# Bandsaw not cutting straight.



## Andy (Apr 7, 2007)

I have a Kity 613 bandsaw which i have owned from new, maybe 7-8 yrs and i keep having trouble getting straight cuts when ripping timber. I don't use it very often but when i do i often spend ages getting it all set up only for the cut to wander badly. I am using 1" 3tpi blades and go to great lengths to get it running right only to be disappointed and i am on the verge of selling it. Has anyone got any ideas before i do, i know it's a good saw but have run out of ideas unless it is the blades themselves letting it down. Can anyone help. Regards Andy (from the UK).


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## SawDustJack (Nov 6, 2006)

Sometimes if the wood has a bow or some other stress area , the blade will wander .. Am not familiar with your saw .. They can be aggravating at times .. The blade guides and blocks may need tweaking a bit ..


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## Andy (Apr 7, 2007)

It seems to happen regardless of what wood i use and even free hand is a struggle. I have resharpened the blades with a diamond file to make sure they are sharp but to no avail, and am now wondering if it is the set that is the problem. I was considering one of these tipped resaw blades as most work on this saw is ripping but the resaw blades are very expensive if i find out that they don't cure the problem.Cheers Andy


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## Burlkraft (Oct 15, 2006)

Andy,

Can you tell where the problem is exactly..???

Is it blade drift, feed speed, are you using a fence, or maybe the type of blade you are using ???

I've had pretty good luck with Timberwolf and Woodslicer...expensive blades, but worth it when working with expensive wood.

Blade guides maybe...Have you ever tried Cool Blocks..???

I had a fence on my Delta that I threw out the door one day. I've been using a piece of 3" aluminium angle since then and clamping it. Seems to work real well.

I was just ripping some ebony this morning and actually being kind of impressed with how well it was cutting. Ebony is very hard and I usually have mixed results, but this went well. I was using a 3/8" 3 tpi Timberwolf.

I guess another major thing to check is band wheel alignment and tracking. If it has been doing this since you got it, that might be a place to look.

That's about all I can come up with.

Let me know if you find the problem....


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## Andy (Apr 7, 2007)

the timber seems to end up wedged between the blade and the fence but only when the blade decides to go walkies. I just went to check how much blade deflection it has when the roller guides are moved out of the way and it is about half an inch. Putting the guides back i did a couple of perfect 1/8th rips of 2" pine x 3' typical, never goes wrong when you want it to. I am still wondering wether the blades have enough set. regards Andy


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## Burlkraft (Oct 15, 2006)

Try to take some measurements on the ends of your fence when it does that. The problem with my fence was that the back side of the fence was not locking down properly and the fence drifted not the blade.


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## Andy (Apr 7, 2007)

I have made a high rip fence that clamps both ends, to no avail. If i try and use it free hand it can be like trying to drive up a country lane trying to keep it aligned to a pencil mark. Regards Andy


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## Lee (Dec 22, 2006)

Hi Andy;

Have you taken the time to "tune" your saw. This can often be the difference beteen cursing your saw and lovin it.

If you not sure how to do this, there is a great video produced by Taunton Press ( Fine Woodworking Mag), called "Mastering Your Bandsaw" by Mark Duginske. 

He also has a video covering the major woodworking machines, called "Mastering your Woodworking Machines". I beleive that's the correct title. It covers the bandsaw in this video as well.

Mark is a Master with machines, and demonstrates the results that are possible once tuned. I think he does that to make the rest of us feel humble.

They are excellent resources for all woodworkers.


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## Andy (Apr 7, 2007)

Thanks Lee, but i have Duginske's by my computer right now and have read it cover to cover a few times, by rights my bandsaw should be set up ok. I am thinking it may require new blades to cure the problem. regards Andy


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## JCCLARK (Jan 30, 2007)

I'll probably get a lot of disagreement on this but I find my bandsaw
resaws lumber much better if I use a smaller blade.
I have a big 1" wide one and I never use it anymore,
I use a 1/4" blade and it does much better.
Just the opposite of what I've read.
Maybe it's because my saw is a cheap one and can't tension the
larger one enough, I don't know.
All I know is I've tried lots of different blades and the smaller one does
better for everything.
So I use a 1/4" blade and leave it in there.
So you may want to try a smaller blade.:icon_cheesygrin:


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## Burlkraft (Oct 15, 2006)

I do believe that is the case Jim.:yes: :yes: 

On my Delta I find that with harder woods a 1/4" blade works better than a 3/4" blade.

I also have a Hitachi resaw bandsaw that has a 3" blade and as long as it's nice and sharp cuts just about everything nice and straight..


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## Orson Carter (Mar 24, 2007)

Hi Andy and all,
I think everone has covered this off, but I just wanted to add my two cents. I had endless trouble getting anything I resawed or ripped to come out the way it should. I found that tightening the blade (17" local brand saw, using 1" 3TPI) helped as well as watching the feed rate. It doesn't take much to make the blade move, particularly in the middle of the piece and thus change the tracking. I cut a 6" high by 11/2"deep by 2 1/2ft piece of Fijian Kauri yesterday with excellent results.

Orson


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## Lee (Dec 22, 2006)

Hi BurlKraft;

It must be nice to have that hitachi saw. I've often fantasized about one of those. 

So many toys, so little time!


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## gormanguitars (Apr 21, 2007)

*Kity 613*

Hi Alan,

I hope you have sorted out your problem. I owned a kity 613 for many years. On my saw it had uncrowned wheel tryes and required the blades teeth to run off the edge of the tyre. I am not sure if this is the same with the later models. I had no problems re- sawing billets (Australian Blackwood) up to full height of the saws capacity. With that said , I had previous taken some of the same stock to get re-sawn on a large commercial Re-saw. Unfortunately this saw had a dull blade and ultimately cost me a lot of wood. Lesson #1. Always ensure the blade is sharp. Don't under estimate your machine. This was the best bandsaw I ever owned and was always amazed by it capacity to resaw hardwood. Lesson#2 Spend the time fine tuning the saw,( This sounds like you have the right resources already)

I am using 1" Lenox trimaster Carbide tipped blades for all my re-sawing these days. 

Hope this helps


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## solidwoods (Apr 26, 2007)

No problem.
All bandsaws cut straight if the set up is right.
Something is wrong,, just what.
My first guess is blade grind and set,, sharpening a blade by hand should only be done once (I say not at all but). Then send the blade to a pro to sharpen. Why? (I sawmill and pro sharpen blades). The auto grinders will sharpen the whole gullet and make it uniform,, the hand sharpening is very inaccurate and makes all sorts of oddities in the gullet. As the wood moves through the gullet during cutting, the dust collects more in some gullets and spills out in others. The whole cut ability is out of balance.
It may not sound like much but the little difference times blade spinning how fast? will make it not path right.

Next is the blade tracking right?
Move the blade guides away from the blade so they don't touch it.
Tension the blade as normal.
Spin the blade by hand (normal rotation).
The blade should track on the drive/driven wheels perfect (typically bottom of the gullet just off the wheels).
When tracking is OK, bring the guides back and set per mfr instructions (typically, guide just misses the back of the blade,, you don't want either guide to be influencing the blade)

Wheel shaft bearings going out is another cause of can't keep the track right (but sounds like new machine)

More blade tension is not the answer and can make bad cuts worse. Use only as much tension as necessary.

Size of blade.
Narrower blades take less pwr but will fail a little sooner with wider cuts compared to a wider blade. 

Send the blades to someone with an auto sharpener that will sharpen/profile the entire gullet (the only non grey hair headache way to ensure a propper set up blade)

jim


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