Always seemed that way to me too - but I haven't got to the magic (yet!).
Bandsaw tensioning
- Thread starter Douglas Robinson
- Start date
Always seemed that way to me too - but I haven't got to the magic (yet!).
If you hit a wall, I am sure one of us can drop in and give another pair of eyes.
You adjust the fence to be in line with the T-slot. Then adjust tracking to the fence. All that skewing the fence to match the blade drift is a hack for a miss-tracking band or bad band. Otherwise, you can't use the T-slot and miter gauge for crosscuts.
For re-saw, the wider the band the better as long as the saw supports the size. The manufactures do push it a bit. They claim I could run a 1 inch, but a 3/4 looks to be all I should.
You adjust the fence to be in line with the T-slot. Then adjust tracking to the fence. All that skewing the fence to match the blade drift is a hack for a miss-tracking band or bad band. Otherwise, you can't use the T-slot and miter gauge for crosscuts.
For re-saw, the wider the band the better as long as the saw supports the size. The manufactures do push it a bit. They claim I could run a 1 inch, but a 3/4 looks to be all I should.
So I guess Charles Neil, Rob Cosman, and Phil Lowe and just about every bandsaw manual written has it wrong. They better quit making fences with adjustment, too.
That's the way I do it & it's worked for me 40 years. Rip a parallel line/adjust fence/done. All of 3 minutes. I install the blade, adjust the tracking and the guides and that never changes. Your way you also have to adjust the guides when you change the tracking. So yeah, I've tried that tracking thing and drove myself crazy. I think it was 6 or 7 test cuts till I got it parallel to the fence. I also spend half a day trying to Snodgrass both my bandsaws and gave up. WHY??
And if you're adjusting drift with tracking you better not ever retension your blade, or hope something doesn't change, which can happen on a bandsaw.
Actually the best way to do it is by adjusting the table. Michael Fortune has a video on this.
If you never want to do a cross-cut using a miter gauge, then fine. If all you do is scroll, pretty much moot anyway as the fence is out of the picture. Or only re-saw, then sure, adjust the fence. I use my saw for almost everything so skewing the fence does not work. My fence needs to adjust to match the table T- track, just like on a table saw. The closer to the perfect center the bottom of the gullet is, the more consistent it tracks. Of course, tires may change this, but when I measured and marked my center, it got a lot easier and quicker. Tire center of crown is actually hard to eyeball and that will lead to frustration. I was usually a little too far forward. Half a day? Have to admit it took me longer than that to master. If your tires are getting hard, or don't have enough crown, and the gullets not too deep, then I can see how the Snodgrass tracking might behave as if you were too far back. How quickly set is damaged by being too far back I don't know. Kiss a guide once and you are done for. As a procedure, when changing bands, I adjust the tracking forward until I see how it will be running as I slowly spin while levering in the tension.
Another thing that throws any tracking off is not getting the rear guides within half a hair of the blade. Add low tension and the process of cutting will move the tracking and twist the band. The more narrow the band, the more sensitive I found. Getting a 3/8 blade to not skew in an 8 inch resaw is really really hard. 3/4 seems easier than 1/2. Blades with less than perfect aligned welds make this very hard. As the lower guide is harder to see and adjust, it is often left not as perfect as it needs to be. If a side bearing starts to spin, it usually means I am feeding too fast. Guess you can't use that with disk or block guides though. Surface wear of the rear guide or miss-alignment can also twist the band. I had the alignment issue on a 10 inch Delta. I suspect the rear guides sitting flat may be less sensitive than the ones like mine running on the circumference for wear.
Repositioning the trunnions on my saw to align the table to the drift would be many times harder and would not lend itself to the small tweaks in tracking as a blade wears. On my saw, no more than 1/8 turn on the tracking knob is all I need. I can envision a design that would make it easier much like some table saws have screws to align the table. Alas, there has been about no innovation in band saws in the last 100 years. Opportunity awaits!
I only adjust the guides when changing blades. As every band is different, you have to anyway. And yes many books, "experts",, and video's, lead you to less than optimal ways. Posts to skew the re-saw to follow the drift? Hand guiding re-saw without a fence? Magic sleds? I understand the Snodgrass method as the physics of the pivot point makes sense. Move the pivot point back on the blade like most books show and variations in the wood would more naturally twist the blade. I believe carbide re-saw blades have a more consistent set by way of grinding instead of running between two gears.
Another thing that throws any tracking off is not getting the rear guides within half a hair of the blade. Add low tension and the process of cutting will move the tracking and twist the band. The more narrow the band, the more sensitive I found. Getting a 3/8 blade to not skew in an 8 inch resaw is really really hard. 3/4 seems easier than 1/2. Blades with less than perfect aligned welds make this very hard. As the lower guide is harder to see and adjust, it is often left not as perfect as it needs to be. If a side bearing starts to spin, it usually means I am feeding too fast. Guess you can't use that with disk or block guides though. Surface wear of the rear guide or miss-alignment can also twist the band. I had the alignment issue on a 10 inch Delta. I suspect the rear guides sitting flat may be less sensitive than the ones like mine running on the circumference for wear.
Repositioning the trunnions on my saw to align the table to the drift would be many times harder and would not lend itself to the small tweaks in tracking as a blade wears. On my saw, no more than 1/8 turn on the tracking knob is all I need. I can envision a design that would make it easier much like some table saws have screws to align the table. Alas, there has been about no innovation in band saws in the last 100 years. Opportunity awaits!
I only adjust the guides when changing blades. As every band is different, you have to anyway. And yes many books, "experts",, and video's, lead you to less than optimal ways. Posts to skew the re-saw to follow the drift? Hand guiding re-saw without a fence? Magic sleds? I understand the Snodgrass method as the physics of the pivot point makes sense. Move the pivot point back on the blade like most books show and variations in the wood would more naturally twist the blade. I believe carbide re-saw blades have a more consistent set by way of grinding instead of running between two gears.
Just FYI, this is the Grand Prize in this years raffle. You have a chance to get it for only $5.
Have raffle tickets already, yes.
I've also acquired the slightly older version, the 10-325 from a NCWW member.
This thread has been incredibly helpful. I went back and readjusted my Delta 14” and got much more consistent cuts after rewatching the snodgrass video.
The ends are actually much closer in thickness than in the picture, there must have been some stress because there is a slight bow.
The ends are actually much closer in thickness than in the picture, there must have been some stress because there is a slight bow.
Wood will throw a curve into the best laid plans
