# Learning To Use A Bandsaw.



## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

I have a few feet of Guayacan _(lignum vitae)_ and have long wanted to make slingshots with it, but my first try cutting with my jigsaw was a disaster. So, my friend AJW was kind enough to lend me his bandsaw, and I've been learning to use it. Below is a sample of what I've done so far. Starting at lower right and working around counterclockwise, you can see my progress. The frames on the right are plywood, the top one is mahogany, the left side are oak, and the center one is Guayacan.


----------



## f00by (May 18, 2010)

Lucky man to have some lignum! My bandsaw is irreplaceable. It definitely reduces errors cutting. I got a cheap ryobi from home depot thinking "if i break this one i think that justifies a more expensive one







" Have fun with while you have it.

Regards


----------



## superman365 (Dec 5, 2012)

I'm stuck with a jig saw


----------



## Knoll (Nov 10, 2011)

May need to get that blade sharpened for AJW!


----------



## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

I have a bandsaw that I have used only a few times now. I was surprised to learn that it does take a certain amount of skill and possibly a little better eyesight than I have. But I have had a lot of success with my jigsaw in the past. The only thing I didn't like about it was that it was hard to impossible to cut out a slingshot from a small piece of wood.


----------



## superman365 (Dec 5, 2012)

Dayhiker said:


> I have a bandsaw that I have used only a few times now. I was surprised to learn that it does take a certain amount of skill and possibly a little better eyesight than I have. But I have had a lot of success with my jigsaw in the past. The only thing I didn't like about it was that it was hard to impossible to cut out a slingshot from a small piece of wood.


tell me about it!!!


----------



## Toddy (Oct 2, 2011)

Maybe not the best solution but when I have a small bit of wood I clamp the jigsaw upside down in my bench and hold the wood just like with a bandsaw. I would like a bandsaw though. Hey Henry has this inspired you to go out and buy one for yourself now?


----------



## Sofreto (May 10, 2012)

Looks great...lot of production...

my saw is a coping saw, and I cope!!


----------



## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

Thanks for the comments, guys. I'm having a lot of fun with the bandsaw, but my wife told me she and my son were planning to get me one for my birthday. Since I mostly make naturals and ringshooters, I told her I would prefer a drill press. I can cut most anything I want with a jigsaw or my scroll saw, just not Guayacan, which will all be cut before AJW wants his bandsaw back.

And yes, AJW will get one or more new blades when I give the saw back.


----------



## NoobShooter (Sep 15, 2012)

When I have a small piece of wood (roughly 5"x6") i would screw it down to my work bench. I hope i am getting my very own bandsaw for christmas though. Plus a few other goodies..


----------



## jskeen (Feb 7, 2011)

I have found that a little time spent developing ones skills as a bandsaw TUNER, will greatly decrease the time that must be spent learning to be a bandsaw USER, as well as the amount of wasted material, killed blades, and expended curse words.

Seriously, most bandsaws, even expensive ones, off the shelf are not set up anywhere close to right. Just taking an hour or so to figure out how to set the band blocks, backer bearings, wheel angle and blade tension, can give you an amazingly increase in quality and quantity results. There are a ton of tutorials online.


----------



## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

jskeen said:


> I have found that a little time spent developing ones skills as a bandsaw TUNER, will greatly decrease the time that must be spent learning to be a bandsaw USER, as well as the amount of wasted material, killed blades, and expended curse words.
> 
> Seriously, most bandsaws, even expensive ones, off the shelf are not set up anywhere close to right. Just taking an hour or so to figure out how to set the band blocks, backer bearings, wheel angle and blade tension, can give you an amazingly increase in quality and quantity results. There are a ton of tutorials online.


Indeed! I was able to download a manual when the blade that was on it broke. I spent more than an hour with the book and making adjustments to get the blade to track correctly.


----------



## BCLuxor (Aug 24, 2010)

f00by said:


> Lucky man to have some lignum! My bandsaw is irreplaceable. It definitely reduces errors cutting. I got a cheap ryobi from home depot thinking "if i break this one i think that justifies a more expensive one
> 
> 
> 
> ...










I too brought a budget model to "introduce" me to a more expensive tool yet I love my budged band so much. It gives a far superior cut to my old Jigsaw and even my new scroll saw.


----------



## Berkshire bred (Mar 4, 2012)

they all look good. but be really careful with that bandsaw, those things are evil. i would not want to see badly spelt replys because you have cut half of your fingers off


----------



## NoobShooter (Sep 15, 2012)

I was using my buddies bandsaw and the blade broke. After feeling like my heart was jumping out of my chest, I checked to see if I had 10 digits on my hands still.


----------



## Berkshire bred (Mar 4, 2012)

NoobShooter said:


> I was using my buddies bandsaw and the blade broke. After feeling like my heart was jumping out of my chest, I checked to see if I had 10 digits on my hands still.


to be honest i try to avoid using them at all costs, even if you are using it correctly accidents can still happen and with a band saw accidents are rarely minor.


----------



## capnjoe (Jun 3, 2012)

Beautiful stuff that Lignum Vitae. They make ships bearings out of . The bearings in the capstan are also traditionally made of Lignum as it's self oiling/lubricating. It is a cool looking tree too.
It peels like a sunburnt tourist.

Does it smoke when you work it?

Just found this to show my boys the "tourist tree".
http://lignum-vitae-bearings.com/about-lignum/


----------



## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

capnjoe said:


> Beautiful stuff that Lignum Vitae. They make ships bearings out of . The bearings in the capstan are also traditionally made of Lignum as it's self oiling/lubricating. It is a cool looking tree too.
> It peels like a sunburnt tourist.
> 
> *Does it smoke when you work it?*
> ...


I haven't seen any smoke yet, but I cut the first frame very slowly. I expect to see some when I use my router to shape the edges. Here's a link to a local blog that shows some Guayacan trees in full bloom. All these are in the city. One of my friends has a _finca_ in the country and there is a huge Guayacan just off his property. It looks to be about 75 feet tall and is spectacular in bloom.

http://epiac1216.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/the-guayacan-tree/


----------



## capnjoe (Jun 3, 2012)

They are spectacular. We have a few here, but I remember them most from Miami. They have a restaraunt there in Little Havana called the Guayacan.
Good Moros Y Christianos.


----------



## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

I am so happy I got the drill press. I spent a half hour working on the Guayacan frame using the drill press and a flap sander and got maybe 15% done. It looks like I'm going to spend at least 3 hours just cleaning up the cut marks from the saw. I can do a plywood frame in 10 minutes.


----------



## mopper (Nov 17, 2012)

I have two rubber sanding cylinders with exchangeable sandpaper rings/cylinders, those things are fantastic. You can exert real pressure with them and they yield very precise results, especially when sanding down a rough cut blank (I use an electric saber saw for that) to its precise contours. I use an electric drill in a drill press to run them. SOme of the best tools I have ever bought.


----------



## rockslinger (Nov 16, 2010)

*Beautiful trees Henry!*
*I agree with mopper those sanding drums are great time saver on my drill press.*


----------



## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

I'm hoping to find those drums myself. For now the flaps are better than nothing.

Now for a major face-palm. I shouldn't even tell you guys this, but I have no shame, so I will anyway. About a year ago I bought a customer-return scroll saw for about half price. There was no book nor box, but it worked and looked new. I took it home and began using it. It worked ok on 1/4 inch plywood, but with anything bigger I simply could not cut a straight line. The blade seemed too loose to me, so I bought new blades and still had the same problem. I put it away, and only brought it out every once in a while. I would drag it out and try again, always with bad results. I was almost ready to give the POS away, but today decided to give it one more try. Same thing, so I got a new blade and while installing it, I noticed the threaded shaft below the tension lever. That's when I figured out how to adjust the blade tension. I now have a fine working scroll saw.


----------



## mopper (Nov 17, 2012)

I might have to look into this .... I too have a scroll saw that I never use because to wobbling blade currently makes it useless for anything except balsawood between 2 and 5mm


----------



## zwillie (Nov 5, 2012)

Hi,
I have a bandsaw from 1922 and it still works fine for me.
I can cut the 10mm alu cores in 5 minutes with very less waste.
I got a small bandsaw (113" bandlength) for fine work.
And a bigger one (250" bandlength) for straight cuts and cutting veneer.
zwillie


----------



## Knoll (Nov 10, 2011)

Henry in Panama said:


> I'm hoping to find those drums myself. For now the flaps are better than nothing.
> 
> Now for a major face-palm. I shouldn't even tell you guys this, but I have no shame, so I will anyway. About a year ago I bought a customer-return scroll saw for about half price. There was no book nor box, but it worked and looked new. I took it home and began using it. It worked ok on 1/4 inch plywood, but with anything bigger I simply could not cut a straight line. The blade seemed too loose to me, so I bought new blades and still had the same problem. I put it away, and only brought it out every once in a while. I would drag it out and try again, always with bad results. I was almost ready to give the POS away, but today decided to give it one more try. Same thing, so I got a new blade and while installing it, I noticed the threaded shaft below the tension lever. That's when I figured out how to adjust the blade tension. I now have a fine working scroll saw.


I'd likely have been in same boat. Fortunately the previous owner gave me a few pointers before I took it home.
Also, this may be of some assistance ... http://www.mikesworkshop.com/DaveG.htm


----------



## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

Thank you, Knoll. I wish I had had this info a year ago, It is a great help.


----------



## zwillie (Nov 5, 2012)

This is bandsawing at it´s best




zwillie


----------



## Adirondack Kyle (Aug 20, 2012)

If you cant afford a bandsaw, then a scrollsaw works great too


----------



## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

adarondack kyle said:


> If you cant afford a bandsaw, then a scrollsaw works great too


Maybe for light work, but I'm cutting frames from 26mm thick Guayacan.


----------



## capnjoe (Jun 3, 2012)

adarondack kyle said:


> If you cant afford a bandsaw, then a scrollsaw works great too


That's what I have, but it restricts your ability to cut larger pieces.I bought it for pickle forks and naturals.

I'm pretty sure it won't be happy cutting Guayacan. It already put up a fuss at live oak.

I'll happily leave the band saws to the more skill wood workers.


----------



## Knoll (Nov 10, 2011)

Henry in Panama said:


> Thank you, Knoll. I wish I had had this info a year ago, It is a great help.


Story of my life. Too little and/or too late.


----------



## Darklord (Apr 23, 2013)

Where do you buy ur Bandsaw blades?


----------



## LVO (Sep 25, 2011)

I can buy for my bandsaw at Lowes or Home depot.


----------



## zwillie (Nov 5, 2012)

Hi,

in Germany we have sharpening shops where you can get any band in every length you want.

They weld the band in five minutes.

Zwillie


----------

