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Bandsaw Speed

G

Gregg Adams

Joined
Feb 12, 2011
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Location
Mississippi
I have a G0513X2 17" bandsaw with a 2hp motor, and have been very happy with it in the short time that I've had it. It came set at 1700 fpm. I was wondering would it be benificial to change the speed to 3500 fpm?

Thank you,
Gregg
 
What advantage do you envision it would have to speed up the FPM?

I don't claim to be very knowledgeable about this, but it would seem that the potential feed rate might increase somewhat. Not sure it would be an advantage unless doing production sawing....... 😕

ooc
 
My 18" Rikon has two speeds and I use the high speed it cuts much cleaner and faster but I feel I have more control because I don't have to push the wood also feel safer because of the same.
Just my $.02😀
 
Gregg Adams said:
I have a G0513X2 17" bandsaw with a 2hp motor, and have been very happy with it in the short time that I've had it. It came set at 1700 fpm. I was wondering would it be benificial to change the speed to 3500 fpm?

Thank you,
Gregg
Click to expand...

The ideal speed range is about 2400 to 3200 FPM for wood cutting. On a smaller diameter wheel such as 14 inches, a speed of about 2700 FPM is a good compromise between cutting speed vs. wrapping and unwrapping the blade around the wheels (which leads to work hardening and fluttering). A larger saw such as 18 inches could go as fast as about 3400 FPM before fluttering becomes a problem.

A speed of 1700 FPM is unnecessarily slow for woodcutting on your 17 inch saw while 3500 FPM could possibly lead to early work hardening of the blade (evidenced by cracking in the gullets) especially if the tension is set very high. Depending on your speed choices, I would go for a higher speed and make sure that blade tension is set as low as possible with the blade running smoothly.
 
Odie: I really wasn't sure if there would be any advantage or not. I know how some things come from the factory pre set, but not necessarily the best setting. This curiosity I have might stem from eariler years when accelerators and stereos had two speeds, off or wide open 😀

After reading Harry and Bills' responses (thanks guys), I think I'll try the higher speed and see how it performs. Heck, I can always change it back. I guess I was wondering if it was even worth messing with.

Thanks all,
Gregg
 
I hadnt even thought of this. I have been getting some rough cuts using my 3 tpi blade in some splintery woods - I am going to go home and speed up my bandsaw and see what happens. Thanks for asking the question Gregg
 
I would guess that the most important thing would be feet per minute, which means same rpm on different wheels will give you different fpm speeds. Main thing in getting blades to cut well are having the bandsaw set up properly, and having a sharp blade. Biggest culprit here is a dull blade. We are generally very good about keeping turning tools sharp, but less attentive to our bandsaws. I keep several blades on hand, so after a couple of them are dull, I take them to be sharpened, and still have one good one to put on the saw. Dull blades are dangerous!

robo hippy
 
robo hippy said:
I would guess that the most important thing would be feet per minute, which means same rpm on different wheels will give you different fpm speeds. Main thing in getting blades to cut well are having the bandsaw set up properly, and having a sharp blade. Biggest culprit here is a dull blade. We are generally very good about keeping turning tools sharp, but less attentive to our bandsaws. I keep several blades on hand, so after a couple of them are dull, I take them to be sharpened, and still have one good one to put on the saw. Dull blades are dangerous!

robo hippy
Click to expand...

I agree and a rough cut is often the result of having a dull blade and trying to compensate for it by pushing harder on the wood. This is not much different than trying to cut with a dull bowl gouge where the end result is a lot of hard work to make an ugly cut.

For the most part, cutting at a slow speed just means it takes a lot longer to cut through a piece of wood. In any case, we should avoid the temptation to speed up the process by pushing the wood through the blade. Let the blade decide how fast it wants to cut.
 
Last edited:
Greg Keddy said:
I hadnt even thought of this. I have been getting some rough cuts using my 3 tpi blade in some splintery woods - I am going to go home and speed up my bandsaw and see what happens. Thanks for asking the question Gregg
Click to expand...

Greg, I hope it improves cuts for both of us. If you try it, please let us know your results.

Good luck!
 
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