JoshC1501 Posted September 27, 2014 Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 Took the "Getting the most from your Bandsaw" workshop with Michael Fortune today at MASW. Pretty interesting. Michael is a diehard Bandsaw fan. His process for setting up a bandsaw was great. He firmly believes drift only happens on poorly setup bandsaws. He showed us how to cut a bunch of stuff on the bandsaw, including all the jigs and cuts to do those crazy bent laminations he does in FW magazine articles. Very good day worth every dollar invested. Josh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenMasco Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 Is his method different than Snodgrass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC1501 Posted September 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 Not sure I know who Snodgrass is. I just re-setup my bandsaw using Michael's method. Less that 20 minutes and it is cutting better than ever. No drift to adjust for at all. Very clean cuts too. Now to build a few of the jigs he showed us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indy Cindy Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 I found a Michael Fortune bandsaw setup video on FWW. He uses guide blocks and makes it look so easy. I have a difficult time with the roller bearing guides on my Grizzly. Did he address roller guides at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC1501 Posted September 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 Yeah he did he doesn't like them at all, and he recommends replacing them if possible. If not then just set the bearings as close as u can so they don't spin when not cutting. That is what my saw has as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indy Cindy Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 So you mean that you can't turn the roller bearing itself by hand, but it will turn when you hand turn the wheel. You don't use the paper spacing trick. Right? I'm glad you were able to get a good setup using them. I can't seem to find a guide block system for my Grizzly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikem Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 I use the guide bearings on my Grizzly as defined by the instructions, with the side bearings just barely touching the blade. I make sure the blade is centered on the blade, and the bearing wheels are behind the the teeth of the blade. As long as the blade is sharp I get no drift. Further, this weekend I was working on a project that long story short I had to slightly thin a board to a half way point. The off cut was 1/32" thick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPCV_Woodworker Posted September 30, 2014 Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 My JET 19" has roller bearings as well. I used Fortune's video and just brought the bearings into light contact so that they only move when there is a tiny amount of deflection during cutting. My big issue is tensioning. My father is a fan of grizzly, so he modified the wheel placement to fit grizzly blades instead of JET blades. Really killed the tension adjustments... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC1501 Posted September 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 So you mean that you can't turn the roller bearing itself by hand, but it will turn when you hand turn the wheel. You don't use the paper spacing trick. Right? I'm glad you were able to get a good setup using them. I can't seem to find a guide block system for my Grizzly. He mentioned using a cigarette paper or tracing paper for the proper spacing, but said that just adjusting as close to the blade as possible but not touching was what he did. The eye can see a pretty small gap. I didn't use anything, just by eye. The roller guides should not move when you spin the wheels by hand. They will spin when you cut, but that is ok. Good blades are key here, if your blade has a poor weld you will be fighting it. He recommended a blade company that he uses, which I have not checked out. I have a Woodslicer blade and it is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.