Bought a new Record bandsaw from the Ally Pally show,the BS3000X, it came with a blade but from what i`ve read its best to discard any blade you get with a new machine & buy a could quality one.
So the first question is are Record blades of a good quality. Second does anyone have any tips on setting up a bandsaw. Oh i should have said at the start i`ve never had a bandsaw before, even though i`ve been woodworking 31 years. So i`m a complete novice & would appreciate any advice.
With regards to the blade, I bought a SIP 14" heavy duty bandsaw a few years ago and the blade that came with it was the best blade that I have ever had for it. Admittedly all circular saws (table, chop and portable) that I have bought came with crap blades.
Have watched the wood whisperer, now feel more confident, the instructions that came with the bandsaw were not bad but the photographs were not very clear. It`s always a lot easier when you have watched something rather than just read about it, well at least it is for me, thanks again.
One handy tip with a new bandsaw blade is to gently round over the rear (non toothed) edge of the blade with a cheap oilstone - don't use a good one as it will more than likely leave grooves in it. This will minimise the tendancy for tiny cracks to form as the steel is repeatedly compressed and stretched at the corners, therefore increasing the service life of your blade.
PLEASE make sure you clean out any sawdust and disconnect the bandsaw from your dust extraction before you do this (likewise if you ever cut metal on your bandsaw) as a big shower of sparks going up a pipe full of fine dry dust would be asking for trouble.
Hi Baz, Iv'e had my BS300X for 2 years now, purchased it from DM TOOLS, mine came with a free wheel kit, 3 spare blades and most importantly a dvd hosted by Alan Holtham, which took you through every step of bandsawing, from setting up to using it, if you didn't get a dvd I think you should contact Record and demand one,
The DVD will definitley answer a lot of questions for you. I own a 12" SIP machine and it still helped me out a lot with that.
With regards to tensioning the blade, you'll probably find the gauge inside the machine should only be used as an approximate guide. If you're using a 1/2" blade, you'll probably want to set it to the 5/8" mark, for example.
But, it can depend on what sort of work you are doing!
Never apply tension to it's maximum capacity and aways release the tension when you don't plan on using the machine for a while. You're basically looking for enough tension not to allow the blade to slip off the wheels easily, while I also pluck the blade and listen for a nice note - not one that's so high it sounds as if it might snap!
Good luck! As for blades, I reccomend Dragon Saws (just mentioned this in another thread on this forum). Excellent customer service, very good quality blades.
The Record band saw master class D V D is an excellent instruction tool. to enable you to set the band saw up correctly, but to cut straight your blades must be sharp and in good order, as to letting of the tension I leave mine on all the time, in Stiles and Bates catalogue , I think it was the 2006 they had an article about band saws, and they had found that letting on and of the tension caused the blade to crack, I don't know what other people have found out, The blades I use come from a local saw sharpeners they join there own up , I have found that cutting melamine coated chip board soon takes the edge of the blade, and of course if you cut a lot of discs this to effects the blade when you wish to cut straight,
I think I'll give Dragon blades a try next time I order . as they say word of mouth is the best reccommendation
MFC takes the edge of most blades and cutters in a very short space of time. At work we only use PCD (diamond) cutters on our CNC. If you dont need MFC then use something better.
One last comment about blades, whilst I always use the best blades that I can, from Tewkesbury Saw Co., A month ago I found out that I had no spares and the current blade was going awry, to get the quickest supply possible I ordered a five pack for my B.A.S.150 from Srewfix as I thought that would get me out of trouble, the first blade is still going strong, and I'm getting good results, a five pack was only £29.95, as long as I keep off the dreaded M.D.F. I have an awful lot of good cutting for this money.
I had to use MFC for some units in the spare bedroom to hold the computor and shelves for files etc, and the wife wanted them Beech faced , normally Im cutting bowl blanks , out of greenwood, or any other timber I can get for turning.
I did upgrade the fence on my Record band saw the one they where supplying at the time I purchased mine was rubbish, I got one from Axminister a much sturdier fence altogether, but Record band saws are much improved now, and with a 5year guarantee that can't be bad.
hi baz. just joined today and read your message about bandsaw blades.i have been using trucut blades for about 15 years and find them very good i use about 20 per year.They advertise in the W/W mags. you wont be disappointed. Paul.
I've recently purchased a new Titan Bandsaw fitted with a 1/4" blade, which I believe is utterly useless for the machine. The blade is 56" in length, and I urgently need to purchase another one. So what blade do I need? Would a 1/2" blade cut straighter?
Being a newcomer to bandsaws, I was pleased to see the review in Get Woodworking agreed with my findings - I was beginning to think it was just me.
A wider blade is an aid to cutting straight but the 1/4 " one should do so too. Check out the advice given in another thread on bandsaw set up. Will try to find and paste link .
Roy, any width blade should cut straight, I'll bet you do not have enough tension on your blade, band saw leaflets coming with the saw stress not to over tension, but, believe me, they need a lot of tension, I could play a tune on mine, it is tighter than a drum, also chech your fence for square.
Welcome to the forum, I hope you will enjoy it as much as the rest of us do.
I reckon there are three golden rules for making straight cuts on a bandsaw. If you can keep on top of these, you will get a great deal of pleasure from this accurate and versatile tool.
1) Use good blades and change them when they need it.
- Blades are not all that expensive and they are consumables after all, good ones only cost a few pounds more than cheap 'orrible ones but will outperform them by orders of magnitude. Nipping up the blade tension a wee bit can help you get a few more weeks out of a blade, so order the replacement when you nip it up and when your cuts start to wander, you'll have the new blade on hand ready to install.
2) Check that your bandsaw is clean and correctly set up each time you use it.
- Those workshop goblins love fiddling with guide blocks for some reason! A quick check to make sure the top and bottom guides are half a mm or so away from the blade and that the blade is running in the centre ofthe tyres. It takes seconds and you can fix it before you waste any wood. Extraction makes a huge difference too, even if it's something you've cobbled up from an old vacuum cleaner.
3) Keep the feed rate slow.
- Rushing through a cut when you are ripping or crosscutting by hand makes it more likely to veer off line, the same is true of a bandsaw. If you feed the saw at about twice the speed that you would expect a full sized handsaw with the same size teeth to go through it, you are not far off the mark. Take your time, relax and enjoy how tired your arm isn't at the end of the cut!
draw a straight line on a piece of timber and cut freehand, follow the line, if you can't follow as near as dammit, then you don't have enough tension. Try again.
Hi Link did not work but glad to see others have come forward to help. Can't remember password and it is not registered on laptop! this is coming from somewhere in Kent via satellite, aint modern science great!! Now if they can fix my memory...... regards Rob Johnson.
Thanks for the rapid response regarding my questions on the bandsaw.
Until some new blades arrive, I'm struggling on with the orginal 1/4" blade, which seems to have a mind of it's own, and is presently veering off at an angle of about 15 degrees. I tried tensioning the blade, but, soon as a switch on the machine it either jumps off the wheels or snaps.
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