hookedonrc

A friend of mine from the flying club gave me a bandsaw last week. I was in need of something other than my 10 inch table saw to cut wood during my kit building. I have a couple of questions.

1. How do you measure the blade size? He wasn't sure, and it really needs a new blade before I use it for actual cutting.

and

2. When I try to cut a straight line, the blade tends to wander off at an angle. I figure that it is because the blade is dull and I need a new one, or I am pushing to hard, or the guide is just not keeping the blade straight. I have never had one of these before, and just need a little guidance. It is quite an old saw, but hey, my friend gave it to me and I really appreciate it. Any help would be appreciated.

pettit

My Feedback: (23)

Measure the total linear length of the band saw blade. Look at how much adjustment is available in the idler pulley. YOu may be able to get an exact match in size,

Angle cutting is a combination of worn blade, mis-adjusted guides, worn blade, pushing too hard and worn blade.

Get the picture?

hookedonrc

Got It...thanks. The guide is probably not going to be much help. It is just a block of metal with a slot in it. The blade runs thruough it freely and so it won't hold the blade straight anyway. I figured with a new sharp blade that cutting a straight line will be easier, but maybe still not the best with the old guide that it has.

Rodney

Use as wide a blade as you can get for straight cuts. Narrower blades will cut tighter corners but are poor for straight cuts. Yes, a dull blade will give you tracking problems. Incidently, you will find the fastest way to dull a blace is to cut some plastic--avoid if possible.

hookedonrc

Thanks Rodney, I hadn't considered the width of the blade. Having never had one before, I have never looked at the blades at the hardware store. I did take the current blade and cut an arc in a piece of 1X4 and it does work well. I figured much of what you and pettit have indicated, but just wanted to confirm my assumptions. I figured I could measure the linear length of the blade, but the guy who gave me the saw said something about measuring the opening between the blade and the back of the overhang. I do have plenty of room on the adjustments so if the blade is an inch or two longer than the one on the saw now, I will still be able to tighten it enough.

khodges

My Feedback: (1)

I found that a 3/8 wide blade is a good all around blade, go with finer teeth, more like a hacksaw blade, but without the wavy kerf. Balsa won't tear as bad with finer toothed blades, and you'll get a smoother cut with plywoods. You should have roller guides above and below the table surface that are adjustable, three rollers on each, one on either side of the blade and one behind, or just one behind and a small adjustable "slider" on each side, helps keep the blade from wandering as you cut. The upper guide is about 6-10 inches above the table and the lower one is just below the table.

Have fun, and count your fingers before and after each use

woodbutcher

Are your blade guides one piece of metal or 2 pieces that slide to meet the blade. On smaller band saws 2 pieces is the norm. If so you can take them out and turn them for closer contact. On small blades , 1/8", I replace the metal with nylon or hard maple that I can push right into the blade from both sides.

The other thing to keep in mind is how much tension your putting on the blade. Too little, wandering blade, too much, snap.[&o]

On the small blades this can be a little tough to get right and can be more important depending on the workings of the saw. I set my small blade by plucking, like a guitar string. I'm not musical at all, so this comes with some trial and error. Remember, do, re, me, fa, so, la etc. ?

Be sure to do this when nobody else is around so they don't call the "nice men in white coats". Pluck and tension the blade somewhere between "me" and "fa".

If you start singing in the shop and develop "Greatest Hits On The Bandsaw" don't blame me!

hookedonrc

Well the saw does not have the roller guides. It is a pretty old saw, and only has a guide on the top, none under the cutting table. You can see from the pics that it is just an arm with a piece of metal in the area where the blade runs. Nothing on the bottom for a guide either. Not sure if these pictures help, or change your advice, but wanted to put them out there just in case.

woodbutcher

I think you may have a meat cutting saw. That's why the top guide is so big and no bottom guide.

It looks pretty rugged so with a little work you could get this tuned pretty well. It would be helpful to know what type of cutting and material you want to do. Resawing ? Curves?

If you replace the metal guide with 2 pieces of hard maple and shimming them to allow the thickness of the blade plus a little (thickness of masking tape) it should work better. It's hard to tell from the picture but it looks like you've got some adjustments at the bottom of the post.

This saw would work reasonably well, as is, with a sharp, wide ( 1/2"+), rougher cutting blade, and good tension. With the guide above you could get the narrower, finer blades but may have to then do something about bottom guides. If you want to go that far PM me and I can give you a trick for a false table and dowel guides that would work OK.

PLEASE PUT A BLADE GUIDE ON !!! Look at some band saws and see how there is a guard that is in front of the blade and a little above the guide. Even if you fashion something out of plywood. You might be able to attach it with the cover knob above the blade guide. If you slot the guard you could move it up and down as you adjust the guide height. Blades that snap while cutting can get wild or come off track.

Good luck. Let me know if there are any other questions.

hookedonrc

Thanks for the tips. I am going out Christmas shopping today and will look at a new band saw to see what you mean about the guide. My intent is for the saw to be able to cut light ply and, if needed, some balsa. I do have an adjustable sliding arm for cutting like on a table saw. (Sorry, I just can't think of what you call it. Haven't had my first cup of coffee yet.) I would like to be able to cut up to 1" stock at different angles without dragging out the table saw. It is quite possible that this saw may not fit the bill, but the cost was certainly right. I appreciate all of your help and will PM if I have other questions. It may come down to just going and getting a new saw, but want to give this one a chance first.

khodges

My Feedback: (1)

It looks like a pretty nice saw, woodbutcher's ideas are really good (and I'll bet he has all his fingers, too). Just play with it using different sizes of scrap and see how it performs, feed thicker, or harder pieces more slowly.

woodbutcher

Do you mean the miter gauge that slides in the groove and adjusts to different angles? I don't see and set-up on your saw for a fence?

For doing the type of cutting you're talking about , probably a 10 to 14 tooth per inch blade would work best. Hopefully you're blade size is close to a standard length. If the blade you have now measures to be a standard size, great. If not adjust your wheel at both limits and wrap a string around to measure. Maybe you can find something close.

Grizzly Tools has pretty good prices on blades for the quality.

Looking at those pictures again. I think you could drill and tap from both sides at the top of the blade guide threaded holes for nylon bolts. You could turn them in from both sides to run against the blade as side guides.

I'm curious, what is the manufacturers name on this saw?

hookedonrc

Yes, the miter guage is what I was referring to. It does not have a fence. The brand is: Tomlee Tool and Engineering out of Minneapolis. It is a Model 46 and weighs a ton for its size. As far as blade size is concerned, the adjustment screw device inside has at least 3-4 inches of play for tightening so I do have the room for adjustment. I like the idea of drilling and tapping for a couple of nylon screws as guides. Just never had a tap and dye set. Maybe a good reason to get one and learn how to use it.

woodbutcher

I think you've got a "vintage" woodworking bandsaw. I'm not sure why they manufactured it without adjustable top and lower blade guides considering how beefy the construction. They might have been trying to mfct. for Sears and keep the cost down.

Here's a picture of another model 46, but not too much info. Try this link: http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=931

hookedonrc

Thanks woodbutcher, that is the saw. Only difference is mine does not have the Toro emblem on it. It is the Tomlee Tool label. Overall, it may be to my benefit to just look at new ones. First, I will try a new blade and see how it goes. A new blade wouldn't cost that much so I wouldn't have that much invested in it. It may fit the bill since what I am planning to use it for is model construction. If I were planning true heavy woodworking with hardwoods and such, it would probably not be up to the task. Thanks for all of your input, it has been very helpful. I also found this link with a pdf file on the different Tomlee tools. It has the band saw listed and gives the specs that I need. It is a 64 inch blade, and the document even has the recommended motor size and rpm rating. From what I can see in the pictures, there isn't anything missing on the blade guide, but a lot of things have changed in the last 50 years. Not sure if there is any value in this saw other than trying to use it.

http://files.owwm.com/PDF/Tomlee/1952-Tomlee103.pdf#search='tomlee%20tools'

Xrod

My Feedback: (2)

Here's a trick you can try; get a piece of scrap, say a 1" by 2" and mark a line down the length of it. Use your saw to cut a straight line, adjusting the feed angle till it does so. Once it is tracking straight down your line, stop the saw and mark the edge of the 1" by 2" directly on the table. Now you can clamp another piece parallel to this line to act as a fence, and you will be able to cut a straight line. I do this when resawing material, as every bandsaw has some error. It depends on blade tension, and this won't help you if the blade wanders from side to side. Good luck, and Merry Christmas.
Steve

rctrax

I found that blade wander is mostly from a dull blade, also if mone side is worn as in something has been riding agianst one side the teeth will be sharper on one side than the other, which will make it wander. I had the same problem when I bought a used sears saw and could not get a straight cut untill I tried a new blade and then it worked great. This is the most used tool I have in the shop.

hookedonrc

thanks trax: I am going with a new blade as soon as I find one the right size. As I remember, the pdf file indicated above says a 62-64 inch blade. Was in Sears today, but they didn't have any blades short enough. Will be off to Home Depot and Lowes as soon as the holiday is behind us. The blade that is in the saw now is pretty dull so I figure most the wander is due to that.

On another note, if you look at the pictures, you can see the miter guide off in the background in one of the pics. It is not of very good quality and I am wondering if any of you know where I can look into getting one to replace it. One of better quality of course.

woodbutcher

Grizzly Tool http://www.grizzly.com/

64" Blade 14 TPI X1/4" http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...mnumber=g5147& $8.95

X 3/8" http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...mnumber=g5150& $8.95

hookedonrc

Thanks woodbutcher, your help on pointing me in the right direction has been appreciated. Thanks to all of you who have helped to answer my questions.