly
match that of the teeth on the other side of the blade.

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

(Remove -SPAM- to send email)

Jeff Gorman wrote:

: "Andrew Barss" wrote

: I know it occurs, but I realized last week I don't
: understand why. Assume the weld is straight. Then the
: circumference of the back of the blade will equal the
: circumference of the front (toothed) side. If the
: blade is centered on the tires, why on earth
: does it curve, causing drift?

: Wide bandsaws (ie 3in and above) are tensioned to take into accound the
: difference between the circumference of the back and the toothed edge due to
: heating as the blade cuts. This seems to be hardly possible for narrower
: bands.


Every discussion I've seen for correcting blade drift starts with a cold
blade, and cuts a few inches into a board. Surely that doesn't
produce enough heat to greatly expand the leading edge?


: Stretch a wide elastic band between finger and thumb and apply pressure to
: an edge. The band will twist sideways, one way or the other.


Sure, but rubber bands stretch when you apply pressure, much more than steel
does, I would think.


-- Andy Barss

Andrew Barss wrote:
Jeff Gorman wrote:

: "Andrew Barss" wrote

: I know it occurs, but I realized last week I don't
: understand why. Assume the weld is straight. Then the
: circumference of the back of the blade will equal the
: circumference of the front (toothed) side. If the
: blade is centered on the tires, why on earth
: does it curve, causing drift?

: Wide bandsaws (ie 3in and above) are tensioned to take into accound the
: difference between the circumference of the back and the toothed edge due to
: heating as the blade cuts. This seems to be hardly possible for narrower
: bands.


Every discussion I've seen for correcting blade drift starts with a cold
blade, and cuts a few inches into a board. Surely that doesn't
produce enough heat to greatly expand the leading edge?

I think that is done with the intention of getting a bead on the drift
in the blade for the purpose of adjusting the fence to match it. I
could be wrong, but I don't believe it is done to address distortion
caused by a heat gradient in the blade.

er
--
email not valid

Andrew Barss wrote:

I know it occurs, but I realized last week I don't
understand why. Assume the weld is straight. Then the
circumference of the back of the blade will equal the
circumference of the front (toothed) side. If the
blade is centered on the tires, why on earth
does it curve, causing drift?


-- Andy Barss
Uneven set of the teeth can do it.

"no(SPAM)vasys" wrote in message
...
Andrew Barss wrote:
I know it occurs, but I realized last week I don't understand why.
Assume the weld is straight. Then the
circumference of the back of the blade will equal the circumference of
the front (toothed) side. If the
blade is centered on the tires, why on earth does it curve, causing
drift?


-- Andy Barss

It's usually caused by the way the blade is sharpened and the teeth set.
The geometry for the teeth on one side of the blade doesn't exactly match
that of the teeth on the other side of the blade.

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

(Remove -SPAM- to send email)

Ding
Ding
Ding
Finallly the right answer!

Dave



Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
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Teamcasa wrote:
"no(SPAM)vasys" wrote in message
...

Andrew Barss wrote:

I know it occurs, but I realized last week I don't understand why.
Assume the weld is straight. Then the
circumference of the back of the blade will equal the circumference of
the front (toothed) side. If the
blade is centered on the tires, why on earth does it curve, causing
drift?


-- Andy Barss

It's usually caused by the way the blade is sharpened and the teeth set.
The geometry for the teeth on one side of the blade doesn't exactly match
that of the teeth on the other side of the blade.

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

(Remove -SPAM- to send email)


Ding
Ding
Ding
Finallly the right answer!

Others answered the same and with other equally valid responses, and I
think this one is the right answer for stable drift.

er
--
email not valid

"Andrew Barss" wrote in message
...

I know it occurs, but I realized last week I don't
understand why. Assume the weld is straight. Then the
circumference of the back of the blade will equal the
circumference of the front (toothed) side. If the
blade is centered on the tires, why on earth
does it curve, causing drift?


How about the difference in friction caused by the guides or the blade? Or
the classic wire edge on one side from cutting the band free from the coil.
Lots of folks abrade this away with a fine stone to help equalize.

Then there's the set on the teeth, grinding burr too ....

Enoch Root wrote:
: Andrew Barss wrote:
:
: Every discussion I've seen for correcting blade drift starts with a cold
: blade, and cuts a few inches into a board. Surely that doesn't
: produce enough heat to greatly expand the leading edge?

: I think that is done with the intention of getting a bead on the drift
: in the blade for the purpose of adjusting the fence to match it. I
: could be wrong, but I don't believe it is done to address distortion
: caused by a heat gradient in the blade.

Right. But it assumes that there is no distortion due to
heat, which is what I was trying to say, counter to Jeff's
suggestion.

-- Andy Barss

Ding! We have a winner.

"no(SPAM)vasys" wrote in message
...
Andrew Barss wrote:
I know it occurs, but I realized last week I don't
understand why. Assume the weld is straight. Then the
circumference of the back of the blade will equal the
circumference of the front (toothed) side. If the
blade is centered on the tires, why on earth
does it curve, causing drift?


-- Andy Barss

It's usually caused by the way the blade is sharpened and the teeth set.
The geometry for the teeth on one side of the blade doesn't exactly
match that of the teeth on the other side of the blade.

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

(Remove -SPAM- to send email)

This is all horsesit. Use a sharp blade and keep theside irons in LIGT
contact, not too much pressure from the back bearing and it will be
fine. go slower.

"RM MS" wrote in message
...
This is all horsesit. Use a sharp blade and keep theside irons in LIGT
contact, not too much pressure from the back bearing and it will be
fine. go slower.


Well I think the band saw blade and saw manufacturers seem to maybe have a
better grasp that a dull blade will cause a blade to drift.

On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 13:51:06 GMT, "Leon"
wrote:


"RM MS" wrote in message
...
This is all horsesit. Use a sharp blade and keep theside irons in LIGT
contact, not too much pressure from the back bearing and it will be
fine. go slower.


Well I think the band saw blade and saw manufacturers seem to maybe have a
better grasp that a dull blade will cause a blade to drift.

I must be missing something. I'll confess that I'm a novice user of
bandsaws, so excuse my ignorance.

I have a 16" Jet and have been using POS BC Saw blades. (That could
stand for "plain-old-steel" or the more common meaning.)

These blades are welded so poorly that the teeth near the weld are
proud of the balance of the teeth on the band, plus they seem to have
welded in a twist. So, when cutting I get a thunk thunk when the
proud teeth take a bigger bite -and- my side guides are retracted
enough that there is just a tick tick when the twist passes through
them. The lower guides are backed completely off.

Lately I have been building a playhouse for my granddaughter and since
it will have to be moved 800 miles, a lot of it is bolted together.
For this and other reasons, I have for the most part completely
resized the framing lumber to get it of uniform size and straight. In
some cases, I've remachined a bunch of old, dry Douglas fir two-bys
left over from the framing of my neighbor's house.

Needless to say, I didn't want to run this stuff directly through my
jointer, planer and tablesaw before cleaning off the dirt, so I have
taken skin cuts on a lot of this stuff with the bandsaw. This has not
been kind to the blades and I've used up a couple of 3/4 inchers.

Despite the crappy, dull blades, that sometimes require considerable
force to get a stick through, I can still saw off a nice uniform
(albeit, rough) 16th inch slice from the face of a 2x8 without -any-
blade drift. I set the fence parallel to the miter-gauge slot when I
set up the saw and it's never changed.

What am I doing wrong?

"Wes Stewart" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 13:51:06 GMT, "Leon"
wrote:


I must be missing something. I'll confess that I'm a novice user of
bandsaws, so excuse my ignorance.

Snip


Despite the crappy, dull blades, that sometimes require considerable
force to get a stick through, I can still saw off a nice uniform
(albeit, rough) 16th inch slice from the face of a 2x8 without -any-
blade drift. I set the fence parallel to the miter-gauge slot when I
set up the saw and it's never changed.

What am I doing wrong?

Is that a wide blade perhaps? MiniMax claims that you do not need to use
guides at all if the blade is properly tensioned and is wide enough.

On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 22:28:42 GMT, "Leon"
wrote:


"Wes Stewart" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 13:51:06 GMT, "Leon"
wrote:


I must be missing something. I'll confess that I'm a novice user of
bandsaws, so excuse my ignorance.

Snip


Despite the crappy, dull blades, that sometimes require considerable
force to get a stick through, I can still saw off a nice uniform
(albeit, rough) 16th inch slice from the face of a 2x8 without -any-
blade drift. I set the fence parallel to the miter-gauge slot when I
set up the saw and it's never changed.

What am I doing wrong?

Is that a wide blade perhaps? MiniMax claims that you do not need to use
guides at all if the blade is properly tensioned and is wide enough.

From my comments:

"This has not been kind to the blades and I've used up a couple of 3/4
inchers."

"Wes Stewart" wrote in message
...
Despite the crappy, dull blades, that sometimes require considerable
force to get a stick through, I can still saw off a nice uniform
(albeit, rough) 16th inch slice from the face of a 2x8 without -any-
blade drift. I set the fence parallel to the miter-gauge slot when I
set up the saw and it's never changed.

What am I doing wrong?



Even a blind hog ....

In article ,
Andrew Barss wrote:

I know it occurs, but I realized last week I don't
understand why. Assume the weld is straight. Then the
circumference of the back of the blade will equal the
circumference of the front (toothed) side. If the
blade is centered on the tires, why on earth
does it curve, causing drift?

Something about:
"the innate animosity of inanimate objects"

comes to mind.


`

I mentioned this in an earlier post, but another cause can be that the
blade is in a circle - the inside of the blade is compressed and the
outside of the blade is expanded - could make a difference. Besides
that, only one tooth set is pressed against the wheel and the tooth
set in the other direction isn't pressed against anything. This could
make the teeth set change slightly making the blade behave
asymmetrically.

On Wed, 19 Apr 2006 05:49:25 +0000 (UTC), Andrew Barss
wrote:


I know it occurs, but I realized last week I don't
understand why. Assume the weld is straight. Then the
circumference of the back of the blade will equal the
circumference of the front (toothed) side. If the
blade is centered on the tires, why on earth
does it curve, causing drift?


-- Andy Barss