Davis Wells Bandsaw Question

Dan Mosley

Member
Messages
1,169
Location
Palm Springs, Ca
I have been cutting logs into round blanks with the restored Davis-Wells bandsaw i have. Started cutting up some logs today and the first few cut very smoothly....then I ran into a problem when cutting on one of the blanks - it started to bog down bad, had to stop let the motore pick up speed again and try to cut more but it kept bogging down....Then it started to smoke some and i thought it was the wood but it was comming from below. When i noticed the smoke during the cutting i shut it down and stopped cutting. The motor was very hot but no damage done. I let it cool down and started it up later on and it runs fine.
Trying now to figure out what im doing wrong........

It seemed at first that the blade was dull and cutting these thick wet logs i just thought it was lack of HP on large wet blanks.

The thrust bearing as set fine with a paper thin space and the blocks are set fine same paper thin space.
The blade still feels very sharp and i have changed blades and still having the same problme. I noticed you can not make it cut to much in the way of a circle or the blade will bend and want to hit on the insert. I know you could take the insert out but i dont mind the extra cuts to get it round.
Tires are new and it runs true on the crown.

I included some pictures of the motor and saw.........Anybody have any ideas on what is going wrong ???
Maybe a differnet blade from Louis Ittura with larger rough saw teeth may help but i thought i would see what others with these kind of machines think....................Thanks Dan
 

Attachments

  • Bandsaw1 (600 x 450).jpg
    Bandsaw1 (600 x 450).jpg
    49.6 KB · Views: 57
  • bandsaw3 (600 x 450).jpg
    bandsaw3 (600 x 450).jpg
    27.3 KB · Views: 57
  • bandsaw4 (600 x 450).jpg
    bandsaw4 (600 x 450).jpg
    69.4 KB · Views: 50
  • bandsaw7 (600 x 450).jpg
    bandsaw7 (600 x 450).jpg
    56.4 KB · Views: 48
  • bandsaw8 (450 x 600).jpg
    bandsaw8 (450 x 600).jpg
    70.6 KB · Views: 59
Hi Dan

A couple things come to mind, your blade choice, binding and lubrication.

First, what is the Threads Per Inch (TPI) of that blade, and the width of it? It looks fairly wide and with a high TPI, not good for cutting green blanks, as the blade would load up and then not cut.

I use Viking blades sold by Lee Valley (they used to be identified as "Timber Wolf") the one I use for cutting up turning blanks are 3/8" x 3 TPI, they work very well for this.

Second, when cutting any wood, the wood can pinch the blade, causing it to bind, which gives you excessive friction. I find this happens even more on green wood blanks I cut for turnings. Make up some small wedges, thin ones, when you get the cut past the blade an inch or two, stop, and tap in a wedge to keep the kerf open and not pinch the blade.

Third, lubrication, I find on green woods this is also very important, the green wood will fill up and gum up your blade in no time, even an aggressive blade like I use. I keep a can of Pam cooking spray nearby, and spray the blade with it, yes, no kidding.:D I spray the blade when it is dry, and let the Pam dry on the blade, as a coating, then I continue to spray the blade as I go along, it does not take much, just a squirt. The blade will still, eventually, get a build up of wood and such that it will need cleaning off, but when you do go to clean it, a soft brush, and the gunk comes right off, because the cooking spray has not let it become too attached.

Works for me :D

BTW, I've never had any trouble with finishing any wood after the cooking spray, I use this on resawing on Big Blue, my large resaw bandsaw as well.

I hope this helps!

Cheers!
 
Thanks Stuart and Vaughn

The blade measures 1/2" wide and with a tape measure up to it 8-9 teeth per inch.
Hope this helps
 
Last edited:
Thanks Stuart and Vaughn

The blade measures 1/2" wide and with a tape measure up to it 8-9 teeth per inch.
Hope this helps

Dan, your blade has 3 to 4 times too many TPI for cutting wet/green wood, (as stated by Stu and Vaughn), and is not clearing the chips which causes the blade to heat up and tries to cook the sap causing drag AND blade distortion. Keep the blade clean and use the PAM to lube the blade "REGULARLY". As also stated, try a 3/8" blade with 2 to 3 TPI instead of a 1/2" blade, AND unless you are VERY proficient with the saw, I suggest making a circle cutting jig and using it instead of trying to make the cuts freehand. BE SURE that the line between the blade and the pivot point of the circle cutting jig is perpendicular to the flat side of the blade AND that this line is set even with the Front (cutting edge) of the blade. This will assure that the blade does not have any twist in it as it makes the cut. Stu's Wedge tip may also be needed on "Some pieces of Wood" if it has a lot of internal stress in it..
 
Last edited:
Dan,
As the others have said, your blade is way to fine for cutting blanks. Thicker material needs a finer TPI. For example, your 10TPI blade is designed for 1/2" to about 1 1/2" thick material. For green wood blanks you want something around 3TPI to clear the swarf out of the cut. A thinner blade will also help, 1/2" is too wide and just adds drag, especially when cutting round blanks. The wider the blade the less turning radius. A 3/8" blade will cut a 2 1/2" dia circle were as a 1/2" blade will only cut a 5" dia circle. That's perfect world too, wet, green wood adds to the drag and reduces that turning radius.

When cutting your circles, be careful about side pressure on the blade. Often times folks press the blank into the side of the blade causing deflection which adds to the friction and reduces the cutting action. Norm's suggestion of a circle cutting jig is a good idea. It eliminates all the "proper form" problems and also insures your blanks are really round. That makes things easier when it comes to truing them too.
Also, make sure your blank is fairly flat on the bottom. If the blank rocks back and forth you can also bind the blade as the blank gets pulled down by the blade. Lastly, your blade may also be dull. Unless the blade is slap worn out, it's sometimes hard to tell just by feel if a blade is really dull. All those things will add considerable friction and use more HP to overcome.

As far as a blade recommendation I like the 3/8" x 3AS from Suffolk which is designed for green wood, though others make good blades too.

If you still have overheating problems with the motor after you try a new blade, then it may be the motor. Without knowing exactly what type motor you have all I can offer is some suggestions on what to look for. the first thing I'd check is make sure the wiring is heavy enough for the motor. Second, depending on the type motor, make sure the start circuit is actually disengaging and the start windings are dropping out.

Mike

Oh, and BTW, that is one SWEEET looking BS!
 
Last edited:
Top