New Bandsaw

[mickey357]

Well I finally got a Band saw. Went with the Craftsman 14-in. It had good reviews and it's on sell. Plus I like buying local. Took about 2 hrs. to set up with the help of my wife.  Any suggestions on the use of or things to make and do, will greatly be  usefully since this is my first .   

[Marcellarius]

congrats! new tools, feels like Christmas in April right

try making bandsawboxes?

[BilltheDiver]

Congratulations!  Bandsaws can be great fun.  It is very important to set it up correctly.  I strongly recommend looking on youtube for Alex Snodgrass's video on bandsaw setup.  It will save you hours of frustration.  Next, remember that most bandsaws come furnished with a very cheap blade.  Buy yourself a couple of quality blades intended for the purpose you will use them for and you won't regret it.  Now you can really make some sawdust.

[Russ C]

I would also suggest you watch Alex Snodgrass video http://youtu.be/wGbZqWac0jU on setting up a bandsaw. My friend Bill aka BilltheDiver suggested it and I can say my bandsaw never cut so good/straight. You also might want to check out Carters Bandsaw Stabilizer for cutting with blades ?" or less in width. http://www.carterproducts.com/band-saw-products/band-saw-stabilizer it works for bandsaw boxes and other detailed work. For resawing I would suggest Woodslicer Resaw Bandsaw Blades. Like Bill said buy "quality blades intended for the purpose".

[mickey357]

Thanks for the tip, Alex Snodgrass  sure knows his band saws. I need to watch him a 2nd time just to catch every thing, he can talk pretty fast. The rain deer he cut , wow !!! very cool. I think your right about the blades, need to get a couple a little better than the one that came with it. Thanks again for the tip on Alex Snodgrass .

[EIEIO]

Mickey - I bought that same saw a month ago. It was a return so they sold it at a deep discount ($292). I had to fix the wiring when I got it home, but that was easy. I got a Timberwolf resaw blade for it.

I had an order for a big (48" long) oak baguette board. It was too big for my EX-21 so I made it on the bandsaw. I had to cut through to the center, so first I drilled a  3/8" hole through the place where the cut would be, made the cut, then glued the cut and glued in a 3/8" oak dowel to keep the slice lined up while the glue dried. It worked swell.

Resaw on the bandsaw is a breeze, and the 8" clearance is enough for anything I've been doing. If you find something good for a fence, please post a photo. Enjoy your new tool.

[ChuckD]

Here is a picture of the fence that I made and it works great, especially for resawing.  This, of course is not the picture of mine but it is here and my bandsaw is away from here so this is where I got the idea.  As you can see it is not hard to make even just using the picture.  I have plans some where.

[BilltheDiver]

I have had a couple of bandsaw fences over the years, but my favorite is the Carter Magfence.  It works with any saw that has a cast iron table.   Easy setup and take down.  Sounds like I am a shill for Carter, but I am not.  They just have a lot of truly great products for bandsaws.

[Marcellarius]

U for sure am glad with that instruction video on how to setup and adjust the saw!
THANKS for that.
gonna try that on my saw, the blade is now drifting all sides when cutting along a fence.
let you know how things work after I'm ready.

[Marcellarius]

I have a G?de 315 UG bandsaw and the adjustment is not easy,
band kept wandering of the center every time....  
the G?de 315 UG has a table with 4 bolts.... and all th guides are not as simple to adjust as that machine in the video...
so after 1,5 hour I managed to have all adjust like the man in the video said.

and......

drumroll.....  

on a 3/4" thick, 2" high 1' long piece of pine:

more drumroll......  

a almost perfect cut!!!

amazing  it works!!

 

so now I'm a happy bandsaw user

thanks and RESPECT to Alex Snodgrass from Carter products!!!

[BilltheDiver]

Congratulations!  Just use the same setup whenever you change blades and you will stay happy..


Russ it looks like we made another convert to Alex Snodgrass.

[ChuckD]

Make that two.  I have never seen him before, but I have done enough with the saw to do most every thing he said.  Did learn some things I am going to try.  I have to change the tires on my saw so I will set it up the way he described.  One thing I did not understand is why he changed saws to use the thinner blade, instead of changing blades.  Maybe time.  I have a 14 inch saw and I use a narrow blade on it.  Not 1/8th tho. The reason I have to change tires is because I was using a narrow blade when I should have switched. 

[BilltheDiver]

My tires wore out so i replaced them with urethane ones.  The 1/8 blades are great, but they do break more often.

[Marcellarius]

Russ it looks like we made another convert to Alex Snodgrass.

you sure did

thank you guys!!