Bandsaw resaw...should I expect better?

[bennybmn]

Sounds like you're on the right track. Only thing I will add is the reason you want less teeth is so that there's more room to carry waste out of the cut. It's especially important with resawing given the thickness of material you're cutting.

[Ohio Mike]

Doesn't look too bad.
Normally resaw blades are wider than 1/4".
1/2" and up

Would the roller guides make much difference?  They are kinda pricey. 

It's been my experience that the guides make little difference *when cutting straight*.  Since most resawing involves cutting a straight line, the guides don't come into play much.

Mike

[Arlin Eastman]

I think you are doing ok.  I would echo that your tpi of 6 is too fine; 3 or 4 tpi with more width will make it a lot easier....

Like Admiral and Stwood said about the blade.  I use a 5/8 4 tpi blade to resaw with.  I do not think yours will allow a 5/8" but a 1/2" blade will work very well also.  I think the skip blade or raker is the best and the Pos Claw will be the worst you can use but great for wet wood.  So having several blades and change them is the best.

[kurt18947]

My saw (Rikon 10-325) came with bearing guides. I switched them out to blocks and find no reason to change them back to date. My reason originally was that bearings don't work well for narrower blades such as 1/4". Running bearings partly on the teeth didn't seem like a great idea and there's not enough smooth metal behind the teeth on a narrow blade for bearings to run. I started with oil soaked hardwood blocks and am currently running solid surface material cut and drilled. So far so good. I don't know why no one makes a blade suitable for 14" type saws with fewer than 3 teeth/inch. I'm sure there's a reason, I just don't know what that reason is.

[KyleD]

Lots of good advice on the blade here. 

One thing not mentioned is proper stock preparation. Do you have a good working order jointer?
The wood blank needs to be straight and square where it runs against the reference edges of your band saw (fence and table). This will help the quality of cut. The face of the wood blank can be lightly jointed before each bandsaw cut. This also means you have only one face to clean up on the off-cut sheets.

Also; is that the fence in the picture? If so it needs to be higher so you can use a push block or feather board to keep the wood blank solidly against the fence as it is pushed through the blade.

[Scott W]

Lots of good advice on the blade here. 

One thing not mentioned is proper stock preparation. Do you have a good working order jointer?
The wood blank needs to be straight and square where it runs against the reference edges of your band saw (fence and table). This will help the quality of cut. The face of the wood blank can be lightly jointed before each bandsaw cut. This also means you have only one face to clean up on the off-cut sheets.

Also; is that the fence in the picture? If so it needs to be higher so you can use a push block or feather board to keep the wood blank solidly against the fence as it is pushed through the blade.

Yes...I did the jointing you mentioned. A good working jointer was part of my week off festivities...

That is the fence. I know it's a sad fence but I had just replaced the aforementioned goodies and I was like "hmmm can i do this?". Not a whole lot of thought past that.

Thanks

[handi]

I run an older Delta 14” bandsaw as well. I do a lot of resawing with it. I am still using the composite guides that came with it. 

I have had roller guides on other bandsaws in the past, and this saw cuts as well as any.

I currently use a 3/4” wide Timberwolf blade and can resaw 6” boards in half accurately, or slice 1/16” veneers if needed.