Originally Posted by
r ward
a well set up band saw will cut dead straight,...there are cabinet shops that don't even have a table saw because the have a good size band saw,....it will do just about any ripping and crosscutting a table saw will do with equal precision and less waste. you are either, feeding too fast for the tooth count or your guide blocks/ wheels are not set close enough to the blade, or one side of your blade may have lost some set in places, from the teeth hitting a guide block or wheel. it only takes just a touch of the tip of the teeth to completely wipe out the tracking ability of a blade. you might also try a bit more tension on the blade. depending on the age of the saw, you might also check the top wheel's bearing and tracking plate's pivots. play in either of these will produce a wavy cut, as the blade will try to steer the wheel instead of the wheel steering the blade. you should not be able to rock the blade side to side from front to rear of the saw. as you face the diameter of the upper wheel grab the left and right side and see if you can rock the wheel back and forth. if there is anything more than barely percievable play, that is your wavy cut. that rocking steers the blade left and right as it cuts.
I find what you describe as very enlightening. From your description of how accurate a cut can be with a band saw, and how very adjustable and capable it is, I've concluded that I must know little about it and have never utilized its full potential.
I basically use the band saw with the narrowest blade available to help me scroll through wood and cut out a rough jig-saw profile of the shape I need. If I'm not doing a fine precision cut, this 3/4HP band saw is stronger and faster then trying to use my small 16" scroll saw for that. It's also handy for cutting balsa sticks or sheet balsa into smaller sections real fast. LOL.
I'm sorry that I have never had the opportunity to learn of its full potential as you have. (Not being sarcastic. I really wish I knew how to use it like you do) I envy your knowlege of it. I have never used it for work, or had friends or family own a band saw for me to watch and learn about it's full potential. I'm embarrassed to tell you that I owned that tool for about 15 years before I realized that the miserable POS 5/8" wide blade that came with the saw out of the box was NOT the only size available to me!!! LOL I couldn't scroll any kind of small or fine shape with that thick 5/8" blade, and all it did was make straight cuts in everything. Heck, my table saw did that! LOL. I had wondered why a band saw was such a popular tool, being it was so limited! Only when I went to replace that worn out 5/8" thick blade 15 years later did I see smaller and finer sized 1/4" scroll blades hanging on the rack at Lowe's and finally realize it's potential and appreciate the tool. I put a new 1/4" scrolling sized blade in that band saw and suddenly I opened a whole world of shaping wood pieces that I couldn't do for the first 15 years.
Yes, I am quite aware of all the little knobs and adjustments for the blade..... but obviously I still don't use them to the band saw's full potential, and how to use it properly to the extent that you do. Wish I could witness you using that tool in the precision manner you describe. I'd love to see how you shape an aileron as you describe it. Thanks for the input.