jmc0319

I got my new 14" Grizzly saw. I am having a hard time ripping a straight line down a 2"x 2" x 30" piece of red oak. It is very wavy for lack of a better term. Any ideas? Is the oak too hard? Am I feeding the wood too fast?

nealtw

Wrong blade.
http://woodgears.ca/bandsaw/resaw.html

jmc0319

Thanks Neal nice again. So basically the blade that came with the saw is not good for much except soft, thin wood.

nealtw

For most of the cutting I have done I used a 1/4" with 6 teeth per inch, never had much luck with smaller blades but I had scroll saws for tight cuts so it didn't matter. For ripping big stuff and hardwood 2" stock I used something like 3/4 with 2 teeth per inch. It was the first big blade I tryed and it worked so I stuck with it. There is no universal blade.

jmc0319

Sounds like a plan for me too.

jmc0319

Neal,

Hate to be a nuisance BUT I think this blade,will suffice for what I want to do. Thoughts?

Ripping hardwood: High quality tool steel lasts longer & cuts better! Made in the U.S.A. 93-1/2" x 3/4", .025" gauge, 3 TPI Hook Bandsaw Blade.

Curved cuts: High quality tool steel lasts longer & cuts better! Made in the U.S.A. 93-1/2" x 1/8", .025" gauge, 18 TPI Raker Bandsaw Blade.

Thoughts please.

Thanks.

elbo

I think most of your problem is that you dont have the blade tension set tight enough, you might also have to adjust the fence. the manual tells you how to do it. A band saw is not really meant for ripping but it can be used, I would use a 3/4 inch blade with a minimum number of teeth making contact with the wood. you always want about 3 teeth in the wood and a big enough gullet to get rid of the sawdust. always remember that the widest blade will give you the straightest cut, save the smaller blades for patern cutting and curved cutting
I also have the 14 inch grizzly and even have used the 3/8 inch blade for resawing when I'm too lazy to change the blade
In a nutshell, adjust the saw properly , including the fence, tension the blade so there is no flutter, use the wides blade you have and dont hog the cut

nealtw

The heart stopper is when you break a blade.

jmc0319

Thanks Elbo. After I sent this I played with the tension some more and it seemed to get much better. I will be getting two more blades. One wider and one smaller.

jmc0319

Elbo, being that you have the same saw, do you go by the tension guide on the back of the saw?