Bandsaw-1st lesson

[Dave Jett]

Just bought my first andsaw, a Delta 10". Tuned it according to instructions elsewhere on this site. Cut just fine with the OEM blade.

Decided to use it to slice some pieces off one of those fire logs. The type you just light and it burns by itself.

BAD IDEA. These things are made of goopy sticky wax and sawdust! Had to spend the next couple of hours learning how to replace the blade and clean the tires on the wheels. Finally got it all cleaned off. Had to scape and wipe. Took 2 minutes to fowl the blade and load up the inside of the saw with damp wax/sawdust mixture, and two hours cleaning it all off.

Lesson learned-don't try to cut up those firelogs with your woodworking tools.

[Tequila]

It's a pretty bad idea to do anything other than burn that stuff. It's intentionally very flammable - consider yourself lucky that a piece didn't hit a hot piece of metal and catch fire.

[RayintheUK]

You may have been luckier than you realize - if you were cutting slices off a round piece of wood, this should always be done using a "V" block, otherwise the piece can be spun by the blade, hurtle round the shop, break the blade or - worst case scenario - drag your hand into the blade.

I'm not sure if that is what you did, but as it's your first bandsaw, the heads-up may be useful.

Ray.

[scorrpio]

These things are usually not round - they are not real 'logs'. What prompted you to try cutting one anyway? No real scrap wood anywhere in the house?

[Tundra_Man]

You may have been luckier than you realize - if you were cutting slices off a round piece of wood, this should always be done using a "V" block, otherwise the piece can be spun by the blade, hurtle round the shop, break the blade or - worst case scenario - drag your hand into the blade.

Or in my case: bend the blade, destroy the upper and lower bearings and punch me in the face with a flying piece of wood... all in the blink of an eye. The worse part is, I'm a slow learner so I had to do this twice before I figured it out!

[just4funsies]

T-Man, did you suffer memory loss after that first blow to the head? The WW gods rarely send a second "hint", and usually not even a first...

[Tundra_Man]

T-Man, did you suffer memory loss after that first blow to the head? The WW gods rarely send a second "hint", and usually not even a first...

I refuse to answer this question on the grounds that I may incriminate myself.

[dale]

Terry, I rememeber you posting about kickback from your bandsaw in another thread--something about you eventually deciding you were trying to make a cut that just shouldn't be done on a bandsaw. Was this what you were talking about?

[thestinker]

Wow..thus far about all I have cut with my saw is flat wood. I think I will keep it that way. By the way what is a "v block" anyway, should I want to cut something round?

[RayintheUK]

Wow..thus far about all I have cut with my saw is flat wood. I think I will keep it that way. By the way what is a "v block" anyway, should I want to cut something round?

It's a jig with a v-shaped cut-out in it. The circular stock sits in the "V" which gives it support from two sides. The jig and the stock are pushed into the blade to make the cut in some cases. Here's a quick drawing:


HTH

Ray.

[Dave Jett]

butcher saw

so its safe to assume you guys have never used any of your woodworking tools/saws for other purposes?...say, like butchering a deer or a hog?...just kidding.

The original firelogs were too long to fit inside my patio fireplace (Chimnea). They are flat on one side, so there was no problem with them turning during the saw cut. They seemed fairly hard, but I later found I could break them in half by hand. They don't catch fire very easily. Cant light them with a match, needs paper kindling to start the fire or you have to hold a bic lighter to it for about a minute before it starts burning. I don't think there's a serious threat of catching fire in the saw but what a mess to clean up!

[just4funsies]

I refuse to answer this question on the grounds that I may incriminate myself.

You might wanna worry about exterminating yourself, instead...

[scorrpio]

so its safe to assume you guys have never used any of your woodworking tools/saws for other purposes?...say, like butchering a deer or a hog?...just kidding.

Kidding aside, Grizzly does sell a selection of meat bandsaws. But those include devices to prevent blood and various pieces from getting carried into the machine and eventually stinking it up. I would not consider cutting meat on a wood bandsaw.

Woodworking tools can be used to cut plastics, and some metals - though you usually need to use special blades.

For round stock, you don't really need a V-block. Just take a flat piece - like a section of 2x4 - and clamp the round piece to it.

[Tundra_Man]

Terry, I rememeber you posting about kickback from your bandsaw in another thread--something about you eventually deciding you were trying to make a cut that just shouldn't be done on a bandsaw. Was this what you were talking about?

Yep, that would be the one. In Duginske's book he mentions that kickback on a band saw is nearly impossible. Apparently I had to prove him correct by discovering the method in which it can be accomplished.

The best part is, it happened while I was making a fret-bending jig. I could have bought the jig pre-made for $20, but I figured I could make one out of scrap wood. Between the two new blades, replacement bearings and a couple of face bruises I spent over $50. My, aren't I thrifty?

[dale]

I'm just glad I get to learn from other people's mistakes before I have to repeat them myself. I never would have that about cutting a round piece of material on a bandsaw and having it fly into my face. Now I'll know. Similarly, I never would have thought to through a new bandsaw blade away from me after undoing the twisties so it wouldn't cut the snot out of me--I learned that here, too.

Now if I could just feel better long enough to finish up the "honey-dos" so I could get back in the garage long enough to tune up that new bandsaw and get rid of the vibration--I really want to make a bandsaw box!