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Bandsaw accuracy?
Arbalist:
That's interesting about cutting plastic. I was thinking of chopping up one of my wife's old bowling balls for a few projects but it sounds like I'll have trouble cutting it!
awemawson:
It's all about having enough room in the gullet of the saw tooth to accommodate the material that's been removed.
sparky961:
--- Quote from: awemawson on February 13, 2016, 02:48:24 PM ---It's all about having enough room in the gullet of the saw tooth to accommodate the material that's been removed.
--- End quote ---
It's an important element in the equation for sure, but in the scenario I described I was using a blade that would have looked more at home on a meat saw! I think it was something like 3TPI. There was plenty of room for chips in those gullets, especially at a very low feed rate. In my application the coarser pitch actually seemed to make things worse, other settings being alike.
The point to take from this is that the width of the blade (not to be confused with the thickness) affects the rigidity. Even if you can effectively fit all of the material removed into the gullet, you can't prevent a too-narrow blade from deflecting to the side in the middle of a long cut. At least, the amount of tension you'd need to put on the blade to do it would be way past the working limit.
nrml:
I would highly recommend Mark Duginske's 'New Complete Guide to Band Saws'. It is written in a very simple style aimed at students and amateurs, but there is quite a lot of very useful knowledge in it that can only be gained otherwise by years of working on vertical bandsaws. What that guy doesn't know about woodworking bandsaws isn't worth knowing.
Edit:
If you are looking at buying new blades, I would recommend tuffsaws.co.uk . No connection. Just a satisfied customer. Excellent customer service, Starrett stock and a great choice of sizes & grades. Plus you are supporting a one man UK based business.
Lew_Merrick_PE:
Ade,
I "resaw" logs all the time for guitar ribs, backs, and soundboards. (1) A sharp blade that is well set with sufficient gullet is the first key feature to be maintained. (2) Use the widest blade your saw will handle! (3) Setting your guide blocks or guide rollers properly (I use a 0.0005 inch thick cigarette paper for this task) is extremely important. And, (4) use of a fence that "follows the kerf" accurately is also key.
One of the things I do is to set a (pulley system) "drop bag" to pull the piece through the cut. Once the "line" is set straight, gravity does the rest -- and gravity never gets tired...
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