Bandsaw blade questions

[cgallery]

I purchased a little Inca 205 bandsaw (8" wheels). The previous owner left a blade on it, but told me I should get some new blades. I've ordered some Timberwolf blades due to the rave reviews here. In the meantime, I thought I'd try the blade that is already on it.

When running the saw there is some vibration. The blade has a small area (about 6-8" of a 76" blade) that sorta deviates towards the right about 1/32 to 1/64" of an inch. This causes it to rub on the right-hand guide a little.

(1) Is this normal? I've applied tension according to the Inca manual. It seems to be tracking the wheels correctly.

I guess when the new blades arrive it will be easy to tell if the blade makes much of a difference. I don't get very smooth cuts with the current 1/4" blade. Hoping things work better with the Timerwolf blades.

(2) Do you guys sharpen bandsaw blades, or do you just buy news ones? The small 76" blades are only approx. $10 each. I can't imagine I could get them sharpened for much less than that.

Thanks,
Phil

[Pappy]

The cost to sharpen would probably be much more than the cost of new blades.

[cwsmith]

If I understand you correctly, there is only a short (6 to 8 inches) of the blade that rubs on the guide as it passes through?

Sounds like the blade was bent or stored improperly. I don't think that would cause th vibration you are getting though..

When the guides are adjusted properly, The upper and lower guide should be vertically aligned so that the blade passes down through the guides and is not pushed off at an angle.

Likewise, neither left or right guide blocks should touch the blade. The clearance should be about the thickness of a $ bill. When looking at the side of the blade, the guides should be positioned half way between the bottom of the gullet and the back edge of the blade. (of course on real thin blades, like 1/8 inch, this may not be possible). The thrust bearing should be positioned just behind the back edge of the blade, but not close enough to spin when the blade is running freely. It should just enougth to stop the blade from moving back when wood is being fed... you don't want the blade pushed back to a point where the guides with strike the tooth gullet.

I hope this helps,

CWS

[LCHIEN]

I'm with CWS, the blade is damaged. Besides the previous owner told you you should buy a new blade.
I think that's horse trader speak for "I damaged the blade, you need a new one."
At least, it would be on eBay.