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I have a 10" Jet bandsaw. It works good sometimes. I was using it the other day to cut some Cedar up for liners. I wanted to do 3 piece, and almost just laminate them with no bending, but the saw started tracking weird. I took the table off, and had quite a time getting the blade to set right.

It has a large wingnut to hold the setting for the plane of the top wheel. It RUBS on the bolt heads sticking out. I have it tight now, with one wing ON the bolt.

I don't use the saw for re-sawing. I did some triangluar sticks to cut into tentalones when it was running good one day. I like it for violin/viola scrolls, the outside of tops and backs, and repetitive cuts, like cutting tentalones.

A table top scroll saw will do a 2" cut. My saw only has 9.5" from the blade to the body, so many scroll saws better that. You can get dozens of scroll saw blades for the price of one band saw blade, and my saw can make quick use of it. Sometimes they just snap. Sometimes they fall off. Maybe that upper wheel has been moving a lot?
Even the other day cutting 1" cedar, I couldn't get it to cut perpendicular, or in a straight line easily.

It did cut a piece of 3/4 plywood into the shape for the form of the asymmetrical archtop really nice; just before working on the cedar.

I just don't like that it is so unpredictable in how it is going to run, and if you will get through something before another $16 on sale blade breaks.

Anyone use scroll saws?

It would be handy for something like the wooden rosette for the vihuela. I did it by hand with a fret saw, and it wasn't that much fun. Plus, the saw cuts would be square. It would be good for inlays too.

For that rosette, it would have to be using pin less blades.

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I bought a scroll saw for detail work (it was a good one that I came across used). I had it about 2 weeks and sold it. The reciprocating blade made a splintery cut that messed up the wood I was cutting. I decided it was useless for the fine work that I wanted to do. I have an old Craftsman 12” band saw that I use for my detail cuts (I have a bigger saw for resawing). I bought the saw used and had to replace some bearings for the wheels. You might check your bearings if the wheel plane can’t be set right. I just took the old bearings to the local bearing shop and they matched them—there was no need to order parts. When a previously working bandsaw starts cutting awry, for me it is usually a dull blade. A dull blade resists cutting by going anywhere it can. Those smaller bandsaws also use special, more flexible blades to go around the smaller wheels. I don’t know what that does about their cost.

Thanks Bob,

Actually, I had the best luck with Jet blades when I first got the saw.They are thinner, more flexible. More money; $35. 1/4" and 1/2" with 6 teeth. They have a 1/2" with 3 teeth for resawing, and a 1/8" with 18 teeth for thin stock. Those 2 are $10 more.

The Jet blades are harder to find; but I see that Rockler has them. If I dialed everything in on the saw, the Jet blades would probably help. I think the other blades are too stiff. The Jet's are only .025 thick besides.

I think I need to get, or probably make a new piece to fit in the hole around the blade in the table. I've never seen anyone talk about that, but I don't want that big of a slot. I think things get down there sometimes and wreak havoc.

I did put new bearings in it, but they don't seem to be very high quality.

Did you use a really fine blade for your thin stock? Is it the back and forth?

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Ken I have a not particularly expensive bandsaw and when I get the sort of problems you are seeing it is almost always the setting up of the blade guides. They can easily get out of order. Particularly the one under the table whose design isn't great - it uses a die cast frame which means you can't tighten the bolts up too tight.

Blade tracking on the wheels can also be a problem but generally once it is set properly it tends not to move.

I certainly use a zero clearance insert to reduce chipping. Sometimes simply a sacrificial backing board under the piece being cut.

Didn't have much luck with a scroll saw but maybe I wasn't using it right.

Cheers Dave

The scroll saw blade that I had seemed pretty fine. On the up stroke, it would lift splinters from the spruce. And yeah, you want to dial in the bandsaw and use the right blades.

I cut my solid rosettes with a router (with a circle cutting base). I cut the inner and outer edges and then slice out the rosettes at thickness on the band saw. Don’t try to bandsaw anything that doesn’t have a solid, linear base to ride on the bandsaw table—anything round will runaway. I glue the round ones to a backer board that will rider against the fence.

Honestly, I never even thought about the insert, and the gargantuan slot that they put in the table. Nobody is going to use a blade that is even one fourth of that slot width.

But cutting the outside of the form, I wasn't sure if the blade would cut the small inner radius, so I cut slots to the line, so that chunks could fall out. THEN I noticed that the chunks could fall. It isn't that bright were the saw is: 3 feet from my bench.

Last night I worked on the guides. The side ones were pretty good, but the back ones were not even close. I did notice when cutting the curves on the guitar outline for the linings, that you can HEAR when you are pushing the blade to the side. The bearings transmit their sound to the blade. I never noticed that before. I DID notice LOUD bearing noise before, when the bearings were shot. That is a different sound.

They say that you learn a job for a while, and then at some point it becomes yours; you are the master of the job. You do everything different, and are aware of all that is going on. I just didn't have much experience on band saws. I don't know who "they" is. I just remember reading it.

After that, I spent 20 minutes or so, and made a new plug for the blade. I found a piece of UHMWPE? that was 10-12 grand too big on the o.d. I set it up in the lathe, turned it, squared the face, and cut it off with a coping saw with it spinning in reverse. I marked a center line, and drilled the same dust port array with a 5/32 drill. Slice it with the saw blade a little more than half way through.

Done! And I have the chunk still in the lathe; I could slice off a few more.

Now I have to find a way to plug that huge slot in the table from underneath. Why do they do such dumb things? I just measured it. Almost 3/16 wide! Half of that would have been plenty. I'll come up with something.

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