Whew what a week

Crazy week. Off to Texas hoping to hit some pawn shops along the way. Demo-ing the Flatmaster Drum Sander and Little Ripper at the SWAT Woodturners Convention next weekend. Should be great.

Bandsaw Problems Vented. Ah ... Feels Good!

This is my understanding of how a bandsaw works.

Constants:

• Teeth are almost always on the front of the blade
• Teeth are almost always facing down on upright bandsaws (unless your vision is bad)
• From factory they come equipped with plenty of power

Differences:

• Capacity of blade width
• Guides
• Tension capabilities
• Throat and height differences
• Colors
• Motor sizes

When we demonstrate at Woodworking Shows, we have all kinds of customers ask relatively the same questions:

• what about tension?
• what about blade drift adjustments?
• should I use 3 or 4 tooth blades?
• why isn't your bandsaw stalling out and burning the wood like mine?
• why is your saw cutting so quiet
• why are you using such a narrow blade to resaw

So here is my answer to these questions and, as controversial as they may sound, sit back and think about how a bandsaw mill works.

First of all, a bandsaw mill has no adjustment for blade drift because it doesn't need one. The blade only goes off course when the blade is dull or if you hit  foreign material other than wood. The same holds true for an upright bandsaw. The blade will never drift unless it is dull. Blades that are manufactured in North America are extemely good quality, and do not come out of the package with built in blade drift, at least in the approx. 1000 blades that I have used.

Unfortunately, most users of upright bandsaws damage their new blade within the first few inches of cutting by pinching or putting side pressure on the blade. If you pinch the blade on a bandsaw or put side pressure on the blade, the set will change from one side of the blade to the other side. Example: if your blade is .025", the most set the blade could have is .00125" per side. More than likely the set would be .0010". If you put side pressure on a blade just for a few seconds, you could easily lose .0001" of set. This is not much when you consider a human hair is .0003". However, if you do lose .0001", that's 10% of the initial .0010". Therefore the blade will cut better or drift in the opposite direction. The more it drifts the more pinching occurs, especially when using a fence, the problem compounds itself with usage. The more you use it, the more it drifts.

How do you know if you're pinching the blade or putting side pressure on it? Simple. If you make a cut, shut of the machine and wait until the blade stops, you should be able to hold onto the blade with your hand just barely feeling warmth. It should not be hot. In my opinion, if it's hot then the blade is damaged. Also when you are cutting if you can see the blade deflection, or see that the blade is rubbing on one side of the guides, you can be assured your blade is getting hot.

All of this information pertains to resawing, or cutting straight. Just a coincidence, the Little Ripper converts your bandsaw to a sawmill and your saw, no matter what brand, will cut perfectly straight, whether resawing or cutting logs.

Now the question of cutting circles. The sawmill principle applies: if you pinch or put side pressure on the blade it will not cut where you want. Take the conventional circle cutter, pin on bottom.  When you rotate the wood through the blade on a single pin, the wood can rock. If it rocks,  it has pinched the blade and then the blade drifts. Blade damage has occurred.  If the wood is supported top and bottom, like it is in the Round Ripper, the wood is held stable and the blade won't get pinched. Therefore all pressure, all power, in your bandsaw can be exerted on the teeth and your saw will cut like it was meant to cut.

Now back to the differences in bandsaws - my opinion:

Guides: doesn't really matter as long as you're cutting with the teeth and not pushing on the side of the blade. I personally like Cool Blocks. They seem to keep my blade clean when I'm resawing, Especially on a upright saw, when the dust is falling directly on the guides. Many saws are equiped with roller guides.  They work fine. Just remember, bandsaw mills usually only run a guide on one side of the band.

Tension: Doesn't really matter as long as you're feed according to the size of your teeth. If pressure is put on the front of the blade, tension is not really a big deal. The tension gauge that comes on your saw is not always reliable but it gets you close enough.

Number of Teeth:  Don't feed faster than what the teeth can remove. Less teeth means a faster feed rate and a rougher cut.  More teeth means a slower feed rate and a smoother cut.

I've been using bandsaws for years and we have our own small sawmill operation. These are just some things I have learned through experience.

I realize that this goes against much of the current information, but I can say this from what I hear from many woodworkers.  The problems woodworkers are having with bandsaws are consistent across the country. Almost all problems are to do with premature blade damage caused by pinching or putting side pressure on the blade. I believe most woodworkers don't change their blades often enough, and blame their bandsaw, when they should be blaming the blade

Fences are the main culprit of blade damage. Fences cause problems because if the wood stresses when cutting and opens or closes, pushing or pulling you against the fence, it puts side pressure on the blade. Also, unlike a table saw, a bandsaw has no splitter.

I  hope this info helps.

Ottawa and Moncton Woodshows New Ownership

Doing as many woodworking shows as we do around the US and Canada,  when we hear a show is changing ownership we cringe. This is not the case this year, with Paul Fulcher taking the reins in Ottawa, and Lana at the helm for Legualt,who are taking over in Moncton.
New ideas and formats are great, but I know that both of these new teams will keep enough things the same. Bill and Kathy made a great base for these shows, and Paul and Lana will build great events on these.
Do to our heavy schedule in the US, we are not able to have a large presence at these shows, but we are trying to make arrangments to be there somehow. We want the woodworkers in Canada can see some of the new products we have available.
The weekend of Woodstock Woodshow we are double booked. We will be in Cinncinati that weekend doing the Woodworking In America Show put on by Popular Wood Magazine.  We anticipate having a small booth in Woodstock regardless.
Toronto Woodshow is double booked with Chicago, but we will be in both Toronto and Chicago.
When I started writing down all the places we're supposed to be this fall I'm realising I'd better get to work!

Getting ready SWAT Woodturners Convention in Texas

Since attending the AWA in St. Paul this year, I'm really looking forward to SWAT. This is going to be quite the adventure.  First driving to Tennessee to pick up the Wooline folks, and then the drive on to Texas.  SWAT is a huge woodturning event, put on by one of the AWA chapters.  I'm really looking forward to it because of the response we had at St. Paul to our new circle cutter called The Round Ripper.  Turners love this new device, because of its precision, and safety. The turners in Texas are going to want to see this unique demo.  SWAT is being held in Waco at the Waco Convention Center the weekend of Aug. 26 '11.  Just a side note, when we were in Vegas at the AWFS, 5 different magazines stopped by our booth to check out the ROUND RIPPER, and needless to say sales were brisk.  Ethan and I will be doing one of the educational areas at The Woodworking Shows this year, so stop by and see The Round Ripper there.  I think there are over 20 Shows on the tour this year.  Check out http://www.thewoodworkingshows.com/.  For any of our faithful Canadian woodshow followers, we will be attending The Woodstock Woodshow, The Ottawa Woodshow, and The Toronto Woodshow this Fall.

Fishing in the Rain

Sunday afternoon I decided to go fishing, down at the Niagara River at one of my favourite fishing holes. Just as I had  arranged my lawnchair at the perfect angle, so I could hit my perch hideout with a deadly pinpoint accurate cast, it began to rain. Not sprinkling rain but pounding,torrentially hard rain. Like where did my hand go rain. Anyhow it was much to late as I was already wet, so I decided to keep on fishing. After all the lightning wasn't that close. So there I was very much alone (everyone else sitting in their cars) and a 3' Musky hits my minnow.
I must say it was a  battle with my 5' ultra light and 8lb braid, but I persevered. With the help of a fisherman who had made a dash for cover from the lake , I landed this beautiful fish. I've hooked many of these toothy critters before but I've never unhooked one, t'was awesome to let it go.
While I was fighting my trophy, it stopped raining, and it seemed like the word spread that a Musky was landed because the bank soon filled with fisherman. Of course I continued to fish, landing the odd keeper Perch, but mostly releasing the small ones. I had very sore arms, not from the fish , but from patting myself on the back.
Anyhow back to the task of catching enough Perch for supper,When BOOM an even bigger Musky bites and starts peeling off line.This time people are gathering to watch this drenched old guy hooked up to every fishermans dream fish. This fish has rockets and heads for the sky three times, once getting at least 3' of air! I fought the fish for about 10 minutes finally jumping into the river to release it. Fishing in the rain, can't wait to do it again.

Laguna Bandsaw Doors (Thanks)

Yesterday,  I was out in the shop using our Laguna Bandsaw 16HD, and the blade broke.  It went off like a gun. This doesn't happen very often but we use our tools hard and things do wear out. The thing that surprised me the most is what happened to the blade inside the saw. When I removed the cover, the heavy 1" bandsaw blade was wrinkled up into the top of the saw. I guess it just proves that those doors that cover the blade are not just a place where the manufacturer puts their name. Anyhow, I'm glad that Laguna has substantial locks on their doors, and I'm glad I had a spare bandsaw blade on hand.

Sandpaper, Sanders, Bandsaws (Thrilling) at Stockroom Supply

Besides fishing and family,for the last 20yrs. my life revolves around sandpaper, sanders, woodworking, woodworking shows, bandsaws and other seemingly simple things. I love simple. It just makes sense.

Our newest Innovation - The Round Ripper