Drifting Away........

Hey Bill!

"Alien Artifact" eh...........? Well that would explain a lot

Size wise Big Blue is not really that large, it is rather stout, but not much larger in foot print than most 14" bandsaws, I think.

I saw your video, thanks for mailing it to me, your saw is not exactly "Normal" either, what with cutting that thin slice off that board, and NO guides at all

But man it was S-L-O-W..........compared to big blue

Not an insult at all, just an observation, and a realization of how specialized a saw Big Blue really is.

Please so keep us informed and in the loop, your research is very interesting, to say the least!

PS, do you have a DC hooked up to that thing?

Cheers!

No DC system at all. I have a shop vac. I seldom get to play with my own saws, so I seldom make saw dust. It's mostly aluminum and steel nowadays. I only had that saw for one week and it's gone already so I won't be gloating for a while. But I'll be back with more movies next month. I'm trying to make enough saws to keep one in stock all the time but it's been spotty from the start. I can't even afford to own one of my own saws! Something's not right! BTW: the saw will cut much faster when I can re-set a 3/4" blade. I'm still waitng for my machinist to make the "Amazing Falberg 'Set-o-Matic' Blade Setter". Can I get in trouble with the Moderator for selling stuff I haven't made yet? Maybe I should add: "It's no good; nobody'll ever buy it!" so it doesn't sound like I'm using the forum as a soap box.

Hey Bill, just for fun I ran my little video camera and sliced off a thin piece of wood.

Big Blue sure don't cut curves, but in a straight line, it will cut circles around most other saws

The wood is Akagashi, which is also known as "Japanese Evergreen Oak". It is a lot harder and denser than most of the red or white Oak I've ever seen, heavier too.

The piece was 62 cm long (24") and 13 cm tall (6"), I sliced off a piece 1mm thick









You can see the video here........

Big Blue 1mm cut<- at Youtube.com

Cheers!

Stu, not to jump in the middle of you chat with William, but I was curious if you have ever leveled your bandsaw, and I mean really leveled it with a machinist level? A lot of people see heavy cast iron and think its rock solid but cast iron is soft and will twist out of shape if its not level.

Bandsaws are without a doubt one of the most complicated machines to get to set up and track straight in my opinion anyway, and there are a slew of things that will throw them off. I won't go into all of them here because I have no experience with Big Blue so I am at a loss there. I know once our bandsaw on our sawmill started tracking off sideways I had a heck of a time getting it to track true once again.

If your machine is not level, or has never been leveled, I would start there though.

Hey Travis, please do jump in!

I have not leveled the table on the Big Blue, fore exactly the reasons you state, it is very heavy and solid, so I'd not think could be out of level, but I will check.

One tool I lack is a good straigh edge, but that should be here next weel along with the other stuff I recently ordered.

I guess I could shim it where the table is attached to the trunions.........?


The trunions mount on the left side in the pic below, on the part of the frame that is at a 45, sorry I don't seem to have a pic of the trunions themselves....

You can sort of see them in the top right corner of this pic....




I'll put the straight edge on the table when I get it.

Cheers!

Hey Stuart; Thanks for the video! I knew there was a reason I joined this forum. That was an excellent video and you can be sure I'll copy-cat when I get another saw to play with. I've also cut potato chips of course, but never thought to film it. I should have.
The fact that such cuts are impressive to most bandsawyers indicates how few actually get flat cuts. As you and I know, once you're flat it's just a matter of setting the fence to whatever thickness you want. Big Blue is obviously set up to a skinny gnat's pettutti for accuracy and that two inch blade is just NOT going to budge when the chips are down! I can't see the cut depth capacity of Big Blue; will it cut 16" chunks? I don't think I'll ever match its speed but, with wider blades, I intend to get close. It is truly a heroic machine and well maintained. Was it originally designed to carry a 2" blade or did you shoe-horn that in? I ask because it looks like the blade over-hangs the wheels. Is that something I should try? HMMMMMMMMMMM! I'd have to extend the front cover..........1/2"?

Also: how much does it cost to store pics and videos on YouTube? That seems like a handy way to trade videos on line. Posting to my website involves a bit more than casual editing for me and YouTube could be a handy web tool for situations like this. Is it safe and secure?

Hey Bill!

Big Blue was designed to carry that 2 1/4" (63mm) blade and only that blade. The newer CB75F version, will take a smaller blade, but you also need a whole other set of guides.......... that is if you USE guides

The blade is designed to run just about over the whole area of the wheel, at the front of the wheel is a very slight indentation, that is filled with rubber, for the teeth..........


The rubber on mine is rock hard, but there is still some space there, I run the blade just about square up on the wheels, maybe a bit of over hang, but not much.

You will notice that wheels don't have tires, and are flat, yes, this is a very job specific machine.

Max cut is just under 13".

YouTube is free, I just signed up, and I have a few videos up there, including a tour of my Dungeon.

I find it a very good way to share vids, it does not impact my bandwidth on my personal website.

Looking forward to your vids!

Cheers!