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Bandsaw/Wet Wood

G

glenn schaffer

Joined
Sep 7, 2009
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Greetings... I have a Jet 14" bandsaw with a riser. I have an awful time when cutting wet wood with the sawdust getting stuck to the both the upper and lower wheels. It clogs up so quickly that when I finish one cut, the blade comes forward and rubs on the guard - then I have to open the saw and clean off the wheels after every cut. The sawdust even clumps on the inside of the blade.

I've looked at and read reviews of the aftermarket brushes but I don't get that they're sturdy enough. They also mount on the lower wheel, which I don't see being of value when my main problem seems to be the upper one. But I could be wrong. If anyone has any thoughts on how to keep these wheels clean cutting wet wood - I'd love some feedback.

Thank you.
Glenn
 
what kind of a blade are you using?
for resawing and cutting wet woods should be using a 3 - 4 TPI blade
this allows for the wood to clear the cut better without clogging.
Wet woods will definitely clog faster than dried too .......

and you don't say, are you using a dust collection system?
if not, that's one part of your solution.
and since blade travels downward motion, that's why brush is mainly on bottom wheel .....
 
Itura design

contact Itura design in Florida. They will be able to help you. I don't have the number handy but am certain they will have the answer.
 
I saw wet wood a lot with a woodturners blade, 3/8" with heavy set .032 thick. These are available several places; 3tpi.

I got the wheel brush and found it works. I also put a 4" dust port in the lower wheel cover as well as at the blade chute. Dust in the top means it moved up from the lower wheel. I think if you clear the lower wheel properly the up wheel will be ok.

I still have to clean out the lower area after each blank.

Bob
 
+1 one Jerry's comment - I use a Grizzley 14" with riser - use a dust collector - if possible, collect from the lower section, behind the bottom wheel and under the table as close to the blade as possible at the same time. I put a 'y' fitting on the input to the bandsaw cabinet and ran a 2-1/2" hose up to under the table.

It works well, but with the amount of material I still need to clean out the lower wheel area after a few blanks.

I also put a brush on the lower wheel - just a small kitchen scrubbrush adapted with a shopmade bracket to keep the tire clean.
 
Band saw cutting wet wood

Jeff -- Would you please post a picture of your band saw dust collection modification.
(I need to the same for my Delta 14" band saw.) Thanks.

Glenn -- FYI

Timber Wolf makes a great 3 tpi band saw blade for cutting wood. Using their wet wood blades
solved the same problem I had that you are experiencing. Timber Wolf's website is: http://timberwolfblades.com

Lee Tourtelotte
 
Best bandsaw blade is Lennox Diemaster Bimetal blades. I use the 1/2 inch 3 tpi, and the thicker ones. Not sure the number on it. Having proper set to the teeth is huge. I don't really know your saw, but if you are cutting higher than 6 or so inches, then a 1 hp motor is a bit on the small size.

Bandsaw dust ports do not suck. That is a problem. I stand blocks on end on my big saw (Laguna 16HD) so I am ripping, and I get hair balls in the bottom. I took the original port off and changed from a 4 inch port to a 5 inch port. Didn't help. I cut a hole in the bottom of the door and put a port in the door that comes off at a 45 degree angle. No more hair balls! The wet wood falls to the bottom and I put the port where it all starts to pile up. I do have to remove the port to open the door all the way. Have to figure out how to put a hinge on it or magnets.

robo hippy
 
I just got a new (to me) Mini max 16" bandsaw. Haven't cut much with it yet but it has a wooden slot that the blade runs through just below the port where the vacuum comes in. Not sure how hard that would be to rig up. It has a built in slow on my saw. On my old Delta 14" with riser I cut a hole for the vacuum in the side of the bottom just below where the blade guides are. Then built a housing to fit my 4" dust collector hose. that seemed to work pretty well. The Iturra brush works well for dry wood but I don't think it's stout enough to do much for we wood. My biggest problem was build up on the bearings of my carter guide system. That was a pain. after I cut green wood I would take a stick and push against the blade so it ran one side of the bearings. Then I held the corner of a screwdriver against the outer face of the bearings to scrape the crud off.
 
clogging saw dust on band saw

would something like WD 40, silicon, wiped on the blade etc be helpful a little???? Just thinking. Helps keep the shovel from clogging with wet snow, a situation I have had too many times this winter😱 Gretch
 
Thank you for all the advice. I am using a 1/2" 3 tpi blade from Olson. I'll give the others a try.

I have the stock dust collection connection on this saw but it's a joke. Basically a 4" main line that narrows down to a square inch or two inlet. If anyone has any photos of the dust collection concoctions you've created (say five times fast!) - I would love to see some pictures to get some ideas!

Thank you all!
Glenn
 
Most bandsaws and their dust ports are designed for cutting dry wood. For them, it doesn't really matter where the dust port is because the dust is lighter and can be sucked up easily. You still get piles inside the saw. The port around the blade is worthless. The original port on mine is in the back corner so it has to make a right angle turn to go out, which is a no-no in any book on dust collection systems. Another problem I have figured out is that the draw into the dust port pulls from the throat, and from the vertical tower part that holds the wheel up, so your air flow is basically halved. I need to block that off with some foam or some thing.

I think what I need to do is get with Brent English and design a bandsaw especially for resawing and bowl turners.

I have sprayed pam, WD 40, Top Coat, and now have Bioshield to try on the blades to keep them from gunking up. They help a little. Maybe a teflon type spray, if I can find one. I haven't had any problems with the blades slipping on the wheels because of the sprays. My big saw has the ceramic guides rather than the roller bearings. A big improvement and do a little better job of keeping the blade clean. The only problem with them is that the post that raises and lowers the upper guides doesn't have any fine tuning capabilities, so I have to keep them a bit loose. I haven't checked out the Mini Max saws, but they seem to be pretty good. My little saw has roller bearings, and some woods like Madrone will gunk them up so bad that the wheel actually freezes in place. The screw driver on the blades, while probably not some thing to suggest for obvious safety reasons does work. And then there are the blade tension meters. Agian, pretty close to worthless.

If you are having problems with a blade drifting and wobbling during cutting, a little of it can be the fine tune up of your saw. The blade is usually the biggest problem. While the Lennox blades do cost more, kind of like CBN grinding wheels, they are worth it. The bimetal blades can be sharpened a number of times before they are gone. Mine usually break before they are sharpened out. I am lucky to have a good saw shop that can do an excellent job on the sharpening, for a couple of dollars per blade. My 150 inch 1 1/4 inch resaw blades are less than $10 each.

robo hippy
 
I'm not sure you would be able to suck much wet sawdust out of a bandsaw with any dust extractor. If you did, I believe that you would be faced with an even larger problem of cleaning it out of the dust extractor tubing, impeller and bags.

Dennis
 
Blade selection is based on the thickness you want to cut, how clean of a cut, and the type of wood. A 3 TPI will work well for up to 6 inch thick but you will get better results in thicker wood from a less TPI blade. Problem is you usually have to go to a wider blade to go to lower TPI and a wider blade cuts a bigger radius. But less teeth will also put less strain on the motor. The other item about the blade is more kerf will clean the cut faster than narrower.
 
I've been using Timberwolf 1/2" x 3 TPI for several years now for roughing out bowls from green wood.

I've tried Olson and Woodslicer (I think) before that - and so far Timberwolf has done very well for what I do, and the cost is very reasonable.

I don't know how much the bimetal blades are that robohippy recommends, but I do know that TW doesn't recommend bimetal blades for roughing green wood...they do recommend them for resawing green wood. At TW prices, a bimetal blade runs about 2x the cost of a 1/2"x3 TPI.

TW also has a 1/2" x 2 TPI for roughing 6"-12" thick wood. The last bowl blank I roughed was about 10" thick pecan. Next time I'll switch to the 1/2x2 for that thickness, but the 1/2 x3 handled it fine as long as I didn't try to feed the cut too fast.
 
There are two types of bimetal blades. One is designed for cutting metal, and the other is designed for cutting wood. Main difference is the shape and set of the teeth. I have had more than one person try the Lennox blades, who were Timberwolf fans, and they switched to the Lennox. They both reported problems with the TW blades drifting as they cut. No problems with the Lennox. My 96 inch blades are about $27, and my 150 inch blades are about $75. More than some of the other types, but like I said, they just cut better.

robo hippy
 
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