Bandsaw Troubles

[KenWittlief]

besides what Don said, get some material you can practice cutting. You might be pushing the material to one side without realizing it, making the blade twist.

Like most power tools, getting it to cut is easy, being able cut exactly down the center of a pencil mark, without tearing up the material, takes lots and lots of practice.

while you are cutting experiment a little. Instead of turning the material more and more try pushing it a little to the left or right and see what happens

or try turning it the other way. Power tools dont always respond like you think they should. you gotta develop a feel for it.

[Jay H 237]

If you're doing straight cuts (or attempting to ) you could try clamping a fence to the table. This should help, and since that one never came with a fence and piece of straight stock, wood or metal would work.

Another thing to be aware of. The blade guides, whether they're friction blocks on lower models or actual live bearings on better models, are attached to the blade guard on the top side. If you're cutting a 1/4" piece have the blade guard set for about 1/2". If you have it set up real high the blade will lack support close to the work and be able to twist easily.

Play with the speed at which you're feeding it like Ken said. With plastics they can, and will, heat up. If they get too hot they can melt and clog the teeth in the blade reducing you're cutting ability and causing it to wander.

[John Gutmann]

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

besides what Don said, get some material you can practice cutting. You might be pushing the material to one side without realizing it, making the blade twist.

Like most power tools, getting it to cut is easy, being able cut exactly down the center of a pencil mark, without tearing up the material, takes lots and lots of practice.

while you are cutting experiment a little. Instead of turning the material more and more try pushing it a little to the left or right and see what happens

or try turning it the other way. Power tools dont always respond like you think they should. you gotta develop a feel for it.

I know I am good on a bandsaw because on the ones at school I can cut dead center down a pencil line really fast. That is why I know something on my saw isn't right.


I tryed the fence Idea, the blade just walks the other way. i will try some of this tomorrow more, when people aren't sleeping. I was pretty sure I had it set up the right way :-\

[sanddrag]

My guess would be the blade tension is too low or the guide is too high.

[Gabe]

You could also perform a test by using different thicknesses of plastic, wood, and aluminum, noticing when the blade feels like it is running wrong. As sanddrag suggested, try adjusting the tension of the blade tighter. You could also be feeding too fast, which would cause the blade to twist off your marked line very easily.