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Hi, sorry for bothering again with boring bandsaw-blade questions:

-Today I tried out my first Woodmaster CT with Ziricote. Even with very high tension the blade was fluttering a bit with the guides beeing not yet adjusted, but when I adjusted the guides it stopped. Is this ok, what do you think? Do I need more tension????? Or was it even too much? But lowering the tension didn't reduce the effect, actually it went worse.

- The kerf of the CT is said to be 0.051, but when I am sawing I have something about 0,0543. Is this in the tolerance, or is there something going on? The saw is not new... but I took care of the wheels, guides, etc as good as I can. How thick / thin is your kerf with the CT?

- It just works GREAT!!!!! I am resawing Ziricote backs, about 10" wide and have no drift, no problems...today I am happy.
But do you think that resawing the backs to about 0.160 is a bit too thin? My problem is, I get 3 Backs out of one board, but if I want to make them a little thicker, I have only 2 Backs and an orphane. And please don't recommend now the ResawKing, I just spent a few hundred dollars on 5 CTs, I have to deal with them now. The boards are rough saw lumber, 1,3 " thick , after planing I end up at 1,23 " so there is actually not much room left?

6x 0,160 =0.96
5X 0,054 =0,27

0,96 + 0,27 = 1,23

For the sides I think it is very much OK, but what is your oppinion about the backs? The surface is Ok, 3 times with the scraper and it is clean. The Ziricote is quatersawn and flatsaw mixed boards.

- After sawing, do you release the tension or leave it under tension? I would like to keep the setup like it is, took me a while to get everything working together, but of course I don't want to ruin the new blades....

Thank you very much for any comments, best regrads, Alex

Since the Woodmaster CT is a relatively quick setup, I always un-tension the blade. But I go longer than I like between work sessions than the average guy. Even if I was working daily I would still un-tension. I don't like leaving my tool or my blade under stress unless it's being used, but that's just me. I only have one CT and I can't afford another any time soon, so I take every precaution.

- The kerf of the CT is said to be 0.051, but when I am sawing I have something about 0,0543. Is this in the tolerance, or is there something going on? The saw is not new... but I took care of the wheels, guides, etc as good as I can. How thick / thin is your kerf with the CT?

That is the actual thickness of the blade. Due to vibration/imprefections in wood- you'll never have the exact kerf of the blade = your actual loss of wood. That being said, if your final wood loss/actual kerf is 0.0543 (if I'm reading that right), that's pretty darn good if you ask me.

Thank you for your help, fingerstyle1978.

Regarding the thickness of the Ziricote, after you saw it, is it remaining flat & behaving?

If the scratches aren't too deep & the wood behaves, I'd say you're fine.The final thickness is going to be 0.100" or less.

Kevin Looker

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Hi, thank you for your comments.

- Immediatelly after resawing the Back-pice is slightly not flat anymore, I gues because of the heat, but also becasue of the stress in the wood which has been released, but after putting it on a flat surface with some weight on, after cooling down they are dead end flat.

- The finsih was actually not smooth, BUT the depth of the scratches is very low, so with my very dull maschine-room scraper I could get it perfectly clean within seconds.

- There is actually nearly no variation, I measured about 20 points on the back, and the were all about 4,05 to 4,10 mm....sorry in inches: (poketcalculator searching....) 0,159448 to 0,161417, so tolerances about 0,00196.

Later I will post some photos, perhaps I can even make a small movie on youtube or so, showing my setup and work, if there is interest for it?

Best regrads, Alex

The blade "fluttering" can be a number of things, every saw will be a little different. It's normal to have to adjust your guides, tension, and even feed rate to get your ideal cut.

The slight bowing is normal, if it flattens out after putting some weight on it you're fine. Even if it doesn't it's a wood issue (case hardening or moisture) not a cutting issue.

You'll never get a perfectly smooth finished surface, that's what sanders and scrapers are for.

You're on the right track

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