Power feed for a bandsaw

[simso]

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever made a power feed for there bandsaw for doing resaws.

Looking at getting a driftmaster, now that the resaw king blade has been used quite a few times, its now starting to drift off.

Steve

[kiwinoz62]

Steve,
I've used my resaw blade maybe six times and it's starting to drift.
What about you? Post some feedback on the drift master if you can.

[simso]

Yes mine is developing drift now, as the blade is wearing in, it wants to track offline, so I need to calibrate for drift,

The driftmaster looks a treat because you can tweak the blade at the start of every cut, but the mounting system, appears to leave a lot for desire,

Alternatively if I can work out a way to modify the existing fence, then that would be better, but I have not pulled it off to have a really close look yet

Steve

[demonx]

Have you checked your blade tension?

I did notice I've had to tighten it a couple of times, but that might have just been that I didn't have it tight enough to begin with.

Also, can't remember if I posted or not, I took your advice and flipped the power box around to the front! The simple things.

[simso]

Yep, that had me stuffed re why the power box on that side, was not until I realised they install it there for shipping reasons

On the front side, works so much better

Yes, I had to re-tension my blade a few times as well, that being said, it really is one of the best bandsaws I have had the pleasure of using.

Ideally, I will work out a way to be able to micro adjust the existing fence rather than buying the driftmaster, the driftmaster looks good but from what I understand its really made for the laguna 16 model so it overhangs all the edges on the 14 model

Steve

[simso]

So after sourcing price here in australia, that is just ridiculous for the driftmaster. And they dont fit the laguna 14's properly either

So calibrated drift the old fashion way today, I can rip a block 600mm by 200mm by 50mm in half end to end with a drift of under a mm, so thats not bad, but it would be nice to be able to micro adjust the guide

[curly]

I reckon the whole drift thing is a bit of a furphy .
We run off hundreds of sets and only ever use a straight fence . As square to the band as we can get it .
Either the blade is not sharp , the machine is not properly set up or the block has grain run off . At the pointy end of it there's plenty other factors but those three are the regular causes .
Spending big money on a fence in my opinion is misdirected , I'd repair and recalibrate the guides and change band more often . When resawing on carbon steel or bimetal bands we will often change out every couple of hours ( but we do sharpen in house ) .
Sharp is the biggest culprit of wobbly or drifting cuts . The difference it makes on a bandsaw is massively different to other machine blade tools . A table saw will bludgeon through blunt , a thicknesser will hammer away blunt too . Bandsaws are delicate things .
Pete

[Strings]

I tend to agree with Pete

[simso]

I agree and also dis-agree, If a bandsaw is setup correctly, I believe there is less tendency for a blade to drift the bigger the blade, anything an inch and over = stability,under an inch and you have to calibrate for drift.

I have two bandsaws in house, the little one with a 1/4 inch blade drifts like a bitch even with a new blade, everything set nicely, compensate for drift at the start of your cut and it cuts just fine.

The laguna with an inch and a quarter blade cuts pretty good, but tweak the drift and I can cut a veneer out of a block, dont tweak and I can split a block end to end within a mm'ish, but not a veneer

[Kev3]

Hi Steve,
getting back to your original Q. on a power feed - I haven't tried to make one, but came across this from a review of 14" bandsaws in Fine Woodworking.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/tool-gui ... ndsaw.aspx

skip through to about the 2 minute mark - they knocked up a drawer slide, weight and pulley affair.

Cheers

[simso]

Thanks for the link, that is an extremely well thought out idea

I was looking at putting a power feed on the veneer side, but after seeing that, draw slides are another feasible option

The laguna for us is a dedicated resaw unit, it does nothing but that

Mmmm thoughts and ideas

[soulman]

Hi Steve.

Not the cheapest option but a great setup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyetxcr ... freload=10

Ross

[simso]

Now thats nice

[kiwigeo]

Imagine getting your hand caught in that sucker.........your mitt would come out neatly sawn on one side and sanded back to the bone on the other.

[simso]

Yep, and at 2200 us dollars plus shipping, its not going to happen

[needsmorecowbel]

jebus...

[Nick]

Yep, and at 2200 us dollars plus shipping, its not going to happen

*Falls from chair*
Jay-zus, must be paying alot for the Laguna branding

[Allen]

We've been looking at one of these for a couple of years now.

http://www.ledamachinery.com.au/index.p ... nit-detail

[simso]

Thats very similiar to what I was looking at to start with, carbatec have a mini version for 799

[Tom West]

If one is to eliminate drift the band must track in the same location on both wheels. This requires both wheels to be co-planar. The band tracking on the front portion of one wheel and the back portion of the other puts a slight twist in the blade and thus drift. At first glance one might conclude drift is caused by uneven set. While this may be true is some cases doubt if it is much of a player. One must check the wheels for co-planar.
Tom

[curly]

The coplanar cause for drift is particularly true for horizontal bandsaw mills with no guides such as Laidlor made machines . In a shop bandsaw ( or a mill with guides )any twist in the band can be rectified with a suitable guide set up . Because the wheels have a curved face , upon which the band usually rides slightly forward of the crown , the band actually exits the wheels on a slight angle . That is to say the teeth are toed in toward the fence . If this is not rectified the saw will indeed want to cut at an angle . With cheap bearing guides it can be difficult to pull the band out true . Much better are plate or block guides . In any case the inner guides are bought up first with a very slight deflection upon the band to provide the necessary correction , being careful to keep the fall of the blade plumb . Then the outside guides are bought up to a minimum clearance . My Hitachi cb100 has custom made guides with solid carbide faces which generate low friction and low wear . The ideal is to have every part of the band supported behind the gullet which prevents any torsion while cutting .
Pete