band saw blade problem

[Tom7227]

I am having a problem with my bandsaw. I am cutting out foam decoys that have 2 inches of pink foam mounted on a pine board. I put on a new 3/8 inch blade and cut out about 30 decoys. Now the blade has slowed down the cutting to the point where it just isn't working very well at all. There was a buildup of the foam on the blade and I used a utility knife to scrape that off. It still hasn't helped. The saw is a Grizzly G550 and a Grizzly blade that cost $15. Any idea what I can do to get it back working properly? At that cost and rate of cutting the project is going to get very expensive.

Thanks for your help.

Tom

[PurpleFloyd]

Do you have the blade tension set properly? Could the blade be binding on the shoe or rollers?

[Tom7227]

Blade is function and set OK, tension OK and the rollers and show are where they belong. It is like the blade got dull all of a sudden but when I look at it it seems OK.

[CAMAN]

Belt drive? Check your belt tension it could be slipping.

Do you have a spare blade to try?

[PurpleFloyd]

Blade is function and set OK, tension OK and the rollers and show are where they belong. It is like the blade got dull all of a sudden but when I look at it it seems OK.

You cannot determine blade sharpness by looking at it. If the machine is running properly unloaded and it is bogging as you cut then either the blade is dull or the feed rate is too high.

The insulation could have added heat and buildup that could shorten blade life. Otherwise they generally last quite a while but I always used higher quality blades on mine and I suspect the 15 dollar Grizz blades may not hold an edge as long as a higher quality, name brand blade.

If the machine runs fine when you turn it on and it isn't bogging I would put another sharp blade on and see how it cuts. If it cuts fine then you know the problem. If you get the same results start to look over the friction points.

[Tom7227]

Thanks for the help. I hope you're wrong. What make blades would you use?

[PurpleFloyd]

Thanks for the help. I hope you're wrong. What make blades would you use?

Wrong about what? What would have been a better answer? I used Olson premium blades.

[PurpleFloyd]

Is the blade smoking and burning the wood?

[hydro]

Sounds like PurpleFloyd is on the right track here and you can trust his opinion. He knows what he is talking about.

Can you take a picture of both the blade and a surface cut with the problem? that will help ID the problem. It sounds like you either hit something hard or the plastic in the foam has dulled the blade.

[Tom7227]

I meant that I hoped you were wrong about the blade being toast. Your advice as always is sound. Glad that I bought a couple of blades and will change it out and checked things over.

Thanks again.

[CAMAN]

Is the foam on the top or bottom of the wood as you're cutting?

If on the top it could be loading the blade up with foam and as you get to the wood it is too full for the wood chips be carried away and overheating the blade. Try flipping the material or if you must keep the foam on top go with a lower tooth per inch.

[PurpleFloyd]

That was sound advice. I would also add that switching from pine to Poplar/Basswood or something similar might help as the pitch from the pine added to buildup from the foam could be an issue.

Also. feed rate may need to be changed. Too slow can cause heat build up and too fast can melt the foam more.

[Tom7227]

Well I checked things out and there were a couple of things that were not set up correctly. First of all I had not set the bottom rollers in. I had been using a 3/8 blade and obviously that was wrong for the 3/16 on that I put in. Then I had just about no tension set at all. It was smoking before things went south and so I should have realized that things were kalfooey. The blade came off and that probably didn't help matters either. I made the adjustments and put in the new blade and just managed to knock of 45 of them with no problem.

I checked on the Olson blades and at $65 a pop they stiffen up the cost of this charity work. But then you get what you pay for.

I haven't done much with this saw and so this whole things is a learning experience.

Thanks again for the help.

[PurpleFloyd]

That sounds better. I had a feeling the issue was more with the setup than the blade and bandsaws take some time to set up especially when you are new to them. Keep in mind that the blades I used were for a business and not a charity project so I would not expect you to use them. The blade you had may or may not last a long time for what you are doing but it is hard to diagnose through a computer screen. I would think that you would get hundreds of those per blade but the foam was also a wild card I have no experience cutting.

Hope everything goes well for you from this point forward.

[hydro]

Try checking the 'bay for blades, there is usually a good selection on there. Also, a 93 1/2" blade, 3/16" wide should not cost anywhere near $65.00. That is a very common size (also used in the ubiquitous Delta 14" saw) and unless it is carbide tipped it should be in the $15-$20.00 range at the most.

Glad to hear you got things working.

[Tom7227]

Well they sort of worked out. I got about 60 or so bodies cut out and the blade broke. My last new blade was put in and all I was cutting as foam for the heads and the blade broke. Of course I deserve to have that happen since I forgot to apply tension after putting the blade in place. Live and learn.

[hydro]

Tom,

If you have a propane torch and a grinder you can make/repair band saw blades very easily by silver soldering them together. I make up most of my blades, buying longer ones on the 'bay and shortening them. If you get to the point where you are going through lots of blades its a nice skill to have. PM me if you would like to know how to do the process.