need help with bandsaw

[laine]

Good Morning All,
I'm a kind of on again off again type of beginner, yeah I know I should be more of a on again....that being said
I have inherited a delta 16" 28-540 bandsaw , with the helpful post and replies I have found the manual, but when I try to cut a block of basswood 3" thick the blade gets stuck in the wood...
please help - what am I doing wrong

Cheers,
Elaine

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

Well, not being there, it's tough to tell. But here's my guesses.
You are twisting the block and binding the blade or trying to make too tight a curve.
You have a very old blade that has insufficient kerf.

Solution to number one is to quit doing what you're doing.
Solution to number two is get a new blade -
Timberwolf
or same high quality a little bit less expensive
Olson All-Pro (make sure it's the All-Pro, Olson makes standard blades too).

[laine]

Hi plain ol Ed
great, thankyou -I will try both

I am a very newbie at this, I am trying to cut a straight line, and I think that the blade is very old, I inherited this a few years back been afraid to try it out, but nothing ventured nothing gained,

[Claude]

You also may not have proper tension on the blade. After using the saw, tension needs to be taken off the blade, and then re-tensioned before the next use.

Claude

[Ed Redwine]

Hi Elaine: You've gotten some excellent advice so far. I would add that the smaller the blade the tighter the radius you can cut. I cut 3 in. basswood with my 15 in Delta and have no problems with the 1/4 in. blade. Check the blade guides and made sure the clearence is correct. Ol Ed suggests a new blade...I would certainly second that suggestion. It's a good place to start. Also, don't rush the cut, go slow and easy an the saw will respond. By the way, I frequently vacuum the sawdust away from mine. Good Luck
Ed

[laine]

wonderful , many thanks for the great advice, first thing I'll do is purchase a new blade - Timberwolf - then check tension so slow and easy
Elaine

[Terry Vance]

When you get your blade I would recommend a skip tooth blade. Allows for tighter turns. I have seen the TimberWolf demonstrated and it is a great blade for cutting out carving blanks.

[Jim-Iowa]

Laine I have had the exact same saw since 1991. The 3 wheel design was not one of Delta's better ideas. I too had problems with cutting straight lines with it. I in fact got so frustrated with it it got pushed off in a corner and forgotten for several years. Eventually I got it out and replaced the tires, put a new quality blade on it and aligned all guides, table etc.
It works pretty well! If your stalling the motor I would say get a good blade and you will have good luck. Do check those tires, the originals walked off the wheels constantly. I got new ones and now have no problem.
Though I will never say it's the best thing since pockets on a shirt, I will keep it till I wear it out before buying a new saw.