Bandsaw problem - Need assistance

I recently bought a new MM16 and went through the setup process. I set the fence parallel to the blade. I cut a piece of wood today that is about 12" wide. As I got about half-way through the cut the wood was pulling away from the fence on the out-feed side. I finished the cut and pushed the fence back over to the blade and it was where it should be. I scratched my head and looked for the problem. I noticed the bar the fence rides on is not parallel to the table! It splays out (smaller at the right, larger at the left). I looked at the attachment parts and I don't see any ability to adjust this bar. I put a straight edge against the bar and it seems to be dead on. Anyone have any ideas on a fix for this problem?

I've not used the MM16, but every bandsaw I've used has 'blade drift', meaning it does not necessarily cut square to the edge of the table. Bandsaw fences usually have adjustments to make the fence parallel with the cut. (Not the edge of the table or the rails it rides on.) I don't think I've ever seen a bandsaw where the fence was exactly parallel to the blade.

The method I've used to make the fence match the drift of the blade:

1. Get a piece of scrap a couple or three feet long with at least one edge that's straight.
2. Draw a pencil line the length of the board, parallel to the straight edge of the board.
3. Without using the fence, carefully cut along the line freehand, until you're about halfway through the board.
4. Turn off the saw while very carefully holding the board in place.
5. Clamp the board down, being careful to not move it while you clamp it.
6. Slide the fence over to the edge of the board, and adjust it (at the sliding mechanism) to be parallel with the edge of the clamped-down board.
7. Draw another line or two on the board and make some test cuts to confirm the fence's angle matches the drift of the blade.

I hope this helps -

Oh...and congrats on the new saw...I'm jealous.

Vaughn,

Thanks for all the good input. I wish I were doing a better job of explaining my problem. I've set the drift but for some reason this didn't seem to relate. I guess my brain is fried! When I cut small pieces they seem to do just fine after setting the drift. This larger piece didn't do well and just brought my eye to the issue that the bar the fence rides on is 1 4/32" from the edge of the table on the right and 1 11/32" on the left. I hope the straight edge I used to check the bar is good enough to give feedback. I guess for the angle to open up further as the fence moved away from the blade there would have to be some curvature, from end to end, in the bar. I'll go back and re-check the drift. I guess shorter pieces wouldn't show the same magnitude of information. I haven't cut many longer pieces since setting the drift angle.

I do love this saw, I guess I'm just in the "getting use to it" stage. My old Delta was like a good friend. I had cut so much wood on it that I knew what to expect. This did take some time to coerce it and learn it's ways, too. Guess I'll get there on this one, too.

Thanks again,

It would be nice if the bar was parallel to the front of the fence, but so long as it's straight, the drift angle should remain constant. As I recall the MM fence bar attaches to the front of the table with two bolts, and you ought to be able to adjust it for parallel by loosening the nuts on the backside of the table and tightening (or loosening) the ones on the front (between the table and the fence bar).

I suspect your problem isn't really with the fence, though. I'll bet the blade itself is cutting more on one side than the other - the side away from the fence is duller than the side adjacent the fence, and that's what is causing the problem. Try changing to another blade. Many (most?) BS blades are made by stamping the teeth into the band, and sometimes they stamp more - or less - set into one side. That'll cause your problem, and BTW, the thicker the stock, the more prominent the problem will be.

Jim,

I've presently got a 1" Lenox Woodmaster CT on it. I got the blade a couple of weeks ago but haven't had the time to play around with it much. I went had just enough time to do the basic drift setup and not much else. I guess I could have gotten a bad one. I've got a couple of smaller blades due to arrive any day. I'll swap out the present blade to one of those and see if that helps the situation.

Good thoughts.

Thanks,

Look into a re-saw attachment for the fence. It is more or less a pivot that allows you to manually follow the line.

Lee
I saw your post on the MM User Group and thought the fence rail might be mounted like my old Jet with spacer sleeves. But looking at my MM16 after I got home that day I think there's only 2 things that could be causing this. Either they totally fouled up and drilled the mounting hole underneath the table in the wrong location or the length of those 2 small mounting plates (or the hole spacing) is off. First I'd try to figure out where the problem is by unbolting the rail and plates and measuring the holes under the table from the table edge. If those are off, I think the only way you're going to fix it is by having a custom mounting plate made for one side to compensate. Short of replacing the top, I dont think there's another fix. If the table holes are good, then I'd have MM send you a new pair of plates and make sure they're a matching pair.

Bandsaw problem - Resolved!

First off, thanks to everyone that tossed out ideas. I decided to try loosening the four bolts that connect the bar to the table, via two metal plates. It provided enough variance so I was able to get the bar parallel to the table. When I first looked at the connection, I didn't think there would be any ability to adjust the bar.

I guess it's good to know for anyone else that has a similar MM bandsaw.

Thanks again for all the assistance,