Bandsaw cut quality

[Grahamshed]

I have had my bandsaw ( axi 400N ) for only a couple of weeks or so and just got a new bunch of blades from tuffsaw.
The pic below is of a 10mm thick piece of old oak cut with a half inch 24tpi blade.

I am not sure what I was expecting but not this, is this what bandsaws do ? Is this the best I can expect ?

Not the best pic

 

[WellsWood]

Simple one this - you have entirely the wrong blade installed, 24 tpi is much too fine (actually sounds like a metal cutting blade with that pitch) and struggle to believe Ian would have sent you one if he knew you intended to use it for wood. Something like 1/2" x 4 or 6 tpi would be about right for that thickness of timber.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

24TPI? I'd have thought that was far too many teeth. 6 - 10 I'd have thought would have been better.( opinion only )

 

[Grahamshed]

Ian DIDN'T know what I would be using it for. The saw came with a manufacturers installed blade ( always rubbish ) and an Axminster 4 tpi. I will be cutting some UPVC plastics and thin ply over the next couple of days so read Tuffsaws buying guide and set my self up with 2 half inch blades 10tpi and 24tpi and two quarter inch blades with same tpi's which I figured would cover most jobs. I sort of assumed that the more teeth, the finer the cut and took a thin slice off that old oak drawer side just to test it.

 

[Guyforks]

Graham

Question, have you compensated for, and thus adjusted for drift?

Glynn.

 

[Jacob]

3 tpi skip tooth is the bog standard for woodcutting. I would only use a finer blade for special purposes. Even 6 tpi cuts very slowly in comparison.

 

[Grahamshed]

Graham

Question, have you compensated for, and thus adjusted for drift?

Glynn.

No, but doesn't drift just affect the 'straightness' of a cut ? does it affect quality as well ?

 

[Steve Maskery]

Graham, you need some help here!
Ripping with the grain produces long fibres of sawdust, which need large gullets to carry them away. Therefore, with large gullets, the blade must have few teeth.
For crosscutting, the fibres are small, so only small gullets are required. Hence more TPI.
Also, thin workpieces require more tpi than thicker ones, otherwise the large teeth go bumpety-bumpety-bump against the thin material.
The shape of the teeth also makes a difference and Ian has some unique forms on his blades, which makes them perform better than the competition.
Your 24TPI have almost no gullets at all, so the sawdust has nowhere to go. It gets jammed around the blade and the blade gets shoved around by all that rubbish, hence the lousy cut.

+1 for 3TPI skip for normal ripping.

 

[Harbo]

Save the 24 for plastic or metal!
3, 4, or 6 will be fine for wood.

Rod

 

[Jensmith]

It really is worth asking Ian for his personal advice as he will only sell you what you need and his advice is excellent.

 

[Grahamshed]

The 24 tpi was for the plastic and thin ply.

The 4tpi that came with the saw left quite a 'wavy' cut which I was thinking would improve with more teeth ( obviously not this many more )
Ian's site said that 6 - 10 would be a good choice for general use so I will put the 10tpi one on when I have finished cutting up the thin ply and try that.

Steve - Thank you for the comment, I certainly need help I feel some DVDs coming on.