Blade Lead - Grizzly G0817 Owner's Manual

Blade Lead

Bandsaw blades may wander off of the layout
line when sawing, as shown in Figure 95. This is
called blade lead.
Blade lead is usually caused by excessive feed
rate/pressure, 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.
Blade
Wandering
Off Layout
Line
Figure 95. Example of blade lead.
Items Needed
Wood Board ⁄ " x 3" x 16" ................................. 1
3
4
Hex Wrench 5mm .............................................. 1
To correct blade lead:
1.
Make sure blade is properly tensioned and
blade guides are adjusted correctly.
2.
Make sure miter slot and fence are parallel to
blade line (see Aligning Table and Aligning
Fence procedures for detailed information).
3.
Perform test cut with bandsaw, using less
pressure when feeding workpiece through
cut.
— If there is still blade lead present, com-
pensate for this condition by skewing
the fence, as instructed in the following
procedure.
Model G0817 (Mfd. Since 05/16)
To skew fence:
1.
2.
3.
Layout
Line
4.
5.
Qty
6.
Cut a straight and parallel wood board
approximately ⁄ " thick x 3" wide x 16" long.
3
4
Tip: Cut your board out of a new piece
of ⁄ " plywood, using a tablesaw. The
3
4
straight "factory edge" of the plywood will
ensure accuracy during the following steps.
Alternatively, you can use a jointer and table-
saw to straighten a piece of scrap wood.
On wide face of board, draw a straight line
parallel to long edge, similar to layout line
shown in Figure 95 on This Page.
Slide fence out of the way and cut along lay-
out line halfway through board. Turn bandsaw
OFF and wait for blade to stop. Do not move
board.
Clamp board to bandsaw table, then slide
fence over to board so it barely touches one
edge of board.
Loosen the four fence adjustment cap screws
to the left of fence face (see Figure 96), skew
fence so that it is parallel with wood board,
contacting it evenly along its length, then
retighten cap screws.
Figure 96. Location of fence adjustment cap
screws.
Finish cut using fence.
— If blade lead is still present, repeat Steps
1–5 until cutting results are satisfactory.
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