Bandsaw Problem

J

jon

Active member
My thin blade with tight teeth was having trouble making a cut through wood that is 7 inches thick. I went out and bought a 3/4 inch blade with teeth separated quite a bit more. It is having the same problem. The cut is straight.

Is my bandsaw too weak to make this type of cut? Is this a normal problem with older bandsaws?

7 inches of cedar doesn't seem like it should be stopping the blade like it is?? Any thoughts? Thanks.
 
It is a real old Sears craftsman. Not sure of the horsepower off hand...

It looks pretty much like this....only much dustier.

http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/images/15640-A.jpg
 
I don't know much about them but do know that the horsepower of a saw will have a big effect on it's performance. That said, I would think that a new 3/4" blade would work fine unless your expectations are too high. I've never tried to cut through 7" cedar myself so I can't tell you how fast it should do it.
 
Jon~

Width of blade is not as important as the teeth per inch and the "set" of the teeth. More set gives you more kerf (the width of wood that a blade removes when cutting). I think most carvers use a blade with between 4 and 8 teeth per inch. And, in order to make the curves (esp on heads), a 1/4" or 3/8" is preferable.

The set is the most important feature when cutting through thick wood because it needs to clear the cut of sawdust. Make sure the blade guides are not flattening the set. I had the guides mis-set (actually, they were loose and moved after I started sawing) once and flattened the set in a single revolution.

Also, you always need to go slowly through thick stuff.

In addition to getting advice from others more knowledgeable than I on this site, you might want to call the different manufacturers and ask which of their blade designs they recommend for thick softwoods.

Also: Write the length of your blade inside the upper cover for later reference.

Best of luck!

SJS
 
What kind of wood is it?

Oooops! Reread and it's cedar.

Has it been working OK before this? How is it with thinner pieces of cedar?
 
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I bought it used so "I don't know" if had been working normally. Works fine on the same wood half as thick. What is happening is the blade is locking up inside the cut... the motor still makes a running/whirring sound. I am moving sooooooo slow. It doesn't matter though. The blade still stops. Maybe I will try and post a video of it happening...
 
Chris is on the right track. Look at the lower wheel and tire for any slippage. If it's a multi speed saw, there should be a v-belt in the drive somewhere that might be slipping. It could be set up for the wrong speed too.
 
7" is a fairly thick block of wood. I have had luck putting wax on the side of the blade before the cuts. But you still need to go slow. It just takes time to clear the wood chips.
 
What condition are the tires in, the rubber strips that wrap around the wheels.


They are in good condition.

What looks like it isn't in good condition is the rubber pulley loop that looks like it transfers motion from the motor to the saw parts...

What is that piece called? Could that be the problem?
Click to expand...
 
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After reading through and checking the image, I would consider the following: blade tension too high, motor needs new brushes or is full of dust, or just worn out.

I have had blade tension issues on my Delta before that resulted in the same thing you are finding. Check that first. The markings on the adjustment for tension or blade type don't always work out in reality.

Then clean the dust out of the motor housing and check the brushes. They may need to be replaced due to wear.

The motor may also be worn enough that it needs to be replaced. I had to do this with a 1970's era Sears table saw. Rather than pay a fortune at Sears I bought a 110/220V 2.5HP motor from Grainger that had the same NEMA frame as the old Sears motor. No more bogging down in anything other than pine.
 
If you have a new blade, try waxing both sides--Cuts friction--Also, perhaps the wider blade is the problem--I have an OLD craftsman, and use 3/8" Olson blades-I CAN cut thru 6+ just have to go slowly and let the blade do the work.
 
I build musical instuments,guitars mostly,and I resaw 8 1/2 " spruce and cedar.I use a few different blades but
most are 3 or 4 teeth pi deep gullet 1/2 wide. The trick in cutting thick wood is to have fewer teeth in the cut
and a blade just wide enough to to be able to stay straight. A deep gullet gets rid of waste and fewer teeth in the cut puts less pressure on the motor. I should add I use all bearing blade guides and the blades I've been using are
around .0225 thick. thin blades seem to work better for me. Good luck.
 
I have a Caftsman I bought in 1983. All advice you have been given is Good. Wax & Cool Blocks, espescially for really Thick stuff.........oh and Really Good Blades, but heat will ruin the temper.
 
I'd check the general condition of the drive belt and pulleys. The sidewalls of the pulleys should be unworn. Any wear along the driving faces will decrease the contact with the drive belt. The decreased contact will result in increased slippage.

Likewise the belt should be soft and supple, not dried out and stiff. The sidewalls of the belt should not be worn concave or be glazed over and burnt from prior slippage.

With a used machine, most likely your problem is the sum total of several issues. Best is to start at the motor and check everything all the way to and including the blade.
 
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I have wanted to try a Resaw King blade, but pause at the $150 price tag. I am sure it works better. Just how long will it last? 10x?
 
Hey, Jon,

Getting rid of the "weekend woodworker" blade that comes with most saws can be a starting place, but if you've done that and the blade is still stopping under load, I'd wonder if the drive belt is tensioned correctly, or if the lock bar on one of the pulley wheels is gone.
Don't know the Sears set up, but the first thing I'd check because of what you're saying happens under load are the pulley wheel lock bars and set screws. You should have a pulley wheel on both the motor shaft and the shaft turning your bottom drive wheel. Both shafts have a slot that aligns with a similar slot on the inside diameter of the pulley wheel that slides onto them. Your drive belt rides in these pulleys. A small metal bar slides into the space formed by these two slots and is held in place with a small set screw. The bar & screw lock the pulleys against the shaft to keeps them from slipping. It is common for the vibration of the machine to cause that set screw to loosen, and oftentimes when this happens, it will "throw" the little stop bar causing the pulley wheel to slide on the shaft. When this happens, the pulley may maintain enough friction on the shaft to turn the blade, but as soon as a load is added, the blade will stop because the pulley is slipping and spinning loose around the drive shaft. Check both pulley assemblies to see if they are locked in place and the stop bar is indeed present ( it's an easy little piece to lose).

Let us know what you find.
 
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