Need sugestion,with making square block....

[Orlando Roman]

Hello everyone!
I'm having a little bit of problem with my band saw,it won't make a straight cut on green mahogany no matter how tight I set the blade,i'm using a Craftsman's band saw, a new saw blade, all the guide's are set correctly.The blocks i'm trying to make are about 5'' to 7'' thick.Should I get another band saw?I use a faceplate to turn my proyects so I have to get a perfect cut at least on one end.Any ideas are very welcome...Orlando.:mad:😕

 

[john lucas]

It could simply be the blade. Some blades simply won't track true. You can sometimes shift the wood when guiding the cut by hand to make the blade follow the line. If you force the cut at all the blade will try to wander or even bow in the middle which is worse because then it really wanders.l
To set blade tension on my Delta with riser block I look on the left side. there is a long gap where you can see the blade. I adjust the blade until it doesn't vibrate over this length. That is usually correct. If I make the cut and notice it has excess vibration while I'm cutting I'll tension it further.

 

[Dale Jablonski]

If you are cutting green wood with the bandsaw there is more friction (heat) that will cause the blade to drift. When I cut green wood I use my chain saw for radial cuts in order to mount my faceplate. I then use the bandsaw to lop the edges off to make it easier to turn the piece into a round. The harder the density of the wood, the more the piece will heat up.

 

[MichaelMouse]

Hello everyone!
I'm having a little bit of problem with my band saw,it won't make a straight cut on green mahogany no matter how tight I set the blade,i'm using a Craftsman's band saw, a new saw blade, all the guide's are set correctly.The blocks i'm trying to make are about 5'' to 7'' thick.Should I get another band saw?I use a faceplate to turn my proyects so I have to get a perfect cut at least on one end.Any ideas are very welcome...Orlando.:mad:😕

How new the blade and the brand of saw are not critical. The type of blade is. Green wood heats and swells from friction with the blade, so we normally use blades with few teeth per inch - more gullets to haul waste - and alternate set in those teeth to make a wide kerf. I like these people and their blades. http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/silicon_steel_selection.asp Others will, I'm sure, have their own favorites. What will be common regardless the brand choice will be the two characteristics mentioned first.

All the rules of good bandsaw setup certainly should be followed in regard to guides, thrust bearings and tension. Then you should feed at a moderate rate to allow the blade to make an unforced cut. You may have to angle the block a bit to follow a straight line to account for "lead," irregularity in the set or bandsaw setup. Don't use a full fence, use a pivot block to reference distance.

If you're cutting with the wood standing up - ripping - rather than crosscutting, you will find it more difficult to make a straight line, becuse the blade will try to follow the differential density of early and late wood. Easier to cut the wood between annual rings than the rings themselves.

Hit the bandsaw books like Duginskie or Byrd for good advice.

 

[Bill Weaver]

Hello everyone!
I'm having a little bit of problem with my band saw,it won't make a straight cut on green mahogany no matter how tight I set the blade,i'm using a Craftsman's band saw, a new saw blade, all the guide's are set correctly.The blocks i'm trying to make are about 5'' to 7'' thick.Should I get another band saw?I use a faceplate to turn my proyects so I have to get a perfect cut at least on one end.Any ideas are very welcome...Orlando.:mad:😕

Orlando
I also have a Craftsman (professional) bandsaw. I think yours should have a window on the right side of blade. Unplug unit and hand turn to watch your tracking. If the blade is leaning toward rear of wheel it will track to the right and if leaning to front will track to left. This may help in some of your problem.
Reading the other suggestions are very helpful and I agree.

 

[Gary Chapman]

bandsaw blade.

I had the same problem with my saw but I switched to a 3 teeth per inch blade and I can cut quite a few large blocks of green wood without even a quiver. I tried the other blades and they would not cut so I buy my blades from Grizzley for $13 and when they dull, I put on a new one. They will last a long time. Gary

 

[Robert Manning]

I concur with what others have said here and have successfully re-sawn 12" wide Desert Ironwood slabs on a 14" Delta with an HSS blade, but it's asking a lot from a small saw. Even 5"-7" is a lot for an accurate cut on these small saws. If you're cutting Lignum Vitae down there in Puerto Rico, then you might also need an HSS blade. And just because a blade is new, does not mean it is sharp, which it must be for such a thick cut. Personally, I prefer to rough out a blank with a gas powered chainsaw and then turn it between centers to prepare it for mounting. I save the bandsaw for cutting contours and re-sawing.

 

[Orlando Roman]

Thanks for the help;I will try less teeth per inch and see how it goes.
I did cut White Cedar and other hard woods without a hitch is the Mahogany that won't cut straight and I have ton's of it available, it would be a shame if I can't use it, although the gas chain saw is another way,but don't like the rough cut.You guy's are the "Encyclopedia" of wood working. THANK YOU! for having a great web site.Orlando.😉😎:cool2:😀

 

[Nate Hawkes]

Orlando, I recently switched to the Suffolk 1/2 inch wide, 2 teeth per inch, alternate set teeth blades, and will likely never go back to anything else. The only slight downside of not turning quite as tight curves is outweighed by the fact that it does not bind during said curve in 10-12" thick wet wood!!