I find it interesting that Snodgrass doesn't seem to follow his own advice. When he is talking about guide(s) setup, the blade is apparently
not sitting with the back of the gullets on the crown of the wheel. This is understandable
because it doesn't work very well.
Better to have the set (tips) of the teeth just touching the tyre, so there is a bit of support for them (it helps prevent sideways oscillation), and that probably means that a bigger blade runs centred on the crown, and a smaller blade nearer the front. If you take Snodgrass literally, not only will it not work well, but a larger blade will shred the tyres over time (especially on the lower wheel).
In any case, you can't get small blades to sit well, as the set, the relatively low tension, and their overall smallness makes them too "triangular". That is not as much of a problem though as you usually cut curves with them, so drift isn't an issue. I suspect the Snodgrass answer is "buy our stabiliser", which is quite reasonable, because that works where big guide bearings are simply too clumsy, but it is an example of why his apparent "one-size-fits-all" approach in the video doesn't really work.
And of course it matters where the blade runs on the bottom wheel! That is the driven one, and thus is responsible for transferring power to the blade. Again, if it's not good, the tyre will be shredded quickly, and/or you'll simply not get it to track well. There's typically 500+ Watts going through that tyre (on a
small saw), when it's resawing. I've changed that tyre on mine twice, but only needed to do the top wheel once.
Snodgrass also doesn't mention the quality of the blade weld. In my limited experience it makes a huge difference to the performance and the cut quality. A bad weld not only gives a rough finish, it can also damage the guide bearings if the misalignment is extreme.
Steve Maskery has a simple and elegant way of getting the guides set up- simply wrap some 80g paper round the back of the blade to act as a spacer forboth the side- and thrust-bearings. It is very quick and simple. I recommend his "Compleat Bandsaw" video, for a thorough explanation of everything that matters.
It is also worth pointing out that the Powermatic branded machine used in the demo is roughly 15x the price I paid for my machine. I'd love one, but it is way outside my budget! It was almost certainly set up well ex-factory (straight frame, wheels coplanar, etc.). And the blade shown is relatively small for the frame.
All those are good things. Setup shouldn't be hard for those machines. My little SIP is old, worn, at least third hand, and, when it first came to me, it was thoroughly stripped, cleaned and lubricated, before being reassembled and set up. Snodgrass's stuff would be of no help in that situation, yet I have had it running sweetly (aided by Tuff Saws's blades, too). I am refurbing it again now - new main bearings, etc. - and I expect it to be just as good as before, and even though its frame is slightly bent, too!
The trouble with the "Snodgrass technique" is that some of the advice is good, some (like blade position on the top wheel) is nonsense, and he omits things that matter, things that will have a newbie (like I was) struggling when faced with an old worn, machine. I can only say that Steve's video helped greatly. Snodgrass would have caused confusion.
E.
PS: in the interest of transparency, Steve has since become a friend, but I emphasize that was _after_ I bought his video - I'm recommending it because it is comprehensive and good, not because I know him.
PPS: Axminster have
a similar fence alignment tool. It's probably cheaper than importing from the USA, and it's actually made in Axminster, too!
