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Tools/bandsaw/induction: Difference between revisions
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* Ear protection is sensible for extended use mostly because the dust extraction is very loud
* The inbuilt dust extraction is fairly effective, but for extended use, or for wood/material dust known to be an irritant or hazardous, it is a good idea to put the [[Tools/aircleaner|air cleaner]], and wear a respirator or dust mask.
* When cutting metals the dust extraction system MUST
|| Basic safety information on PPE and dust control
|-
| Start-up/Shutdown ||
* Location of main power switch
* How to use the card reader, the card needs to stay in the reader while you're using the saw
* Clean the Bandsaw off if it's noticeably dirty and check the dust traps aren't overfilled
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* Some interlocks in the door frame prevent the machine from starting when the doors are open. Therefore, when checking and adjusting the saw setup, it is sensible to begin by opening the doors, as this provides some additional security that the machine won’t start while you are setting it up.
* Check the motor is in the correct gear and the drive belt is on the right ratio pulley.
* Check that a suitable blade is fitted for the job you intend to undertake, ideally between 6 and 12 teeth on the blade should be in the work at any given time. Less than this is likely to result in a rough (but fast) cut, more than this may result in clogging and excessive heat production
* Check that the blade is centered on the upper wheel. This is important, so that the blade runs true, and the set of the teeth don’t chew up the tires on the wheels, if it's not correctly centered then post on the list or ask someone with level-2 induction to adjust it.
* Check that the blade is appropriately tensioned, using either the guide inside the saw, or on the back of the saw. The numbers correspond to the blade depth in mm, which is measured from the back of the blade to the bottom of the gullet. Make sure you are looking at the appropriate side of the guide, for wood or metal as the scales are quite confusing.
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*** Bring forward the guide bearings so that the sit just behind the gullet of the blade.
*** Lock off the forward motion of the guide bearings. The thrust bearing moves relative to the guide bearings hence why it is done in this order; If you set the thrust bearing first it will likely need adjustment after the guide bearings are set.
*** Use the elliptical nuts to rotate in the guide bearings so that are
*** Move the thrust bearing forward so it is
*** Lock off all the adjustments.
** Set the upper bearings.
*** Release the lock on the blade guard and set the blade guard so that the bottom of the guide bearings are approximately 5mm above the top of the work piece then lock off the adjustment.
*** Set the guide and thrust bearings in the same order as for the lower bearings.
** To see if the bearings are set right, start the saw. If you see or hear any of the bearings
|| Getting the Bandsaw set up properly. Ideally have the inductee(s) do the bearing setup as they'll need to do this quite often to keep it cutting well.
|-
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|-
| Operation ||
* When making the cut, hold the work piece securely against the table, and guide work into the blade. If you can't get the work securely held flat against the table, you can't cut it. Loose work not firmly against the table with snatch and break the blade.
* If you're rip-cutting then you should be resting the work against the fence, if you're cross-cutting use the mitre guide or the vice, if you're cutting curves then you'll have to do it free-hand
* Do not push too hard into the blade, as you will damage the blade and get a poor quality cut.
* Feed rate and pressure depends on the materials properties and dimensions, as well as the blades specification and condition and machine setup. So it needs to be felt – rather like changing gear in a car. However, it should never be hard work to push something through; if it is, stop the cut and consider if everything is set correctly.
* Start
* Do not try to remove off-cuts from immediately around the blade with your fingers
* Especially when taking thin shaves off materials be aware the the off-cut can fall down into the lower bearings and that's dangerous to the machine, try to find a way to prevent this if you can safely do so.
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* Loose sawdust can be hoovered off
* Any large lumps should be pried off with a screwdriver, being careful not to dig into the tyre as it's a fairly brittle material
* Generally heavy deposits of sawdust can be removed with a wire
* Using a wire wheel in a portable drill can be effective but the wheel must be kept moving AT ALL TIMES or the wire wheel will dig into the tyre, so it's a 2-man job to do it this way. This only works because our tyres are quite hard rubber, other bandsaws with softer tyres will be damaged if you try this!
* UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES try to use the bandsaw's own power to rotate wheels while cleaning tyres
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** Fine-tooth blade for finish cuts
** Thin blades for tighter curves
** Metal-rated blades for aluminium/brass/steel/stainless, hardened or chromed steels cannot be cut with this tool, annealed tool steels can be
* We'll use the metal blade this time
* Examine the belt carefully for kinks or twists
* Selecting a suitable gear for the new blade, changing pulleys is easier done without the blade in position.
*
** Untwisting the blade by hand
* Slide the blade into place, fitting is reverse of removal.
* Reinstall the table alignment pin and aluminium blade guide as soon as possible.
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* Spin the blade by hand and adjust the blade tracking to seat it into proper position
* Bring the blade up to the normal tension for that thickness
* Tracking adjustment will now be needed
* Close doors and put the gearbox into the proper gear▼
* Once you are done with this job, the coarse ripping blade must be re-fitted.▼
|| Different blades are used to get access to the full capacities of the saw
|-
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* Start the saw and move the adjuster slowly, noting which way the blade moves
* Get the correct position
**
** How accurate it needs to be depends on what you're doing, within a millimeter or so is typical
** If you're fitting the old blade back and leaving it for others, be as accurate as you reasonably can
* Stop the saw and re-fit all bearing guides and adjust them properly
▲* Close doors and put the gearbox into the proper gear
▲* Once you are done with this job, the coarse ripping blade must be re-fitted.
|| Blade will tend to twist if not tracked properly
|-
| Using sliding metal vice ||▼
* Suitable only for use with metal cutting blades▼
* This is not a preferred technique as the horizontal bandsaw is usually more suitable▼
* Tight clamping essential, if the material moves during a cut the blade is likely to be destroyed▼
** Sheet materials cannot be used▼
** Material must be long enough for the vice to grip it full-width of the jaws ▼
** Good for round/square/hex stock▼
* More risk of blade lead as it's keeping the work up off the table▼
|| We have this so might as well know how to use it, even if it is superseded▼
|-
| Switching in a very fine blade ||
* Far more care is required when using finer blade
* But owing to the fine tooth pitch they'll give neater, tighter cuts on thinner materials
* Inductee takes the metal blade off, coils it and returns to storage
* After using metal the tyres and dust traps should be cleaned more carefully than normal as metal swarf can easily deflect the course of a thinner wood blade
* Taking care throwing out the new blade, thinner blades are much more prone to twisting
* Inductees fit new blade
* Take care with the tension, it's easy to snap a thin blade. If you've not adjusted the tension gauges and they're out, now is a good time to do so
* Precise tracking adjustment is very challenging on thin blades, so it's normally to just center it on the wheels and leave it at that
* Greater accuracy is required with setting the bearing guides, a tighter fit will give you more control for freehand cuts but don't leave it like that when you're done as it'll wear out the bearings
* Very thin blades are most often used for fine curved work, not usually against the fence or mitre gauge
* If you need to cut something even finer than these blades can do, consider the laser or scroll saw.
* <Demonstrate thin material free-hand cuts, then inductees practice>
* Switching back to ripping blade.
|| Using the fine blade for detailed work
|-
| Nulling blade lead ||
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* The blade must be properly tracked before doing this as tracking affects blade lead
* Preparing a suitable block of wood with parallel lines on it, block needs to be at least 300mm long, MDF is preferred owing to lack of grain so the saw can move through it without anything other than the blade lead controlling the path it takes.
* Move the fence well away
* Cut carefully but quickly along one of the parallel lines stopping when half-way though and being very careful not to move the wood once you stop
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|| Correcting blade lead will result in neater cuts and longer blade life.
|-
| Working with rough and odd shaped wood ||
▲| Using sliding metal vice ||
Irregularly shaped wood, such as old twisted timber, or green wood, or bits of tree can all be cut but considerably greater care is needed.
▲* Suitable only for use with metal cutting blades
* Try to figure out if there's any way you can make it rest flat against the table, if yes you can cut it as normal, just be careful
▲* This is not a preferred technique as the horizontal bandsaw is usually more suitable
* If the shape is sufficiently odd that you can't get a flat surface resting on the table then you'll need to MAKE a flat surface so that it can be cut safely
▲* Tight clamping essential, if the material moves during a cut the blade is likely to be destroyed
** If you're able to make a rip-cut along the work's length safely you might find you can prepare a flat surface that way
▲** Sheet materials cannot be used
** If there's a surface that's already close to flat then you may be able to use the planner to make it flat enough
▲** Material must be long enough for the vice to grip it full-width of the jaws
** If all else fails you can build a sled to carry your work through the saw that has a flat bottom and then screw the work onto it
▲** Good for round/square/hex stock
*** Be very careful not to cut through the screws with the saw blade, serious damage is certain if you do.
▲* More risk of blade lead as it's keeping the work up off the table
* Some situations are especially dangerous and should be avoided completely
▲|| We have this so might as well know how to use it, even if it is superseded
** Cutting across round stock - Cutting along round stock can often be done with care but cutting across it (for example trying to cut rounds off of a tree branch) is exceptionally risky. The saw is very likely to snatch at the timber and rotate it very fast. If you're lucky this will result in friction burns, if you're unlucky... broken bones, crushed or cut-off fingers, cuts and major blood loss.
** Cutting anything where the blade is likely to contact the top of the work before the bottom - Unless the work is long enough to be stable then there's a serious risk that the blade catching the top edge will rotate the work and slam it down into the table extremely hard. Damage to the saw, and potentially broken bones are possible here.
* Whenever cutting non-standard timber you need to pay special attention to how the cut is going. If you're getting snatching, erratic cutting, blade moving off to one side or excessive heating these are all warning signs that's something going wrong and you need to stop. You won't always get these warning signs before something bad happens, but if you do get any of them, DON'T IGNORE THEM!
|| People are doing this, might as well make it safe
|-
| Checking and changing oil, cleaning table ||
* Cleaning and waxing the table
Oil in the bandsaw should be changed every 12 months, or sooner if it's looking contaminated
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