ADVANCED BANDSAW CLASS

Presented by Nadim and the Toronto Tool Library

Section I – Technical Terms
 Resaw – a cut reducing the thickness of a board, or dividing it into thinner sections or veneers
 Crosscut – a cut across the width of a board
 Ripcut – a cut across the length of a board
 Kerf – the width of the cut of the blade where material is turned into wood dust
 Set – Alternating pitch in the teeth to create a kerf slightly wider than the blade’s thickness,
preventing binding
 TPI – Teeth Per Inch – extends into blade types, thicknesses, teeth per inch, and uses for each
 Drift – A blade's bias leaning to one side, skewing a straight cut, usually due to improper
adjustments

Section II – Useful Tricks

Safety Tips:

 *Always unplug the machine when changing the blade

 *Plant palms on the table and push the workpiece with your fingers – provides excellent stability
and prevents any surprising jumps on sawing through soft spots or voids.
 When reaching the end of a cut on a small piece, the cut can be completed with a piece of scrap
wood or a pencil’s eraser instead of your finger, keeping digits a safe distance from the blade.
 Round objects like dowel can be dangerous to cut due to the saw grabbing and rolling the
workpiece. To prevent this roll grab, clamp the sides of the workpiece to flatten its bottom
surface and so that it has no freedom to roll forward.

Neat Tricks:
 Relief cuts free up space for a bandsaw blade to make tighter curves than otherwise could
without them.
 Multiple copies of the same shape can be worked when layers are stacked atop each other with
glue, nails, or tape.
 Squaring the table to the blade can be done with either a small square, or alternatively making a
cut into a 2x4, flipping the piece over, and fitting the slit into the back of the blade. If the cut and
the blade line up perfectly, the table is square.
 Bandsaw blades can carve edges like a small sander by dragging the workpiece across the side of
the blade as it runs.
 A zero clearance table can be easily fashioned with a flat board sawn half-way into the blade,
and taped to the table. This allows for very tiny cuts to be made without falling through the
insert, and stabilizes the bottom of the blade’s cut.
Section III – Replacing The Blade

1. *Unplug the machine*

2. Remove table insert and the wheel covers
3. Back off all guides and guards
4. Loosen tension knob
5. Remove the blade
6. Mount the new blade
7. Retighten blade
8. Test spin with hand and adjust tracking
9. Return blade guides and guards
10.Plug back in and put to work

Illustrated: the proper setup of blade guides

*guide blocks set right behind teeth For best results, set the teeth of the blade to the
*thrust bearing set to skimming back of blade very center of the wheel using the tracking knob.