Re-Sawing on HFBS

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  • MBG
    Senior Member
    • Apr 2003
    • 945
    • Chicago, Illinois.
    • Craftsman 21829
    #1

    Re-Sawing on HFBS

    I've had my HFBS w/riser block for about a year now. I have used it to re-saw small stock with a 3/8" band with good results.

    I'm currently working on upgrading my workbench to include an end vise. I purchased some 8/4's maple for the vise jaws. I also plan to build a 6" tall 3/4" thick skirt out of the 8/4 maple that required re-sawing. I installed my 3/4" TimberWolf band on the saw and have a few questions for those who have done this before:

    1) The 3/4" band tracked forward - not centered on wheels. My bandsaw book said this is normal for a wider blade. Have others experienced this? If so do you make wheel adjustments to compensate? (all my other bands track on center of the wheel)

    2) Tensioning - I followed the TW guide but it was scarey tight to me - maybe because the 3/4" blade is much stiffer than the 1/4" or 3/16" ones I use most of the time. Do others notice you really need to crank the tension knob for this blade?

    3) I could feed my 6' long 8/4's maple board at about 5/16" to 1/2" per second - is this typical?

    4) My finished boards only varied in thickness by about 0.010" - seemed good to me but I recall seeing guys cutting 1/64" thick veneers. How do they do this?

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Tags: None
    • Tom Miller
      Veteran Member
      • Mar 2003
      • 2507
      • Twin Cities, MN
      • BT3000 - Cuttin' it old school
      #2
      I'm no expert, and the largest blade I have for my BS (Jet 14" w/riser) is a 1/2. (When I ordered my first batch of blades from Suffolk, they recommended a 1/2" as the largest blade for my saw.) So I don't have any experience there. But I will say I'm not surprised that you find you really have to crank to get the tension for a 3/4", compared to 1/4" or less.

      Resawing 6" wide maple at 1/2" per second seems reasonable, but you didn't say what was limiting the feed rate. Was the motor bogging down? Did you feel you were having to push too hard to go faster? Or was the blade not tracking if you went faster?

      0.010" variation sounds reasonable to me. And who uses 1/64" veneers?

      Regards,
      Tom

        Comment

        • MBG
          Senior Member
          • Apr 2003
          • 945
          • Chicago, Illinois.
          • Craftsman 21829
          #3
          Tom - my feed rate is based on my feel for the force needed to push the board throught the blade. It tracked pretty straight, but, next time I will need to build a tall finger board to help keep the board against the fence rather than using my hand force.

          BTW: this 3/4" blade running in the BS made me respect my BS a little more than in the past.

          Mike

            Comment

            • Ken Massingale
              Veteran Member
              • Dec 2002
              • 3862
              • Liberty, SC, USA.
              • Ridgid TS3650
              #4
              Mike,
              I really don't think a 3/4" blade can be adequately tensioned on a 14" BS. Especially with the stock HF tension spring. I have the HF BS and got a new spring from Louis Iturra(888-722-7078).
              You should give him a call and get his 'catalog'. It's a wealth of info on bandsaws and their usage.
              ken

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