Bandsaw 101 - see pics

[shortnugly]

So, I got a used horz bandsaw. Jet 1/2 hp.

Went to try it out and got my first crooked cut.

Basically put stock in, clamped it and let the weight of the saw rest while cutting.

Results below.


Note the cut veering to right.

See blade flexed to the right.

1/4" Tube

Saw a larger Jet in a steel shop few days ago that had a hydraulic piston that let the saw down real slow.

Is that what I'm missing?

Also, whats the best way to cut 45's on 2x2x1/8" angle?

Chopsaw?

 

[Steve from Socal]

I think there is or was a damper on that saw to begin with. Two things that stand out on the cut shown, the blade tension is too low and the guides are too far from the cut. If the blade is too fine pitch and dull it will wander and if it is not real tight it will be worse. The guide rollers also need to be adjusted and the guides themselves should be within an inch or so of the cut, particularly on wide cuts.

Steve

 

[cnc-me]

Ditto on everything Steve said.
Looks like no set, on one side of the blade,possibly due to a roller hanging down to far.

 

[fatboy99]

I have this same saw when the factory blade wore out i got a starret blade. It cut just like this every time no matter how i adjusted it. So i went to Harbor Freight and got one reset everything to original now it cut's straight ?? Dont ask me why also there is a handel on the back side hooked to the top part of the saw with a spring inside if you twist it it raises or lowers the drop rate.

 

[brownfoot]

the guide brackets are on a pivot, you must adjust the pivoting guide heads to be square with the table and they must be aligned with each other
it takes some fooling with to get it right, but afterwards you should have no problems with squareness if the blade is good, tension is good, and down pressure spring is set
I have cut 3" dia solid 4140 without a squareness problem with one of the $200 HF saws,
have also made repetative cuts on 3/8 x 1 CRS to within 0.020 in length for over 500 pcs.
It is just a matter of adjustment and proper set-up.

 

[brownfoot]

the stationary jaw will pivot to allow 45's and should work ok when aligned

 

[Jim Stabe]

... the guides themselves should be within an inch or so of the cut, particularly on wide cuts.

Steve

The vises on these machines prevent the guides from getting that close to the cut. Has anyone modified the vise for more guide clearance?

 

[Zrexxer]

I've been using that same saw for 5 years. First off, trash the blade it came with. Period. You will never get an accurate cut with a bad blade. Buy a Lenox or Morse bimetal blade and most of your troubles will be solved right there.

Secondly, the required blade tension on these saws is higher than you would ever imagine. So high that tightening the tension knob by hand to the required level is difficult. Don't use any tools on it, but wrap a red shop rag around it for grip and TIGHTEN it.

Third, the blade guides must hold the band square to the table, as previously stated. Use a machinist's square and set them carefully.

Once these things are done, this saw is actually capable of pretty nice cuts. These were made with my exact same Jet... plenty close enough for fab work:

 

[shortnugly]

As stated above, the jaws prevent the guides getting close enough to the blade. I'll grind on them to get clearance. Then adjust them as close as possible.

I'll work on getting the tension set way TIGHT.

I'll adjust and align the guides as best as the saw will allow.

To lighten the feed pressure, I've set the counter-balance tension on the spring as high as it will go.

The blade on there is very fine tooth and probably dull. I'll go get a new bi-metal blade.

I've set the stock guide perfectly square to the blade so that is out of the equation.

On the parts list or owners manual, no piston dampener mechanism is shown. Just the tensioner spring on the side.

Any way to set this up for cutting lubricant? (Don't wanna put too much $$$ into a used saw)

zrexxer - surgical nice cuts.

 

[Zrexxer]

Any way to set this up for cutting lubricant? (Don't wanna put too much $$$ into a used saw)

If you read around online, apparently there are only two people that still have the following opinion: the manufacturer and me.

And that opinion is, these saws are designed to cut dry. Everybody wants to add all kinds of pumping-squirting-lubing business to them, but they cut very well dry. I think it's messy, expensive, and unnecessary for a 4x6 class saw. I fabbed some railings for an elevated deck a couple years ago where we cut nearly a thousand pickets with one of these saws... all dry, and all on one Morse blade. It sure as heck makes cleanup easier being to just brush it off or hit it with a Shop Vac instead of having piles of wet swarf to deal with.

 

[Zrexxer]

p.s. in your picture shown below, don't grind the vise jaw... just loosen the bolt that secures iit in the slotted hole, and move the jaw to the left about 1/2"... problem solved.

 

[brownfoot]

what is the length of the saw blade?
my HF saw uses 60 1/2" blades and have had very good results with the blades I can get from the local "import tool" places, blades are about $6-7 each and good for several hours of DRY (I agree) cutting

 

[Zrexxer]

what is the length of the saw blade?
my HF saw uses 60 1/2" blades and have had very good results with the blades

I believe your HF saw uses the same size at this Jet, which is actually 64-1/2", rather than 60-1/2".

 

[shortnugly]

If you read around online, apparently there are only two people that still have the following opinion: the manufacturer and me.

And that opinion is, these saws are designed to cut dry. Everybody wants to add all kinds of pumping-squirting-lubing business to them, but they cut very well dry. I think it's messy, expensive, and unnecessary for a 4x6 class saw. I fabbed some railings for an elevated deck a couple years ago where we cut nearly a thousand pickets with one of these saws... all dry, and all on one Morse blade. It sure as heck makes cleanup easier being to just brush it off or hit it with a Shop Vac instead of having piles of wet swarf to deal with.

Agreed. Less mess = more better.

recommendations on some blades?

Lehigh Valley Abrasives?
http://www.lehighvalleyabrasives.com/servlet/StoreFront

Thickness and TPI? I'll be cutting mostly mild steel.

 

[brownfoot]

yeah, you are right on the length, that 60 1/2 was an old 3 wheeled wood cutting bandsaw I used to have

 

[jamesemery728]

Here's a 4 X 6 bandsaw site for you.

http://www.mini-lathe.com/Bandsaw/Bandsaw.htm

 

[Hurricane_Whisperer]

You want at least 3 teeth in the cut, so the teeth count must be fine enough to allow that.

That saw has roller guides. You definitely need to move them closer to the work.

Roller guides don't work all that great on a horizontal metal cutting saw. Flat carbide guides work much better. Probably not going to happen on a saw in that price range.

Coolant is good and necessary if equipped with flat carbide guides.

A good brush system that knocks the chips out of the teeth is essential, coolant helps this process.

 

[35mastr]

Yahoo Groups has a 4x6 forum with lots of good tech tips for these saws. Even has a tip on a hydralic cylinder to replace those cheezy springs.

 

[Atlascycle]

As was said above, New blade and make sure that there is enough tension on it, and get the guides as close as possible.

Cutting tubing is one of the harder sawing operations believe it or not.


Jason

 

[buildyourown]

Those saws are junk in general but can be tuned up a bit.
Cut the tab off that blade guide so you can get the guide close to the work.
Make sure you have a hydraulic feed control. If you don't you should be able to retrofit one off of any grizzly/jet/enco saw. They all come out of the same factory. I know Grizzly is good about parts.
Buy good blades. Do-all is were it's at. See if you can mod the guide to run a wider blade.
Make the blade tension is high enough.

You might also consider replacing the roller guides with solid carbide ones. The $10k horizontal saw I use has solid ones and it cuts to the .001"

 

[azotto]

I have that very same saw. Thousands of cuts from 1/2" 16 ga. tubing to 3x3 solid up to heavy wall 6" square tube and never had a problem with square cuts.

1. Slide that jaw to the left (it should "float" with the bolt tightened) If the blade guide hits that jaw, it will walk the blade over to the right.
2. Adjust the feed rate appropriately for the material. There is a spring on the left side.
3. Tighten the blade as much as you can.

The saw looks like it has not been used very much but check out the pivot for excessive play. This happened to my older version of the same saw.

There are several articles on the internet with mods aimed mostly at the lower quality HF version of this saw but can all be adapted to yours if you have a need. The Texas Home Shop Machinist page had a set of free plans for a new stand that included provisions for a coolant system and another site article on converting to a pneumatic feed rate control listing parts from The Surplus Center. Google 4x6 bandsaw and you should have enough reading for many nights.

These saws were never intended to replace a Do All, Wells or any other brand of industrial band saw. Some of them do require a little tweaking from time to time but they work very well in a small or hoe shop.

For blades, I had very good luck with the Rigid brand at Home Depot and they were easy to get. I could not find Bi-Metal blades near me.

 

[azotto]

For cutting angles, once you have the backstop square to the blade, tighten it down and leave it alone. make a 45* fixture to put in the saw vise so I could switch back and forth easily. Again, many ideas on various websites. HomeShop Machinest had plans for an adjustable one several years ago.

 

[shortnugly]

I found a square tab at the end of the guide arm that was not tapped.
Looked just like the one next to it but no hole. Seems it should have been, so I drilled and tapped it.

Allows the guide to extend farther and closer to the material.

Went to local tool shop. He suggested I feel one side of the blade and compare to the other.

Sure enough, the inside had few teeth, while the outside had many more. the outside was grabbing and pulling it it out.

Plunked in a new blade, 14 TPI, and WHAMMO.

First cut dove hard inward. Just like I had it adjusted for the bad blade.

Adjusted the guides slowly back outward and cut again. Better.

Adjusted again and cut again. Very close to center.

Final adjustment.

 

[A_Pmech]

There ya go!