Band Saw trouble

[rpenning1970]

I have an old band saw, it is all I have and there is no money to buy anything new. I am having issues with the blade flexing and twisting. I cut about 6 cars tonight at our scout meeting. On every car the blade wants to twist and not make a straight cut. once the blade jumped the wheels and on the last car it just twisted enough that it broke. I have tried every adjustment I can think of and it still has this issue. I need help because it takes forever to cut a car and then I usually have tons of sanding to do. I have attatched a picture so you can see the type of saw it is.

 

[derbychip]

ive had the exact same issue with the same saw, it was given to me in high school. From day one I couldn't get it to cut/work right. I solved the issue by not taking it with me when I bought my own place and moved out... ive often thought about going to dads and getting it and seeing if I can now get it cutting right but haven't....

sorry im no help but ill keep a eye on this and hopefully someone comes out and gives a fix

 

[quadad]

Gosh, that's the "what not to buy" poster child. No 3-wheel saws ! I got one early on for $25 and regretted it ever after.

I got mine to work "OK" by adjusting everything and running it with the door hold down screws quite loose. YMMV

Have someone else double check your adjustments also though - it shouldn't be that bad.

I plan to cut mine in half with the 12" Jet BS I bought off Craigslist !!

 

[GravityX]

I really don't know if this will really help you, but viewing it may provide some insight.

A refresher never hurt anyone.

[video]http://youtu.be/wGbZqWac0jU[/video]

 

[Chief]

Have you tried to use it with a fence? Also, use a blade that is made for cutting metal (fine tooth). Best of luck. You could also sell it on craigslist and use the money to buy something better.

 

[rpenning1970]

I wil check but i thnk it was a blade good for metal, not sure the fence helped, it still twisted

 

[down4derby]

Open the door and take a good pic of the blade and guides.

 

[LightninBoy]

Gosh, that's the "what not to buy" poster child. No 3-wheel saws ! I got one early on for $25 and regretted it ever after.

Could you elaborate on the no 3 wheel saws? I've shopped for band saws in the past and Craftsmans like the one pictured are always for sale on craigslist. Now I'm glad I never pulled the trigger on one. I always thought the design was strange compared to other band saws.

I plan to cut mine in half with the 12" Jet BS I bought off Craigslist !!

Ha!

 

[IAE Racing]

I had the "opportunity" to "use" one of those when I was helping cut out cars for church youth group. I wish I would have brought my own. Had all the same problems. I wish I could give you some advice on getting it to work better. The advice listed above like selling it is the best I got. I think a hand coping saw like I started out with would be faster. A belt sander with open grit might be more productive.

 

[quadad]

The 3-wheel band saws are just too difficult to maintain alignment on. Stick with 2-wheel band saws (which is most others).

 

[rpenning1970]

I am stuck with the three wheel for this year, maybe I can pick up something cheap by the summer or fall. I just cannot justify the money right now.

 

[GravityX]

Gosh, that's the "what not to buy" poster child. No 3-wheel saws ! I got one early on for $25 and regretted it ever after.

Could you elaborate on the no 3 wheel saws? I've shopped for band saws in the past and Craftsmans like the one pictured are always for sale on craigslist. Now I'm glad I never pulled the trigger on one. I always thought the design was strange compared to other band saws.

Here's an idea of the 3 wheel saw innards. A little crude, but you'll get the idea. Red wheels and blue saw blade.

 

[rpenning1970]

I got a couple of pictures of the saw and the adjustment area. please give me some guidance on this. I just put a new blade but have not tryed any test cuts to see what might be going on.

http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/rpenning1970/media/IMG_3839_zps2da5e2f3.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

You cans ee other pictures when you scroll forward in the album.

 

[LightninBoy]

Gosh, that's the "what not to buy" poster child. No 3-wheel saws ! I got one early on for $25 and regretted it ever after.

Could you elaborate on the no 3 wheel saws? I've shopped for band saws in the past and Craftsmans like the one pictured are always for sale on craigslist. Now I'm glad I never pulled the trigger on one. I always thought the design was strange compared to other band saws.

Here's an idea of the 3 wheel saw innards. A little crude, but you'll get the idea. Red wheels and blue saw blade.

Thanks Gravity! I'll be avoiding anything that looks like that.

 

[quadad]

Thanks for getting to this question Paul. For anyone interested, just look for the vertical overall appearance, there are a LOT out there. I have done well with an older Delta (friend is using now) and my current Jet - both 12" saws bought off Craigslist, which is a nice intermediate size. Couldn't see paying full price if you can do a little tinkering. You can get by with a 9-10", but I always prefer to buy PWD helpful tools that useful for other work. Others may have more insight.

 

[Mojo Racing]

Okay, so I need to purchase a band saw for better cutting of blocks.

Who in here uses a table saw to cut their blocks down. Do you use some sort of jig to hold the block while cutting?

I have a table saw and I have a scroll saw. I want straight lines, but don't want my car block to become something the model airplane clubs would think is "cool".

 

[IAE Racing]

I used to use a table saw. yes I had a jig to cut a basic wedge. certainly thicker than cars you'd find here.

 

[B_Regal Racing]

For Scout cars, I use a table saw as well. I use a "pushstick" type of jig to hold the wood down and push it between two fences. Basically, I rip the block in half and use a table top belt sander to get the final shape / thickness.

For league races, I just buy the DD4H blocks and spare the chance of losing fingers...

 

[Mojo Racing]

yeah.... my push stick for the saw has a 3" top piece on it to hold it down, and I was trying to saw the half inch off...

The funniest thing was the look my wife gave when the blocks hit the garage door 6 feet behind me.

I thought it was funny anyhow... It isn't like there was a finger attached to it or anything. LOL

 

[davevg]

I made a simple jig for my miter saw to just cut the plank. (It is a compound sliding) I feel somewhat safe using it, compared to trying to push a small block through my table saw and worrying about kickback.