# Making clean accurate cuts



## Geophyrd (Oct 28, 2010)

Does anyone else have difficulty in making clean and accurate cuts?

For example, I try to bisect a pen blank down the middle.  Sometimes I get to the end and realize it went off center (despite using a fence on my bandsaw), sometimes the band moved in the piece, sometimes it just not as accurate as it could be.  This is especially true when cutting diagonals or mid blank.

Can we talk about techniques people use?


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## ldb2000 (Oct 28, 2010)

There are several reasons for a bandsaw not to cut straight to the fence . If it's a cheapie tabletop model , good luck . These saws are very hard if not imposable to cut a straight line with . If it's a full sized saw (14" or larger) then it most likely needs a good tune up and a good blade . Get the "Bandsaw Handbook" by Mark Duginski , he explains how to tune up your bandsaw and make it cut to its full potential .
There are several upgrades that will help any full sized bandsaw , even the HF saws (I own one and will put it up against any other bandsaw of the same size ). Carter guides , urethane tires and a good quality blade are the best upgrades you can do .


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## Fat Boy (Oct 28, 2010)

i second the tune up, i just did one on mine and it made a big difference. if you must you can use a featherboard and custom push stick to help hold it against the fence better.


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## snyiper (Oct 28, 2010)

I have a craftsman 10 in tabletop and it is a toy. It will cut but not straight I called to get some upgrades for it and was told I would be better off spending my money on a larger stand alone unit. I will take that advice. I am now making a sled for the table saw to do my intricate cuts on.


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## jskeen (Oct 28, 2010)

and if you do have a baby bandsaw that can't be made to cut straight to the fence, the next best thing is to use a square or a ruler and mark a line down the center, or wherever you want to cut.  It's easier to freehand to a drawn line than fight with a saw that won't cut to a fence, in my experience.


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## LarryDNJR (Oct 28, 2010)

I made a little jig for my bandsaw and having good luck with it.  It is a Jet 10" B3NCH.  I'll have to get the pictures up soon for it.


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## KenV (Oct 28, 2010)

Segmented wood turners are not using bandsaws for final cuts.  Most use table saws or chop saws with sleds or jigs (See Malcom Tibbits book and DVDs) and most use disk sanders for precision adjustments.  

Some make a bandsaw work. but it is not inherently a high precision tool; and it will tend to lose precision more easily than some other methods of cutting.

Think your work processes through and allow for additional methods to true surfaces and make intsections of surfaces (angles) sharp and consistent.   Some use sanding plates by hand or with jigs.  Some use hand planes.  

Rule of thumb -- precision adds time and more processes.

You have some good advise above to help -- but you also need to manage expectations and add processes as needed to achieve the outcomes you set for the product.


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## aggromere (Oct 28, 2010)

My band saw is relegated to cutting larger pieces of wood to length.  I could never cut a straight line with it.  All my cuts are made on my byrnes table saw.  It's great as long as your wood isn't over 15/16 thick.


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## ctubbs (Oct 28, 2010)

A well tuned saw with an excellent blade should give strait cuts.  The trick here is getting the saw tuned to perfection.  There are tutorials at "lumberjocks.com" as well as other woodworking sites.  Look them up and enjoy your band saw.

Charles


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## RAdams (Oct 29, 2010)

A table saw with a thin kerf circular saw blade is what i prefer, with a sled naturally.


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## gregs4163 (Oct 29, 2010)

Also, a band saw fence should not be set perfectly parallel to the table. In other words the fence needs to be set to the drift of the blade (on a slight angle) and every blade will perform differently so this needs to be adjusted every time blades are changed. Someone mentioned Mark Duginski's book which describes this very well, along with a sharp blade and the correct tension a band saw can cut with very high precision.


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## PenMan1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I have an inexpensive 14 inch band saw. I was horrid right out of the box. But after adding a woodslicer blade and using Mike Duginski's recommendations, it now cuts straight  and true. With Mike's recommendations my saw has become an excellent segmenting saw.


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## IPD_Mrs (Oct 29, 2010)

ldb2000 said:


> There are several upgrades that will help any full sized bandsaw , even the HF saws (I own one and will put it up against any other bandsaw of the same size ). Carter guides , urethane tires and a good quality blade are the best upgrades you can do .


 
The Carter guides are the way to go and if you have never tried it the Carter magnetic fence is well worth the money.  We have cut 6" veneer evenly and thing enough you can read through it using Carter add-ons.  The add-ons can be a little salty but make all the difference in the world.


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## juteck (Oct 29, 2010)

Same advice for bandsaws as listed above. 

A trick my father taught me for table saws is to use a smaller diameter blade to reduce wobble --- a 10-inch saw can take an 8-inch blade. Your cut depth is less, but if you're cutting pen blanks, that won't be a problem.


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## DurocShark (Oct 31, 2010)

My 10" Craftsman bandsaw is capable of smooth precise cuts. But it depends on the blade more than anything (assuming it's tuned properly.) 

The general statement that it is a toy is misleading at best. The old 3-wheeler maybe, but not the newer Rikon based 70.5" saw. (The new 9" really *IS* a toy. Ugh.)

All that said, I use the tablesaw with a sled most of the time for pen work.


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## Parson (Oct 31, 2010)

RAdams said:


> A table saw with a thin kerf circular saw blade is what i prefer, with a sled naturally.



What RAdams has stated above is what I use for my segmenting work, and even with this I'm not all that happy with it. My goal is to sell enough pens this Christmas to buy a Byrnes model table saw. It's designed for precision cuts.

The thing is just really expensive.


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## BigguyZ (Nov 2, 2010)

Parson said:


> RAdams said:
> 
> 
> > A table saw with a thin kerf circular saw blade is what i prefer, with a sled naturally.
> ...



Cool, if it's built well.  Bu I agree.  Very $$.


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