Blade Lead, To correct blade lead

Blade Lead

Bandsaw blades may wander off the cut line when sawing, as shown in the figure below. This is called blade lead.

Blade lead is usually caused by too fast of a feed rate, a dull or abused blade, or improper blade tension. If your blade is sharp/undamaged, properly tensioned, and you still have blade lead, perform the following procedures.

Figure 67. Example of blade lead.

To correct blade lead:

1.Make sure the blade is properly tensioned and the blade guides are adjusted correctly.

2.Use less pressure when feeding the workpiece through the cut—this will reduce the feed rate.

3.Make sure the miter slot and fence are paral- lel to the blade line (see the Aligning Table and Aligning Fence procedures in this man- ual for detailed information).

4.If after Steps 1–3there is still blade lead present, compensate for this condition by skewing the fence or shifting the table, as instructed in the following procedures.

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To skew your fence:

1.Cut a piece of scrap wood approximately 3⁄4" thick x 3" wide x 17" long. On the wide face of the board, draw a straight line parallel to the long edge.

2.Slide the bandsaw fence out of the way and cut halfway through the board on the line by pushing it into the blade. Turn the bandsaw OFF and wait for the blade to stop. Do not move the board.

3.Clamp the board to the bandsaw table, then slide the fence over to the board so it barely touches one end of the board.

4.Use a 4mm hex wrench to loosen the four fence adjustment cap screws on top of the fence, skew the fence so that it is parallel with the scrap piece, then re-tighten the cap screws.

5.Make a few cuts using the fence.

—If blade lead is still present, repeat Steps 1–4until the blade and fence are parallel with each other.

—Or, shift the table, as instructed in the fol- lowing procedure.

To shift the table:

1.On a scrap piece of wood, mark a line that is perpendicular to the front edge.

2.Cut halfway through the board on the line by pushing it into the blade.

3.Turn the bandsaw OFF and wait for the blade to stop.

4.Disconnect the bandsaw from power, then use a 10mm wrench to loosen the six hex bolts underneath the table that secure it to the trunnion brackets.

5.Shift the table to compensate for the blade lead, re-tighten the hex bolts, then re-connect the bandsaw to power.

6.Repeat Steps 1–5until there is no longer any blade lead.

Model G0555/G0555P (Mfg. Since 5/11)