Cutting Straight Blanks

[JasonF]

I may answer my own question here, but thought I would ask anyway:

I have been cutting blanks out of logs and am trying to get nice squared sides and am having trouble. All I have is a 12" Craftsman bandsaw with a home-made fence.

I am assuming 2 things:
1. I have blade drift that I have not been able to adjust for with my home-made fence.
2. The straight blanks that I see others cutting are being cut on a table saw.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Dario]

You are right that table saw cuts much nicer but if you only have a bandsaw...
1. make sure the table is square
2. Use sharp blades (and I highly recommend Timberwolf)
3. make sure your guides are properly set.
4. Upper guide need to be as low as possible.

Most problem though is due to dull blade (see no. 2).

Hope this helps!

 

[alamocdc]

Jason, a good blade with proper tension should give you a good cut and that's what many use. If your fence won't let you adjust for drift, you may want to add a resaw fixture to it. It basically comes off the fence at 90 degrees and is shaped to a point (or rounded point) at the end that guides the wood.

Having said that, once I get the wood rough shaped, if I want truly square blanks, I use the panel sled on my table saw.

 

[vick]

I also use the table saw if I want square blanks. However no one has mentioned you should use the largest blade your bandsaw can properly tension. I have a small 12 inch bandsaw so can only tension a 1/2 inch blade with 4 TPI which I find lacking for truly straight cuts. If you have a 14 inch you should be able to tension a 3/4 inch and I would recomend you do so.

 

[alamocdc]

Mike, I've actually seen a guy use a 1/2" blade for resawing veneers and he gets great results. He said one of the most important things is to replace the stock tension spring and make sure your band saw is properly tuned.

 

[loglugger]

I just got my Wood issue 172, on page 52 it has a pretty good right up on small band saws and making them cut straight.
Bob