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I am having some serious drift problems on my bandsaw.

It wasn't bad at all at first when the saw was set up properly, but recently it drifted if the guide is more than 3cm off the table. It's gotten so bad now that I could have sworn that the jig saw drifted less.

Is this due to a worn out blade? Where can I get decent blades that last a long time for my 10" bandsaw? Is it worth it to get better blade knowing that I might get a 18" bandsaw in a few months?

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

It sure sounds like it's time to replace your blade.

Only you can say whether it's worth it to buy sharp blades
even though you'll be replacing it.

You need new blades , when they start drifting like that its a sure sign that its dull . as for buying the blades , for that saw they are not very expensive anyway .

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I would stongly suggest you consider keeping the small bandsaw in addition to the larger one. Put a 3/16" scrolling blade on it and a 3/4"- 1" blade on the larger saw for ripping/resawing.

It may not help you but I get my blades from John here:
http://www.woodcraftbands.com/index.htm The Lennox Dimaster bi-metal blades last a long time if you can't afford the Trimaster Carbide tipped blades.

If I were in a remote situation I would buy 100 ft rolls of blade stock and learn to silver solder.
Here's an excellent tutorial for soldering non-Carbide tipped blades:
http://owwm.org/viewtopic.php?t=33506

I totally agree with keeping the 10". I use it for jig work (a al Chris Paulick) and just about any small, fast cutting jobs. Sits on my work bend within easy reach. I scoured CL till I found a Delta (just like Chris's). Got it for $40. The blades for these a re available in almost any big box store. I would not sell it for any reason. Then again, I would not want it to be my main BS either.

Mike

I paid over 100 dollars for the new Rexon 10", I wish they had craiglist in Taiwan where people just give away tools cheap... who knows, maybe I find an industrial 26" for like 600 dollars... but honestly I am not sure if I have the space for an industrial saw.

I tried contacting Woodcraft to order some band saw blades but they told me that they can't do international shipment. I really want some decent bimetal blades and I am not sure where I'd find them in Taiwan...

that saw really lacks power, the most it could do is resaw 3" thick rosewood slab, and even then it's still limited by the short throat, but then I am still waiting for enough money to buy the 18" saw... I thought a good blade would bring some new life to this saw, but a bi metal blade means I won't need to change blade every 2 weeks.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

A Google search will get you several articles on how to resharpen a bandsaw blade. You can look them over and see if you want to go to the trouble. It really takes only a few minutes to sharpen one on the saw. I could usually resharpen a bimetal blade three times before I changed the hook angle enough that the blade didn't work well anymore. The small wheels on a 10" saw often require a thinner (and thus more flexible) blade than would be used on a bigger saw so take that into account if you order blade stock to braze yourself. Iturra Designs (888-722-7078 in the US, I don't know how to call them from Taiwan) can make you a blade to fit about anything. They are not expensive and are very knowledgeable. If you order from them, you get a catalog which is actually a pretty good reference book on bandsaws.

This Taiwanese company has bimetal bandsaw blades:http://www.woodking.com/index.htm
and a copy of a carving Vise too: http://www.woodking.com/woodworking_vise_for_engraving.htm
but no indication of their local sales or distribution.

I was afraid it might be one of those export only companies... Taiwan has a lot of factories in the so called export zone where they don't need to pay local VAT to sell things, under the condition that they only export them. Furthermore many Taiwanese factories are OEM only and their Western clients maintain very tight controls on how the items are to be sold. I am told that the only way to buy them is to buy it back from the country of destination, which makes it more expensive.

I personally don't like it because pretty soon there won't be any market for this in Taiwan since most OEM moved to China a long time ago...

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I tried soldering bandsaw blades, but I found that the joint would pop off at the sign of any stress.

I am not sure what kind of solder is used, as I can't find "silver solder" at all, they have "lead free solder" which contains silver but it's only 3% silver. I did buy some but I am not sure if it's the same thing.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I do not get it. So often here, I read where folks cannot get this or that in foreign countries (OK, anywhere but the USA). From my reading, it sounds like pretty much anything anyone wants is available in the USA. But not Canada, Briton, Taiwan, etc. Is this because of tax structures? Bandsaw blades are a fairly mundane item. It is amazing to me that you cannot find them.

Mike

I do know one thing, shipping routes to the USA (I mean container shipments, not mail) are much cheaper than to any other location, yet shipping out of the USA is expensive. I think there are a lot of human intervention when it comes to the availability of items. You get a lot of stuff made in Taiwan, yet in Taiwan we can't get them. In fact in the so called export zone you had to prove you have citizenship other than Taiwan to enter, and you had to agree to export them (meaning you can't have a residence visa).

I asked around why this is so, and they all said it's because of the USA, not Taiwan or any other country who makes great stuff. They said its because the US places draconian restrictions on manufacturers not to sell to the local market, and people follow them because there are huge amounts of money in it.

Because of that, people like me is stuck buying stuff made in Taiwan at elevated prices, if you don't take into account the high shipping that most carriers charge to ship out of the US. Do you realize that shipping rate out of any other country is low compared to out of the US, ever since the USPS basically penalized anyone who wants to send large parcels overseas and canceled economy mail. When parcel size reach about 3 pounds, it is actually cheaper to ship by private carriers like Federal Express or UPS who offers faster service.

Most cutting tools I've seen in Taiwan that are offered on the open market (as in not export only) are from Japan, often at higher prices than their American made counterpart, and a lot less selection too (like no 6mm shank end mills with 6mm cutting diameter), and anything else that the store doesn't happen to carry, they just say it doesn't exist (and they only carry maybe 10 sizes of end mills). I can't find any brazing supplies here, because no one deals with copper plumbing, they only use PVC or steel pipes (steel pipes have machined threads).

I managed to find a roll of Japanese made metal cutting bandsaw blade, it's about .025" thick, and that's the minimum thickness they have other than whatever Rexon offers. I am worried about the possibility of the fact that this thickness is too much for a 6" wheel but what choice do I have? I hope this blade will last a bit longer than the crap that Rexon sells (that wears out in 2 weeks of use) assuming that they do not break prematurely due to having to conform to such small wheels. I just figured that with the cost of a roll of the blade (about 50 dollars) I get about 15 blades out of a roll, that I could get better quality blades and save money at the same time by brazing them myself, even if I have to pay 70 dollars including shipping for a brazing kit/refills from Lee Valley just so I can get the proper solder. Using the roll also offers flexibility when I do get the 18" saw...

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Find a local Welding Supply shop and tell them you need silver solder for brazing (not electronic or plumbing solder). No need to pay for Lee Valley replacements when you use it up. This is often used to repair and fabricate cast iron and steel items. I don't know if you have gun repair shops there but they will have it also.

Considering that guns are illegal in Taiwan, not likely...

I haven't seen a welding supply shop, only hardware stores that sells electric welder and its supplies.

When I ask for "silver solder" they immediately think of the stuff for electronics.

I did find a jewelry supply store on yahoo auctions that seems to sell the silver solder... not sure if its the right stuff.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com