Bandsaw guide and blade question

[KeithC]

Santa brought me a Grizzly 14" bandsaw with a riser block for Christmas. I haven't had any experience with bandsaws with bearing guides instead of steel or cool blocks. I purchased a 3/16" 4tpi 105" Timber Wolf blade for the saw. I thought I had it adjusted right and proceeded to try to cut out a blank for one of Lynn's videos. Long story short I could not get my blade to turn as sharp as Lynn is able too. The blade jumped off of the wheels and it put such a bow in the blade that you cannot get it to stay on the wheels period. Question is the 3/16" blade to small for bearing guides and is there any way to repair the blade?
KeithC

[BobBlaney]

Sounds like you did not have enough tension on the blade.
Take a look at Carter Guides for the bandsaw. I redid my saw last year and the guide (which replaces the blocks) allows me to turn all kinds of ways. There is a video on the website showing how the guides can make the blade movable for all types of cuts.

[Dicky]

I agree with Bob. It sounds like not enough blade tension. Another trick is to take a stone or a sanding block and round the corners on the back side of the blade. Sorry can't help with the kink, mine used to break. Blade width shouldn't be a problem with the guides.

[Claude]

I disagree about the tension. If you check out the Suffolk web site (maker of Timberwolf), they specifically mention that the blades need much less tension than most blades. They have detailed instructions for adjusting the bearing guides. The one I remember most is they use a dollar bill to set the gap between the blade and the roller guides. I think the key is how deep into the side guides you adjust the blade...or, actually, you adjust the side guides... Anyway, the blade needs to sit between the side guides so the roller is just covering the bottom of the gullet, or a bit more. You have to be careful so the guides are not touching the last 1/16 inch or so of the blade (where the points are). The other tip is to go very slow when you need to make a tight turn. The rake on the teeth will chew away the wood enough to make the tight turn, but you have to give it a bit of time to work... It's easier for me as my 9 inch Craftsman is a bit under-powered so when i need to make a tight turn, if I do it too fast, I can hear the motor slowing way down... mixed blessings, I guess.

Claude

[KeithC]

Thanks guys! I will look into the videos on You Tube. I tensioned the blade according to the instructions that came with the blade. I do think I wasn't slow enough trying to make the right turns. So I will slow it down and, reset my guides as suggested and try again with a new blade. Thanks again.
Keith

[AlArchie]

One more suggestion. With a thin blade (3/16") make sure the blade support bearing (back ) is set close to the back of the blade. If it is too far back, the blade will slide into the side blocks or bearings and ruin the teeths' set. That pretty well ruins the blade as it will be apt to bind even in large radius turns.

If this happens with wider blades (1/4" and up"), the teeth can usually be "re-set" with a hand held saw set. Re setting a blade is tme consuming but if that is all that is wrong, I think it's worth the time taken. A properly set blade will run truer and turn much easier.

Lee Valley, Lehman's and I think Woodcraft stocks saw sets. These are not designed for bandsaw blades but I've found they work quit well on them.

Saw Set

After sharpening, your rejuvenated handsaws should be reset to ensure the teeth cut evenly. This saw set easily tackles this tricky job. Adjustable for Western-style tooth patterns, the correct set is obtained simply by squeezing the handles together. The fine-tooth model has a 1/16" wide plunger (much narrower than most) that works well on fine teeth from 12 and 26 tpi. The coarse-tooth model has a wider plunger with a greater amount of travel for use on coarser teeth (from 4 to 12 tpi).



Al