Bandsaw boxes

Bill McQueen

Member
Messages
140
Location
Lincoln AR
I want to make some band saw boxes, but my first attempt was a flop. My 3/8 blade twisted. I've always had trouble with this. I know band saw boxes use what 1/8 blade or so right? That seems to me to make it really hard to hold something that small from twisting. Are those Carter bearings any good or their single bearing blade follower. ROCKLER sells them among others.

Thanks :dunno:
 
Bill, have you "tuned" up your bandsaw? I am no expert on bandsaws, always pull out my "cheat sheet" before I start a box. My cheat sheet is a couple of good articles from a couple of wood magazines that I stapled together and stuck in a file box in a folder for such occassions. Blade tension is the first thing that comes to mind. The next thing that happens to my students frequently is they tend to push the material through to fast. Lastly, what kind of wood are you using to make your box? My boxes made of red oak are a lot more time consuming than the boxes made of popular. Oh, one more thing that comes to mind. A bandsaw blade really does dull quicker than I originally thought. Especially if it is the cheap ones like I put on the bandsaws at school. To insure success, before I start a run of bandsaw boxes, I put on a new blade. It is a joyful way to cut boxes with a good blade and it does insure success more often than not.
 
Bill..
I have only been making bandsaw boxes for about a year or so. And surprisingly, they are turning out very well. I use a 3/16" blade from Woodcraft Bands. http://www.woodcraftbands.com/Pricing page.htm
(not to be confused with Woodcraft woodworking stores). I also have Carter guides. Although I have one, I don't use the Stabilizer guide. I can cut the intricate curves that some of the boxes have, and I can even resaw with this blade. IMHO, the key to making good cuts on bandsaw boxes are having a properly tuned bandsaw, and using the right blade with the correct tension. Give them a call at Woodcraft Bands. They are good people (John and James)and will help you along with choosing the correct blade. I really wouldn't bother sending them an email. You probably won't get a reply in a timely manner, if you get one at all. They are a two man shop who are "older". They don't appear to be computer oriented at all. I think one of the guys' DIL put the web site up for them.

Hope this helps. And keep plugging away at the boxes. They are a lot of fun to make.

Jim
 
Jim, I'll have to remember the Woodcraft Bands website. Looks like they have good prices. :thumb: I've been paying a bit less for mine at Ellis Machinery, but Woodcraft Bands looks like a similar type of small company that deals with the commercial shops more than the hobbyists. Those are often the best places to find this sort of supplies, since they're not spending the big bucks on advertising like the "big name" woodworking suppliers.
 
Jim, I'll have to remember the Woodcraft Bands website. Looks like they have good prices. :thumb: I've been paying a bit less for mine at Ellis Machinery, but Woodcraft Bands looks like a similar type of small company that deals with the commercial shops more than the hobbyists. Those are often the best places to find this sort of supplies, since they're not spending the big bucks on advertising like the "big name" woodworking suppliers.

Yea..Give them a try. I don't think you will be disappointd:)
 
Thanks Shively and Sears for giving me input on my problem.

The way I tune my saw (maybe wrong)
1. Install blade (given)
2. adjust tension (until blade doesn't shake)
3. adjust bottom roller until it barley touches
4, Adjust top roller
5. adjust bottom blade guides
6. Adjust top blade guides
7. Slightly grind back of blades

Please adjust my procedure as necessary.

One thing that was not addressed in my original question was how does one keep the bearings from taking out the set in the teeth ( if you use carter bearing) on such a small blade.

I think part of my problem is not putting enough tension on the blade. I always forget to release it so I don't put enough on in the beginning. Can't quite swing those auto adjusters.

Thanks
 
you need to ride a blade that narrow closer to the front of your tires so the bearings ride the flat of the blade. use the rear bearing to prevent the pressure of the stock from pushing the teeth into the side bearings.

Also, no matter how much tension you put on the blade, short of too much, is blade drift. Are you adjusting your fence for that?
Each blade is different so you need to adjust the fence accordingly
Once you adjust your fence to the blade you should be able to get consistant cuts.
Another point. Are you lowering the upper guide to just enough above your stock to be able to see your line?
 
Thanks for the tip Rich about alining the blade slightly to the front, it makes sense. Drift is a night mare for me. I made a top for the saw with to t slot runner in it, found my drift and cut the board but then realized I had to cut another smaller piece, sooo I had to reset the drift again Jessh!

I'm saving up for a Kreg bandsaw fence, so with a little tweaking I can set and sort of forget it.

On the adjust the be4aring cage down towards the work,well I'm a not good at doing that my eyes are that great and I like to see where I'm cutting but I know this is bad for getting a good cut.

I got to sign off qiuck really bad lightening storm just rolled in.

Thanks and by.
 
yeah drift can be a real bother at times.
If you can get the upper guide down to about an inch, inch and a half fromt he top of the stock that should be sufficient. Also, Delta makes a great little magnetic gooseneck worklight that takes a 40 watt bulb. I mounted one on my saw and it really helps.
I also have the kreg fence and I will tell you it is well worth it. I added the resaw fence attachment as well. The only drawback to it, at least on my saw, is that I have to remove it each time I change the blade as which means re setting the guide rail, but the trade off I feel is well worth it!

good luck!
 
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Here's a couple of pictures of a Bandsaw Box I made for a friend's daughter.
 

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I made my first ever bandsaw box for our "box swap project" this past spring. The best thing you can do is start with a new blade. I tried an old blade first and the new one made a HUGE difference. It made cutting it out effortless. I think it was a 3/16 inch blade as well. I also tuned up my saw to ensure that everything was just right before I started cutting.
 

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There is one thing rather important i see missing from the band saw tuning list. Most band saw wheels with a tire have some crown in the tire. The teeth of the blade must run at the peak of the crown. Maybe slightly in front of it. If you think about it, if the blade is centered on the wheel with the front of the blade sort of hanging in space it will wander about. I figured this out trying to re saw lumber. Since I have re-tuned the blade it cuts straight as an arrow. Hope this helps. I don't think the width of the blade makes as much difference except when you use a narrow width blade for cutting curves and such. You still want the blade to cut in a controlled fashion.
 
Hey Rich Soby I read a fix for the blade changing problem, I got it off Amazon.

There is one thing that really bugs me about this fence and that is that the rail mounts to the left, where as the original hung to the right. This makes the already difficult process of blade changing much more difficult. With a carbide blade I end up damaging them. Trying to wind a 1/2" wide blade around this thing is a nightmare.

I solved this problem by slotting out the left bolt hole to the top so that I can just loosen it and let the rail swing down. If you do a lot of blade changes, you'll hate the thing. I detested it before I thought of making the modification, which takes only 10 min. to do by cutting it out on the saw itself. Just add a star washer under the bolt head to keep it from slipping down. Now I love it. Kreg should have thought of this.

This may make sense to you because you have one. I'll have to wait until mine arrives.

Paul great tip on where the blade rides.

Thanks to all of you, I've leaned much!
 
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