(an F, if I recall.)
Any particular octave?

Half the kids in my area are wannabe guitarists.
Most of their parents bought them of the tuners along with the guitar
and are sitting unused - either the guitar is unused, they tune by ear,
or tuning makes no difference for what they're playing ( )

Ask around and borrow one for a few days to play with. Most
display the actual frequency in addition to the note. It would
be a way duplicate tension once you knew what each blade was
when properly tensioned, but I suspect each blade is different and
would vary slightly for the cut being made.

It's a novel idea, but does it fall in the 'measure with a micrometer -
cut it with a chainsaw' class?




Puckdropper wrote:
A serious question:

Some advocate a "pluck" method for tensioning the bandsaw blade. It's
supposed to play a clear musical note (an F, if I recall.) I've noted that
digital instrument tuners cost somewhere around $20, way less than bandsaw
tension meters. Could an instrument tuner be used as a method of
accurately tensioning the bandsaw blade?

Puckdropper
Since frequency is a function of string length and tension, and tension
is the quantity you want to specify, I have have doubts about using the
tone F as a goal. What Does make sense, to my ears , is that the
blade should be both tight enough and loose enough to make a short
ringing tone after you kick it with your fingernail. I think that
indicates a "healthy" tension--however my usual disclaimer: others with
more experience surely know better.
Bill

Joe invalid wrote in
:


(an F, if I recall.)
Any particular octave?

Half the kids in my area are wannabe guitarists.
Most of their parents bought them of the tuners along with the guitar
and are sitting unused - either the guitar is unused, they tune by
ear, or tuning makes no difference for what they're playing ( )

Ask around and borrow one for a few days to play with. Most
display the actual frequency in addition to the note. It would
be a way duplicate tension once you knew what each blade was
when properly tensioned, but I suspect each blade is different and
would vary slightly for the cut being made.

It's a novel idea, but does it fall in the 'measure with a micrometer
- cut it with a chainsaw' class?


F below Middle C, I think. I've set it so it makes the sound of an F on
the staff in bass clef and gotten good results.

I did notice the other night that the sound was getting clear, and then
muddied up somewhat and started to clear again. That's something that
the flutter method seems to rely on.

Puckdropper

In b.com,
Puckdropper puckdropper(at)yahoo(dot)com typed:
Joe invalid wrote in
:


(an F, if I recall.)
Any particular octave?

Half the kids in my area are wannabe guitarists.
Most of their parents bought them of the tuners along
with the guitar and are sitting unused - either the
guitar is unused, they tune by ear, or tuning makes no
difference for what they're playing ( )

Ask around and borrow one for a few days to play with.
Most
display the actual frequency in addition to the note.
It would
be a way duplicate tension once you knew what each blade
was
when properly tensioned, but I suspect each blade is
different and would vary slightly for the cut being made.

It's a novel idea, but does it fall in the 'measure with
a micrometer - cut it with a chainsaw' class?


F below Middle C, I think. I've set it so it makes the
sound of an F on the staff in bass clef and gotten good
results.

I did notice the other night that the sound was getting
clear, and then muddied up somewhat and started to clear
again. That's something that the flutter method seems to
rely on.

Puckdropper

Those are rules of thumb but they all vary dependng on blade length,
distance between wheels where you plunk it, and several other things like
belt age, stretched factor and stability of the wheels, the drive wheel ini
particular and of course wear on the wheel rubber itself. A belt tensioner
is handy, but checking the deflection of the belt at the proper point will
bring you right to spec nearly every time. There is no way they will all
twang at the same frequency when they are properly set up. Tryng to treat
the blade like a piano wire is silly and would work on only that one
particular machine if it worked at all. Overtensioning is a chief reason for
premature blade breakages.

HTH,

Twayne`