C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 1

Band Saw Work Shop

April 2010

Sources:

1. “Essential Band Saw Techniques” video produced by Woodworker’s Journal.

2. Woodsmith magazine and www.woodsmith.com.

3. Fine Wood Working magazine and www.finewoodworking.com.

4. Shop Notes magazine and www.shopnotes.com

5. Wood Craft stores and www.woodcraft.com

6. Rockler stores and www.rockler.com

7. Wood Workers Supply, Inc. at www.woodworker.com

8. The Bandsaw Book by Lonnie Bird, Taunton Press, 1999

Why Purchase a Band Saw

Cut irregular or curved shapes

Compound cuts (like a curved table leg)

Straight cuts (including ripping stock like a table saw)

Straight cuts to a stop point

Cut small parts (safer than table saw or miter saw)

Cut circles

Cut tenons

Re-saw boards

Slice logs up to six inches in diameter on a 14-inch band saw

Follow templates (patterns) to cut out parts

Trim chunks of wood for turning blanks on a lathe

Recommended 14-Inch Models to Purchase

Delta 28-276 - ¾ hp $500 from Woodcraft and $550 from Rockler

Jet JWBS-14C - $600 from Woodcraft and Rockler (same price)

Recommend a ¾ hp or 1 hp motor for a 14-inch band saw especially if you resaw

Recommended blades

Timber Wolf available from Woodcraft and www.woodcraft.com

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 2

Example: ½ inch X 105 inch, 3 tpi (teeth per inch) is $30.99 from Woodcraft

Use the widest possible blade that can follow the radius of a curve. A wide blade is easier to

control and has less tendency to wander.

½ inch wide blade 3-4 tpi is ideal for ripping thick stock and resawing

¼ inch wide general purpose blade handles curves (down to 3/8” radius) and straight cuts

A narrow 1/8 inch wide blade 14 tpi makes quick work of right curves and fine details

Replace Your Tires

Replace with urethane tires – original tires were likely rubber (dries out, cracks, loses its

elasticity, and starts to slip on the wheels)

Urethane tires are not glued to the wheel, last five times longer than rubber tires

Urethane tires:

o www.woodcraft.com, item # 144969, 14” band saw, $32.99 per pair

o www.rockler.com, item # 23860, 14” band saw, $30.99 per pair

Techniques to replace your tires:

o Remove upper and lower wheels from band saw

o Use screw driver to remove old rubber tire

o Soak new urethane tires five minutes very hot water to soften

o Stretch softened urethane tire over wheels

o Can use the following jig to stretch urethane tire around removable dowels

Clean Your Tires

Use mineral spirits to clean sawdust and pitch from the tire

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 3

Band Saw Jargon

“14-inch band saw” indicates the diameter of the wheels, not the throat distance between

the blade and the band saw arm

“width of blade” – means from the front of the teeth to the back of the blade

“105 inch blade” – means the distance around the circumference of the blade

“TPI” or “tooth per inch” – means the number of teeth in the blade in one inch

3 or 4 TPI – used for most general applications

A one-half inch wide, 3-tpi blade will handle general ripcuts, resawing, tenons, and cutting

curves in thin stock.

“guideblocks” – located on each side of the blades, both above and below the table

“thrust bearing” – located behind the blade, both above and below the table

There are a duplicate set of guideblocks and thrust bearings above and below the table

Installing the blade

Back off the guide blocks and the thrust bearings

Teeth on the blade point in downward direction toward the table

Add tension with the screw knob on the top wheel

A second screw at the back of the wheel housing pushes the bottom of the top wheel

forward and back

Position the blade slightly behind the center of the wheel

With six inches of the blade exposed above the table, increase the tension until there is a ¼

inch deflection as you push the blade with your finger

Position the thrust bearing with a 3/1000 inch behind the blade (thickness of paper)

Guide blocks are even with the bottom of the gullets in the blade

o Phenolic guide blocks can ride against the blades

Woodcraft: Cool Blocks, item # 49HO2, ½ X ½ inches, $14.99

Rockler: Ceramic Guide Blocks, item # 26687, 14” Delta band saw, $20

Woodworker’s Supply (www.woodworker.com): Ceramic Guide Blocks, item

108-443, 14 inch Delta Band saw, $19

o Steel guide blocks cannot touch the blade because steel generates heat with friction

o Put paper around the blade and close the guide blocks against the paper to properly

position the guide blocks.

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 4

Squaring The Blade In the Saw

Do not use a machinist’s square, instead square the blade in the saw when under pressure

of cutting with this technique:

o Nibble a line into a board as shown in the drawing below:

o Flip the board over, and nibble another line

o If the two lines are parallel, then the blade is square to the table

A “stop bolt” below the table can be adjusted to ensure the table returns to a 90 degree

square position.

To cut a square end on a board…

o Cut a nibble on the board as above

o Lay the board flat on the table and cut thru the board using the nibble line as a guide

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 5

Dust Collection

o Models sold today come with dust collection ports

o Otherwise, consider cutting a port in the lower cabinet near the lower blade guides, insert a

dust port available from Woodcraft or Rockler that fits the size of your dust collection system

Cutting Techniques

Free hand cutting requires practice

Cut 1/16th inch outside the line then sand to the line to remove the band saw makrs

Anchor hands on the table and guide the stock with your fingers

When making a turning cut, maintain the cutting pressure

Relief Cuts

Used when cutting a tight radius

Make relief cuts along dotted lines shown in picture below, then cut curves.

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 6

Nibbling Square Cuts

Nibble into the square, then clean up the bottom of the cut with the blade like a “power

rasp”

Cutting Small Parts

Create a shop made sled to safely cut small parts and keep your fingers away from the blade

Dimensions of sled to fit comfortably on the table top.

Dimension for 14-inch band saw table shown above are:

o 11 inches deep (front to back) and 14 inches across the front

o ¾ inch boards

o Fence positioned 2.5 inches from end of sled

o Tracking board below sled to fit miter slot on table top

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 7

Use screw clamps to hold small parts

Cut round stock on the band saw with the jib shown above:

Pad Cutting Multiples

To cut duplicates from a pattern, use double sided tape to stick stock together, then make

one cut of the pattern.

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 8

Cutting Perfect Circles

Make a circle cutting jig as shown in the picture below

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 9

Dimensions of the jig

o 24 inches across the front,

o 20 inches front to back

o Slider is 4 inches wide on the top, cut with at a 45 degree angle

In the slider are two pivot points:

o A screw tip for making small circles

o A ¼ inch dowel tip for making larger circles

Align the blade with the pivot point

When starting a circular cut, nibble a notch to help the blade start the cut as shown below

Compound Cutting To Get Three Dimensional Products

Use two templates (top view and side view)

Cut out the top view and hold cut away parts in place with masking tape (or duct tape)

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 10

Scroll Work On The Band Saw

Remove the guide blocks and thrust bearing above the table top

Back away the guide blocks and thrust bearing below the table top

Install a stabilizer (which is a thrust bearing with a groove), push the stabilizer against the

blade

o Woodworker’s Supply (www.pro.woodworker.com) No. 958-399 at $85

Use a 1/16 -inch wide blade with 24 TPI

Cuts are not as smooth as a scroll saw

Dove Tails On the Band Saw

Common handcut dovetails slope ratios and their corresponding angles:

o 1:9 = 6.5 degrees

o 1:8 = 7 degrees

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 11

o 1:7 = 8 degrees

o 1:6 = 9.5 degrees

The two most commonly used slopes are roughly 1:6 and 1:8

General rule of thumb: 1:6 ratio for softwoods and 1:8 for hardwoods where the steeper

angle with a 1:6 ratio provides a better mechanical joint for soft woods

Most dovetail jigs are designed to work with a 14 degree bit creating a steeper angle and a

stronger joint

Use a 3/16th inch blade with 10 TPI

Make a dovetail sled where the angle is 1:6 (meaning one inch up for every six inches)

o Most dovetail cuts have a dovetail slope of 1:6

Dimmensions of the sled are

o 8 inches wide and 10.5 inches long

Sled will cut “through” dovetails

Sled is turned to get the two angles of a dovetail

Steps using the sled:

o Use a marking gauge that is set slightly more than the thickness of the stock

o Use the marking gauge to score a line on the face of both boards that make up the

dovetail joint

o Design the layout of the pins and sockets

Use a square

Mark half pins on the ends

Put at least one full pin in the center

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 12

o Draw the angled cuts that form the dovetails on the end of the board

o Shown above are the angled cuts that form the dovetails. The picture is

taken from the rear of the sled and band saw showing the angle the blade

will cut.

o Once the sockets are cut, use the cut sockets to trace the sockets board onto the pin

board.

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 13

o Using the sled angled to the right, cut the right side of the socket

o Using the sled angled to the left, cut the left side of the socket

o Make cuts as square as possible

o Cut to the line marked by the marking gauge

o Stock being cut overhangs the sled

Rotate the sled to cut the other side of the dovetail angle

Cut out the waste area with the band saw…rock up the cut-out slightly to get the

inside corner

Trace cut sockets onto the pin board

When using poplar wood, leave the pencil lines and the joint will compress the

wood. With harder woods like maple, cut the pencil lines

Cut the pins

Assemble

The end grain will project beyond the face grain because the marking gauge was set

slightly more than the thickness of the stock (so sand the pins flush)

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 14

Cutting Multiple Replications Of A Pattern

Make a “follower” as shown the picture below

Dimensions of the follower sized to fit the table top with a arm projecting about 4 inches

In the arm, nibble a notch that is slightly wider than the band saw width

Clamp the follower to the table top

The follower notch surrounds the blade, and the nose of the follower rides on the pattern

Fix the pattern to the stock with double sided tape

Let the follower trace the pattern, keeping the pattern perpendicular to the blade

Leaving the pattern attached to the stock, clean up the band saw cuts with a flush trim

router bit

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 15

Single Point Resawing

The easiest set up is a single point fence for resawing; however, if resawing multiple boards,

then a fence aligned for blade drift would be faster (it just requires more set up time)

Build a jig fence

Mark edge of stock with a line down the center

Let the half-dowel lead the blade so the stock contacts the half-dowel before the blade

Make sure the blade and the single point half-dowel are parallel

Sight the blade on the dotted line

Camp the jig fence to the table

Control the end of the board to keep the blade centered on the cut

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 16

Keep the board against the half dowel with a push pad or a jig as shown in the right picture

below.

Drift Angle Compensation

The saw blade could pull left or right when cutting …this is called blade drift

To compensate for blade drift:

o Start with a board with one straight edge

o Mark a parallel line on the face of the board about one inch from the edge

o Put masking tape on the table top

o Cut the board along the line about halfway down the board

o Stop the cut

o Trace the edge of the board onto the masking tape

o The drift angle is the line on the masking tape

o Set the band saw fence (one that can be angled) along the draft angle line

o Now the fence can be moved for various width cuts

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 17

o Could place a tall fence against the band saw fence and cut thin veneers

o Peel veneer cuts off the outboard side of the board

Slice logs

o Use ½ inch wide blade, 3-4 tip

o Build jig that fits your fence similar to the jig in the picture below.

Storing band saw blades

Fold a band saw blade by:

o Putting lower end of the blade under your foot

o With one hand turned completely around so the thumb faces your body, grasp the top

of the blade, and turn your hand to its normal position while dropping your body/hand.

o The blade will fold into a circle

o Attached masking tape to keep blade folded

C:\woodo working club\band saw work shop Page 18

Store a band saw blade by:

o Taping the folded bands aw blade (per above) in two places

o Mounting the blade on your wall in roughly the shape of the band saw when mounted

on the band saw

After-Market Band Saw Fences

Kreg Band Saw Fence

o Item # 146050 from www.woodcraft.com at $108

o Same as Woodcraft, but $115 from Rockler at www.rockler.com