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Hi

Have bought a small bandsaw and yes it was a cheapy but im governed by a ruthless head of finance (the wife)

Have followed the setup instructions and added plenty of tension..yet the dam thing wont cut straight lines.. i had to remove the guide rail and fight it by moving the wood otherwise it veers off course

Anyone know if its just a case of cheap blade replacement or is there something else amiss

Cheers

Heres a pic of the beast

What size of blade are you using?

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My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

One reason can be a bad blade that has the teeth offset more to one side than the other.

Not sure bri it came with the saw

( 1 ) check the guides . If they are open too much that will cause drift .
( 2 ) how wide is blade ? to narrow a width "not thickness " can add to that issue
( 3 ) yes a cheap blade could be the issue as well

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Most bandsaw blades seem to want to cut a bit off to one side or the other. What you do is find out what the 'drift angle' is by putting a small piece of wood through freehand, following a mark that's parallel to one side. Once you find the angle that makes the saw cut along that line set up the fence for that angle. Yeah, I know; not trivial.

If the cut is crooked; drifting to one side or the other sometimes, and maybe changing drift from time to time, it's a sign that you're pushing the saw beyond it's limits, and probably not keeping the feed rate even. The blade can heat up if you push it too fast, or it can clog up with dust, either of which will cause it to drift. Those small saws really don't have much capacity.

Just opened it up and its not even on the guides
Check out the pics what a load of crap

Had you adjusted them earlier?

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Pat

Replace those with wooden dowels and press them against the blade make sure it doesn't touch the teeth though. Oak ebony is best we're just about any wood.


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Ken

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Ken

Should be upper guides and lower guides.

Exactly and I would say thats 99% of the issue Also while you have it open check the back bearings the blade rides against , are they spinning freely ? If not , when you apply cutting pressure it causes friction and tries to make blade turn.

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

No this is how it came.. very poor.. it wasnt on the upper bearing either pat..

Ok thanks wudwerkr all sorted.. checked and the guides above and below wernt anywhere near the blade.. this is how it came... cheapness comes at a cost... have re aligned all of the guides and it is now cutting straight !!!

Thanks all for the input

I'd suggest shoving a shop vac hose in the thing to suck out the sawdust.

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

Probably a dull blade as well, especially if you have to fight it.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

In case it isn't obvious, that ball bearing behind the blade supports the back of the blade, which should not run along side of the bearing. It should be adjustable in and out to accommodate different size blades and helps to keep the blade centered on the wheel. Clearance should be about 1/16 or less.

Also, if the guides are graphite or ceramic, keep them. Put a dollar bill between the blade and guides and snug them up. Remove the bill and the clearance should be about right.

That's why your cuts are wavy.

Good luck.

Glenn

Also, I advise cleaning all that crud off the interior, and it looks like you need new tires too. I can't quite tell, but they look badly worn.

Most the time the blade that came with bandsaws are dull...

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Okay...
First, clean the interior, as advised.
Next, get a new, sharp blade.
Next, set those blade guides or replace them. If you replace them, set the replacements. You can see this demonstrated and read about it online. I set mine so that I can just slip a piece of thin paper between the blade and the guide on each side.

When you've done all that, your blade might still have a bit of drift. Read Alan Carruth's post about blade drift until you understand what he is saying. He has given VERY good advice about adjusting for blade drift.

Best of luck!

Don't be discouraged with the small bandsaw.
I made several electrics with a 9-in Ryobi saw.
I have a 14" saw now, and I fitted the 9-inch with a fine blade.
I still use the heck out of my 9-incher.
Keep the guts clean. Your saw probably has a vacuum port on it.

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

My first band saw was the 9" Ryobi. I wish I still had it. I mostly use my big one for resawing and I hate reconfiguring it to cut tight curves. One of these days I'll pick up one from CL.

Yeah, I spend at least an hour doing a blade swap, cleaning, and setup.
I have a 3/4" 2 TPI blade on it now.
I'm resawing Mesquite until I run out.

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

A good blade will make a difference, although it's quite possible that the blade on the machine now isn't the one that was shipped with the saw. Buy your blades from Ian at Tuffsaws. These small Bandsaws usually have a little trouble putting enough tension on the blade, hence why they use thin gauge. Wider (or deeper) blades are also harder to tension, so buy 1/4" rather than 1/2" if the work allows.
The side guides will almost certainly be just plain metal rods, they look to be Steel. The small bandsaw that I had were of Brass. On my larger 14" Bandsaw I removed the bearing guides and used some turned Bubinga (end grain) soaked in WD40. You can literally touch the blade with these. Your bandsaw should be OK providing the wood isn't too deep or too hard. Forget trying to cut 3" Ebony, for example.

I'll second that. Together with a good set up, you'll cut anything within the capacity of the saw.

That did not include adjusting the guides?

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Pat