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I have been experimenting with various blades and setups over the last year and still run into issues (bad cuts) and am wondering. Is it me, my bandsaw, or my blades. First my saw is a newer Grizzly G0457 14" with a large resaw capacity and a 2 HP motor that seems under powered to me. I have used Iturra bladerunner 1/2, Little ripper 5/8" I got from Canada and A Lenox 1/2 trimaster Carbide which Joseph Itarra said would probably breal before it got dull because of my 14" wheels. I recently bought a tension guage to get the proper tension on the blade. I have an 8" piece of Corian I added to the regular fence for better support. As for technique I edge joint one face and edge. What I want to know is how thin is safe to cut it? I have been cutting 3/16". Do you go back to the jointer each slice? I have tried cutting several slices in a row and the errors seem to compound. I would like to know your method. I would like to stick with this saw as I think it is probably adaquate though underpowered.

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Mistakes are mandatory-learning from them is optional. http://www.opensourceluthiersupply.com

I have the same issue after the first cut. The second cut never goes straight even after I check for the blade tracking...etc.

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Joe

I use the Wood Slicer blade with great results. Making sure the tracking is correct is most important and has to be pretty much right on or it will wonder for sure. I just went through this a couple months ago. I might have had beginners luck but had good results. Here's my setup.

I always run the freshly cut face over the jointer again after I've cut a slice.

I only re-joint the face if things are getting way off flat .. usually not though, and I can make 4 slices per inch of material. I would rather have 4 good slices than 5 bad ones ....

2 hp is underpowered ??? .. something is wrong with your tracking IMO - does the blade run on the wheels just back of centre of the tire, such that the blade is coming down to the table square ???

I only have a 3/4 HP Delata with riser, I use 1/2-3 tpi industrial blades (hardened back and front) from RD bandsaws in Brampton Ont Canada (about 20 bucks for a 105 inch - all I have ever used on my saw) and I have resawn A LOT of woods with that set up - you need to let the blade cut, dont force wood into it. Everything from cedar and sitka to braz rw, 11x48 inch padauk, makore and hondo mahog, bubinga, curly and quilted maple .....

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I second the Wood Slicer from Highland Hardware. I was having all kinds of problems with tracking, non-vertical cuts etc. Thought it was a setup issue until I changed to the Woodslicer. Next time I'll check the sharpness of the blade first.

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A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

I too am new to resawing, so I can empathise with your problems. I use a 19" Grizzly, 2 HP. Here is what I have learned.

1.Set up is everything. Tracking has to be right. The thrust bearings have to right, and your guide bearings (or cool blocks or whatever) have to be tight. Typically, I put a piece of scotch tape (0.003") on each side of the blade and tuck the bearings in against that tape to set their distance. Blade lead angle MUST BE ADJUSTED FOR EVERYBLADE...this means that you skew the fence so that it is parallel to the natural cutting angle of the blade. Sometimes, as a blade is used, this lead angle can change, so I would check lead angle often (I have been verifying before every new board cut). Blade tension is so important as well, but difficult to instantly cure...try the flutter method - and work tighter from there as you need to.

1a. Use featherboards...CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY...you want to remove as much of you from the puzzle as possible....if all you have to do is push the piece through, you can concentrate on a consistent feed rate, and not worry about applied pressure to the piece. Jerky feeding will almost always cause blade wander.

2. It has been said: you can cut fast, or you can cut straight...it is true. Slow down, let the chips evacuate.

3. Blade choice: a lot has to do with how strong the mechanical housing is on your saw...too large of blades require too much tension which will flex your whole saw over and screw your whole setup. The woodslicer, while amazing has a short life in harder woods...it is also very thin which means that it has a greater tendency to flex along the cut...thicker gauge blades have a high flexural modulus (or so I will call it) and are by nature less likely to flex in the cut. I jsut purchased a Timberwold AS-S blade, that has a thinner kerf (0.050" as opposed to 0.032" on the woodslicer), but is a thicker gage steel. so I am hoping to avoid some of the flexing issues that sometimes result...

Like I said, I am new to this. IN the beginning, I rushed a lot, and got crappy results. Now I am taking my time and have been pulling out cuts that are beautiful, with only a couple thousandths deviation top to bottom along the whole piece. Don Williams, IMHO, is the man when it comes to resawing. I have seen his work time and time again and have established his quality standards as my own, and they are exquisite. Maybe he will shed some light here...

Thanks,
Stephen

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www.ziegenfussguitars.com

I used to resaw with my 1.5 hp axminster saw but never did get the results i wanted even with lenox blades.

i switched to hankinsson bi-metal blades a while back and very rarely use the lennox carbide toothed blades anymore.
These blade are better for me doing alot of resawing on a comercial scale.

the blades i use are 2-6 tpi varible pitch bi metals.
i have used other bi-metals and they are knowhere near as good as the hankinsson's.

i now have a laguna lt 18 with a 3.5 hp (italian) motor and this will cut so much better than my old saw.

the extra hp make all the differance.
you can let the saw do the work but it doesent take forever to cut one slice.

the guides also make alot of diferance as they do not transfer any vibrations to the blade.

that said there is no reason why you should not get good results from your saw.

as said set up crucial.
make sure the guides are set up properly and you have minimal drift.
get a good bandsaw book if you are unsure how to do this.
next feed rate is crucial you must not force the wood through.
let the saw do the work.
it will take time but you will get a clean cut.

also prep of the timber if very important.
you must face and edge your billets or else you will get movement as the saw cuts,
this will cause jumps and bad cuts.

if you follow all these rule you should be able to resaw plenty of wood for your guitars,

joel.

Lots of good tips are being mentioned, but you need to give us more information about the problems you are having.



This doesn't really tell us what the error in the cut seems to be. Describe the problems that seem to be compounding.

Rich

I think that getting the tracking set dead on is the key first. You want the blade running square to the wheel so that the set of the teeth is just off the tire. If it's too far foward it will want to drift one way and if too far back drift the other way, at least that's what I found out. If you have that set right then it's getting your table set at dead on to 90 degrees to the blade as well as your fence and your fence also set parallel to the blade. I put the infeed and outfeed tables and two layered feather board on my setup to allow me to focus on feeding and letting the blade cut the wood. If you feed to fast it's going to make the blade likely to flex and drift. At least that's what I learned. But I'm no expert on this either and I'm just relating what I learned so far. Hope this helps some.

Setup is everything. Make sure the saw is tracking properly and that your fence accounts for the drift of that particular sawblade. I use a 20" Rockwell 1950's bandsaw for resawing. It has a homemade fence. 3/4" blade. I consistently can cut anything from Rosewood to Spruce within .010" over a 36" board length. By the way, the saw has a 1 & 1/2 HP motor so power is not necessarily the solution. Setup and technique is all that is required. As Tony said let the saw do the work, don't force it.

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Sylvan
http://www.wellsguitars.com

I have had problems when the blade got dull, but otherwise the Jet 14" I have does well with resawing. I use Olsen 3 to 4 tpi blades (1/2" or 5/8" thick). I would like for it to saw faster, but that just wont work. Get a good sharp blade, make sure the tracking in the blade is set, have a good square backdrop to work with and saw away.

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Reguards,

Ken H

All great tips.

further reading at Highland Hardware atlanta

They have a nice library of articles on setup.

Someone told me about it, and it really helped.

They even have an article about how to fold or coil blades....

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Just got through cutting a bunch of Walnut backs with good result. Checked everything. Made sure the blade had the proper amount of tension. I am using a Iturra bladerunner like the woodslicer but I think costs about a third of the price for a woodslicer and he makes them up so you have them fast. I really slowed down and the cuts came out much better. Surface quality was very good won't take much sanding to clean them up. Thanks much for all your input sometimes you overlook the obvious. But I have never watched anyone resaw 9" and get a sense of how fast to push the wood through.

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Mistakes are mandatory-learning from them is optional. http://www.opensourceluthiersupply.com

Feels good to get it down doesn't it? Now relax and go have a cold one.

I have a General International, 18" wheels. The saw has bearings for guides, not cool blocks.

Should the bearings be touching the blade or just a tiny bit off the blade?

I've been using a 1" 3 tpi blade to resaw, not great results but doable. Is a 1" blade to heavy for an 18" saw?

Thanks ,

Stefan

I have a very similar saw to yours Stephan. I find a 1/2" 3 TPI Viking blade works the best for me. The bearings should be set as close as possible to the blade without touching.