Comments on: Planes are Stupid; Saws are Smart

By: BillT

BillT — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:40:45 +0000

If your bandsaw won’t cut straight, it just needs a little fettling. Make sure the tires are good, and properly crowned. Tension and blade guide clearance are important as well, but too often, people focus on those without taking a good look at the tires. Get a good crown on good tires and the change is dramatic.

By: abt

abt — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:20:59 +0000

I’ve used Chris’s tips for sawing, and found that with proper stance and grip, all you have to do is relax and move your arm back and forth. The saw does the rest. I get straight cuts every time. I also found that because I’m relaxed, I can cut a lot longer with less effort than I could before learning to saw correctly.

By: Christopher Schwarz

Christopher Schwarz — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:12:57 +0000

The plate is from “Smith’s Key,” which is an early set of tool plates from Sheffield. EAIA published a reprint years ago.

Chris

By: tsstahl

tsstahl — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:21:01 +0000

I found a couple references to what I assume is the above plate. I also found a UK museum site that defines this saw as used for grafting (duh).

So, my admittedly ignorant conclusion is one of: that this saw is filed crosscut for joining end grain to end grain like in a scarf or crude finger joint, or that this saw is filed rip to make smallish panels from smallish stock.

I guess I should not overlook the most obvious explanation that this type of saw may be the period version of the big box store “tool shaped object”.

By: amvolk

amvolk — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 19:59:17 +0000

I agree. From where is this plate?

By: hharr40

hharr40 — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:58:37 +0000

Try using a pointed “nose” in place of a fence, set to the width of your desired cut. Similar to the guide pin on a router table, this will enable you to swing the workpiece to keep the cut on your line.

By: alegr

alegr — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 22:22:31 +0000

Steve,

Check that the blade is not twisted because of misaligned guides or because of difference in tracking on upper and lower wheels. Also, if the thrust bearing is not set properly, the force of sawing 8/4 will push the blade on the wheel, changing the tracking. Insufficient tension or heat expansion because of overheating may also cause that.

By: Steve_OH

Steve_OH — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:21:19 +0000

I understand all that, but it’s not what’s going on with my saw. I have not been able to figure out what the source of the problem is, but the symptoms are that the “effective tracking direction,” so to speak, varies substantially, over time, and from one material to another. I’ll attempt to rip an 8/4 piece of cherry, and it will want to dive into the fence. Immediately afterwards, I’ll try to rip a 3/4 piece of poplar, and it will drift in the other direction.

There’s clearly something bizarre going on with the overall frame alignment or something like that, but I haven’t been able to figure out what it is.

-Steve

By: JWatriss

JWatriss — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:41:05 +0000

Yes and no.

I find that the really critical moment is starting the saw. The sawyer must be VERY present for that one.

Tooth skips off line? It’s a mess, and you can either run with the new kerf, or accept the gouge and go back to your intended track.

Start the saw at an angle? Maybe this is my minimal-or-no set Japanese saw experience speaking, but if the saw isn’t headed in the right direction at the start of the cut, it won’t be headed in the right direction for the rest of the cut.

I feel like it’s more about steady aim, and concentration when you pull the trigger.

—

Steve… Band saws are really the best machine analogue we have to a hand saw. Assuming the blade is sharp and in tune… it is all about aim. The blade, in its optimal condition, does want to cut in a straight line… but that line may not be in line with the fence. And that’s when you’ll get a cut that drifts away from the fence, or a piece of wood that drifts away from the fence, depending on how the blade is pointed. That’s why I don’t like T-fences for band saws… there really isn’t a viable way to adjust the fence for drift. Over time, the stresses on the blade that are induced by our attempts to strangle the cut into an alternate direction may over-heat the teeth on one side of the cut or the other. That will accelerate wear on that side, and diminish the ability to cut anything straight, fence or no fence.

In light of the T-fence paradigm we all get stuck with, I have abandoned the traditional notion that the blade should be centered on the tire. If that were actually required, there wouldn’t be much need for crowned tires on the wheels. If you abandon the center of the wheel dogma, the crowned surface really helps to aim the blade. You’ll find that if you track the blade forward on the top wheel, the blade will cut away from the fence. If you track the blade back, it will cut towards the fence.

Sometimes weird things happen, and you do have to make drift adjustments, but again, that is why I don’t really like traditional T-fences on band saws. (I still have one… but I’m trying to think up something better)

By: tjhenrik

tjhenrik — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:10:23 +0000

I’d buy a nice poster version of this plate!