bandsaw tracking

[bluesman]

Lee - great stuff very helpful thanks.

nola - does your blade run smack in the middle of the wheel then? Yes the mitre fence isn't brilliant but the fences are supposed to be upgraded ones from the original.

devonwoody - thanks for putting me in the picture about tpi etc

I think a call to the suppliers is needed - hope I don't have to package it back up and ship it back!!

 

[Scrit]

Bluesman

At the risk of repeating something, take a look here

Scrit

 

[bluesman]

scrit - thanks for that, very useful.

OK so I rang Axminster technical support and here's their advice which probably echos what some of you have already said. Tension the blade till it makes a note like an instrument - too little will sound flappy - too much won't ring. So I did that - tensioned to top end of musical note. He said it doesn't matter if teeth overlap front slightly and as you start cutting it will push back slightly onto the wheel so that's how I tracked it. I adjusted all the bearings then to a cat's .... hair off the blade. Just ripped about 10 x 4 foot lengths of 1 inch thick oak and it performed very nicely. Checked tracking after and sure enough it had moved back more or less to middle of wheel. I'm pretty happy with the set up now - thanks all for your great input.

Last word from Axminstser - if not using it regularly - drop the tension back off to avoid the band forming a bulbous shape where the wheels are.

 

[ivan]

My mate has a small Kity bandsaw with flat tyres and the manual says track with the teeth just off the front. I guess the idea is to avoid the tooth set interfering with the tracking. Of course. less of a problem with lots of tpi, or minimal set narrow kerf rip blades like that USA sourced Woodslicer, or a meat and fish.