OT - Northern Tools 4X6 bandsaw problem

[TXWelder]

I have one of these and like it fairly well. One problem I have is that the blade wanders quite a bit.

While cutting some 1"X2" stock the other day, the cut would wander almost .02" by the bottom of the cut. I've adjusted everything I know how to adjust and it all seems tight....I'm stumped!

Any suggestions???

[Mike W]

Do you mean that it is cutting off to one side? Once it starts to do that, replace the blade. You should be able to adjust the guides so it starts straight. Use a small piece of metal clamped to the blade and a square to check it.

[Zrexxer]

Tension, tension, tension. Crank down on the blade tension far beyond the point you think it's tight. You may even need to grip the tension knob with a shop rag to get it tight enough by hand.

[TXWelder]

When I say it's going off-line, I mean that it's cutting in and down.

For example, when I placed the 1"X2" on it's side, it was cutting across 2" of surface and down 1". As it cut, the bottom portion of the piece would be approx .02" shorter than the top. The blade would 'walk' in towards the bottom of the cut.

[swat253]

The blade is reacting to tension being placed on it by the piece being cut.

Can you adjust your rear guides closer to the cut? Use the full travel of the rear arm leaving just a small space behind the stock metal or as far as it will go before contacting the saw frame. Worked for me after I fabricated my rear guide set-up.

[IRON TO ART]

The first thing I would check is make sure the blade is new. Or just try a new blade if there is any chance that you have taken the set off one side.
Next use a square as mentioned above to make sure the blade is square to the travel of the head. I use a dial indicator mounted to a mag base for this at work. Adjust the guide b earing until it is square. If you can't seem to get it square check to see if the head is travelling square to vise by mounting the dial indicator to the head and a square piece locked in the vise.

Oh and if the dial indicator on a small 1/2" blade shows even .001 deflect adjust it in. You should be able to get it to zero deflection.

[Conrad_Turbo]

I just bought a 4x6 bandsaw the last week and I had the same issue as you. I bought the bandsaw and set it up with the stock blade and it cut crooked (inwards toward the bottom of the material). I then tightened the blade tension as tight as I could (also adjusting the tracking of the blade as well) and then shimming the both guides on one side with 0.050" thick piece of metal. After this I could cut a 2-1/2" diameter tube and the blade cut straight/square through the whole piece of material. Then I changed the out the horrible OEM blade and then the bandsaw cut much quicker and had a cleaner cut.

Here are some shots:

[TXWelder]

Then I changed the out the horrible OEM blade and then the bandsaw cut much quicker and had a cleaner cut.

Can I ask: where did you get yer new blade? Quite frankly, I'm having a terrible time finding one locally and I'm not comfortable enough in my knowledge to order a good replacement online...

[kenes]

Your guides should be as close as possible to the pipe being cut.
As a band saw wears it has a tendency to "lead" on way or the other.What I mean is one side will wear down more than the other causing it to wander left or right.
Hope this makes sense.

[Bern_F150_4X4]

Can I ask: where did you get yer new blade? Quite frankly, I'm having a terrible time finding one locally and I'm not comfortable enough in my knowledge to order a good replacement online...

You can get a lifetime warranty'd blade from Home Depot for less than 10 bucks, but it's not a Bi-Metal blade... still handy to have around.

[Hotfoot]

You can get a lifetime warranty'd blade from Home Depot for less than 10 bucks, but it's not a Bi-Metal blade... still handy to have around.

I order my Morse Bi metal blades from ENCO....about $15.00 each, as I recall.
Those "Lifetime Guarantee" blades cover what? Dulling, chipping, breakage??

[gagiii]

[QUOTE=Conrad_Turbo;269752]I just bought a 4x6 bandsaw the last week and I had the same issue as you. I bought the bandsaw and set it up with the stock blade and it cut crooked (inwards toward the bottom of the material). I then tightened the blade tension as tight as I could (also adjusting the tracking of the blade as well) and then shimming the both guides on one side with 0.050" thick piece of metal. After this I could cut a 2-1/2" diameter tube and the blade cut straight/square through the whole piece of material. Then I changed the out the horrible OEM blade and then the bandsaw cut much quicker and had a cleaner cut.

If you could please explaine where and how you used your shims. I've had the same problem since day one and can't seem to adjust it out.
thanks

[Conrad_Turbo]

Can I ask: where did you get yer new blade? Quite frankly, I'm having a terrible time finding one locally and I'm not comfortable enough in my knowledge to order a good replacement online...

I bought my bandsaw from House of Tools (in Canada) and I told them I need to get a good bi-metal blade. They only carried one line and said that they sell a lot of them...the brand name slips my mind, but it's much better than the OEM blade...but that's not saying much.

I am not in the shop right now and all I have access to is MS paint, but see the below picture for info on the shims.



The red areas is where I shimmed the guides, on the right hand guide you can see one of the shims sticking out just slightly (I haven't trimmed it off yet). The green area is where I notice on the "fancier" bandsaws (I think Jet???) have an adjustment (on both guides) that let you adjust the angle of the guides, ie: no reason to shim.

[Bern_F150_4X4]

I order my Morse Bi metal blades from ENCO....about $15.00 each, as I recall.
Those "Lifetime Guarantee" blades cover what? Dulling, chipping, breakage??

All of the above if your "Hommie Toad" is staffed with morons like mine is. So far I returned one blade because it broke at the weld. The replacment is still going strong. I'll get a bi metal blade one of these days but for now it's the Rigid.

[RcRacer]

As others have said, the blade quality and condition will have a large influence on the saws ability to be adjusted for a straight cut. If a good blade, prperly tightened with properly adjusted blade guide rollers still fails to cut straight, then the easiest alternative is to shim the guides as Conrad_Turbo did to for the blade to be perpendicular to the work.

You should also check the travel of the arm with respect to the plane of the vice. Place one end of carpenter square on the vice with other vertical end near the blade. Now, raise / lower the arm and watch to see if the blade remains the same distance to the square. If not, then the pivot is not square to the base and the vice surface. Shimming the guides can compensate but for a major misalignment ( and returning the saw is not an option ) the other option is to drill one of the pivot "ears" that the pivot bolt goes through and making an offset bushing to correct the alignment. That's what I did for my saw. It was off by at least an 1/8" over a 4" rise. It now cuts straight.



Here's an old pic, when the saw was new, with the stand I made. A sturdy stand will also guarantee that there is no misaligment due to flex in the base from the flimsey legs that these saws come with.