Square bandsaw miter slot to blade - help please!
#11
Finally got my Grizzly G0513X2 assembled (took this long to get help to move it from the shipping pallet to the mobile base.) I managed to square the table to the blade although it seems to change with every tension release. I am at a loss for squaring the miter slot to the blade. Grizzly says to put a ruler parallel to the blade and measure to the miter slot. There is at least a 20 degree arc at the ends of the ruler and my actually straight ruler appears to cover a gullet and 1 or 2 teeth of the ½" blade provided by Grizzly. And of course, the table is held to the trunnions by 4 bolts and just slides around limited only by to holes bored into the trunnions.

So how do you folks deal with the issue?

TIA
Thanks,  Curt
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"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."
      -- Soren Kierkegaard
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#12
(07-25-2019, 06:54 PM)cputnam Wrote: Finally got my Grizzly G0513X2 assembled (took this long to get help to move it from the shipping pallet to the mobile base.)  I managed to square the table to the blade although it seems to change with every tension release.  I am at a loss for squaring the miter slot to the blade.  Grizzly says to put a ruler parallel to the blade and measure to the miter slot.  There is at least a 20 degree arc at the ends of the ruler and my actually straight ruler appears to cover a gullet and 1 or 2 teeth of the ½" blade provided by Grizzly.  And of course, the table is held to the trunnions by 4 bolts and just slides around limited only by to holes bored into the trunnions.

So how do you folks deal with the issue?

TIA

Here is link on setting up bandsaw.  Long but very detailed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU

and


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNdrkmx6ehI

Bob
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#13
(07-25-2019, 06:54 PM)cputnam Wrote: Finally got my Grizzly G0513X2 assembled (took this long to get help to move it from the shipping pallet to the mobile base.)  I managed to square the table to the blade although it seems to change with every tension release.  I am at a loss for squaring the miter slot to the blade.  Grizzly says to put a ruler parallel to the blade and measure to the miter slot.  There is at least a 20 degree arc at the ends of the ruler and my actually straight ruler appears to cover a gullet and 1 or 2 teeth of the ½" blade provided by Grizzly.  And of course, the table is held to the trunnions by 4 bolts and just slides around limited only by to holes bored into the trunnions.

So how do you folks deal with the issue?

TIA

One way is to put a 3/4" piece of stock in the miter slot and then fit a piece of thin plywood  or MDF against it with a width that almost touches the side of the blade.  Now fully loosen three of the trunnions bolts; loosen the fourth one just enough that you can rotate the table until the edge of the plywood is parallel with the blade.  Tighten the trunnion bolts and you're done.  

John
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#14
(07-25-2019, 06:54 PM)cputnam Wrote: Finally got my Grizzly G0513X2 assembled (took this long to get help to move it from the shipping pallet to the mobile base.)  I managed to square the table to the blade although it seems to change with every tension release.  I am at a loss for squaring the miter slot to the blade.  Grizzly says to put a ruler parallel to the blade and measure to the miter slot.  There is at least a 20 degree arc at the ends of the ruler and my actually straight ruler appears to cover a gullet and 1 or 2 teeth of the ½" blade provided by Grizzly.  And of course, the table is held to the trunnions by 4 bolts and just slides around limited only by to holes bored into the trunnions.

So how do you folks deal with the issue?

TIA

Don't release the tension.  I know that's the popular thing to do, and there's likely some science behind it... but I think I've broken two bandsaw blades in the last 20 years.  And one of those was rusted all to hell from sitting for a couple of years (and coincidentally, not under tension due to a move).
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#15
Squaring the miter gauge to the bandsaw blade serves what purpose? Bandsaw cuts require truing with a plane. Good enough is usually good enough. My next step is either my jointer or hand plane with sometimes a shooting board. What’s most important is the cutting line’s accuracy and having the ability to sneak up on it.
Any free advice given is worth double price paid.
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#16
I find it funny that some folks will argue that a well tuned BS makes a TS unnecessary while others will argue that even the best tuned BS is inadequate.  My take on it is I want my BS to cut square/square, just like I expect from my TS.  The cut quality won't be as good but there's no reason to accept less than 90°.  

John
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#17
But John, does a bandsaw leave an adequate cut line for gluing joinery? Most times no because a bandsaw finish is a rough cut. Not saying that is bad because anything closer to the final line makes subsequent work easier. I’ve never thought of a bandsaw miter cut as anything ready for anything finished other than rough carpentry work. Careful cutting to a smooth sharply marked line with a bandsaw is almost impossible for any stock of width or length. Therefore IMO, accuracy is not a quality metric of a bandsaw for cutting stock.
Any free advice given is worth double price paid.
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#18
One of the prime reasons I bought the saw is for ripping. To me, that means pushing stock up against a fence and then pushing through the blade. I've always run a jointer plane across the resulting edge when using a TS and will do so with the BS, but as John said, I expect that curt to be at 90º and I expect the blade to follow the cut line. If I were to use the miter gauge, I'd expect that cut to be at 90º from the reference edge.
Thanks,  Curt
-----------------
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."
      -- Soren Kierkegaard
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#19
(07-26-2019, 03:18 PM)Woodenfish Wrote: But John, does a bandsaw leave an adequate cut line for gluing joinery? Most times no because a bandsaw finish is a rough cut. Not saying that is bad because anything closer to the final line makes subsequent work easier. I’ve never thought of a bandsaw miter cut as anything ready for anything finished other than rough carpentry work. Careful cutting to a smooth sharply marked line with a bandsaw is almost impossible for any stock of width or length. Therefore IMO, accuracy is not a quality metric of a bandsaw for cutting stock.

For some joints, yes.  I can cut tenon cheeks as smooth as anything one can do with a handsaw straight off my BS.  To do that you need to use the right blade and the saw needs to be set up so that it will cut straight and parallel with the miter slot.  The fence can then be set parallel with the miter slot and you will get nice smooth, parallel cuts.  Then by using a spacer block you can cut both cheeks and the thickness of the resulting tenon will be constant for all your tenons.  Michael Fortune showed how to cut dovetails on the BS that require little/no paring.  Never done it myself, but Fortune is a far more accomplished woodworking than I so I believe it works.  

But no, I wouldn't use the BS to cut rails to length, or miters, and expect them to fit as tightly as ones cut with a TS.  However, I do expect them to be cut at whatever angle I set the miter gage, as the prior poster said.
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#20
I seem to recall a few threads recently where tracking the blade slightly forward or back on the the wheels will make the blade cut towards or away from the rip fence. Wouldn't this also adjust the cut when using the miter gauge? I know that in reality many things can affect drift, but this may be a solution (or the problem) to at least get it close enough to cut parallel to the miter slot within the adjustment of the table.
Sign at N.E. Vocational School Cabinetmaking Shop 1976, "Free knowledge given daily... Bring your own container"
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