Bandsaw problem

sundown57

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I have a 7 inch Jet bandsaw. I spent all day yesterday trying to adjust the blade to make it cut straight, I adjusted the bearing/rollers so they are snug against the bale but not jamming. i squared the blade perfect and it still cuts crooked. The blade moves away from the piece as it goes down I put a piece of 3x3x1/4 aluminum in it and the top cut to 2 3/4 the bottom stayed at 3 . thats how much angle its cutting. I even moved the blade to its as fas as it can go in. so that should make it cut toward the saw but nope still cuts away from it. Any oe have an idea how i can square it up ? moving the blade seems to make no difference.
 
You might check for "boogered on one side of the blade", a classic problem ;-)

Take a scrap of wood, saw in a sixteenth and then push right, repeat with left. If one sideways is different from the other you might have your answer.

After that, I would back out and start over. Ie, pull all the guides back and check that your wheels are parallel and the blade is tracking.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 
At first impression, I would speculate the blade has excessive wear. Or maybe a cheap blade. The overall effect is where the blade has more "set" on one side than the other. This can be confirmed by "rolling" the blade so the now inside becomes the outside. If the drift of the blade runs the opposite direction, it is cutting wider on one side. This is a common failure on wood cutting bandsaws, especially where one is trying to do resaw work with a narrow (like metal cutting) and old blade. It is also a common problem on regular hacksaw blades. As they wear, the cut tends to drift one way or the other.

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Several things can cause this- bad blade is one. Also too much downward pressure on the blade- adjust the spring tensioner so that you only have a few pounds of force. Try different settings.
Check also that the blade is perpendicular to the table as it travels downward. Make sure the guide rollers are not set too loose.
Check that the blade is tight but it doesn't need to be bone-crushing tight. It should make a sound like the lowest string on a guitar when plucked.
Good blades are Lenox, Morse, Starrett. Harbor Freight high end blades are ok; the OEM blade that comes with the saw is often trash.
-Mark
 
sorry for the delay, I have been out working on it . I did go over the rollers and made sure they are adjusted correctly. I also Just put a new Starrett blade in it this morning . also the one i took out was only a few days old. no difference. My thinking is the arm is not coming down straight but i don't see any adjustment on it and i pried front and back I don't see any play in the shaft.Mine has a hydraulic piston for down pressure Im going to try and slow it down some see if that helps any . thanks for the advise
 
i'd almost bet a paycheck that the blade is not perpendicular to the work
i would be surprised if the hinge pin bore is drilled correctly
i would be suspect of both axes of operation
first, is the blade square to the work in the transverse axis
second, is the blade travel square in the Z axis
the moral of the story is that if you aren't square in the first place, cutting square would be near impossible

(not the same animal, but,
i have a power hacksaw that i got cheap due to it not being able to cut square upon receipt- i inverted the blade holder block and put the blade back on -it cuts straight within a few thousandths now)
 
What method are you using to confirm blade is perpendicular? I find using a small magnet with metal scale on blade (off of teeth) and a machinist square in work holding surface to compare. It's the only way I can tell for sure. I can cut a sliver off a piece of stock and my cuts are super square (Harbor Freight 4x6) I use a Starrett Intense Bimetal (spelt differently?) I watched many a YouTube videos and adjusted before I even started to deal with what I expected to be a frustrating experience. Ended up being a great purchase.
 
I see what you're saying. So the blade is wandering, there must be too much play in roller guides that's allowing this? Blade not tight enough? It's got to be one of those...no? That red block of wood (") how do we know that cut is straight as it's your reference? I'm just spit balling here.
 
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