Blade Lead - Grizzly G0636X Owner's Manual

Blade Lead

Bandsaw blades commonly wander off the cut
line when sawing, as shown in Figure 48. This
is called blade lead. Blade lead is commonly
caused by too fast of a feed rate, a dull or abused
blade, or improper tension. If your blade is sharp/
undamaged and you still have blade lead, per-
form the following instructions.
Figure 48. Example of blade leading away from
line of cut.
To correct blade lead:
1. Use less pressure when feeding the workpiece
through the cut.
2.
Check that the miter slot or fence is parallel
to the blade line, and correct if necessary
(See Aligning Table, Page 28 and Aligning
Fence, Page 29).
3.
Check for proper blade tension. If the blade
tension is correct and it is not convenient to
replace the blade, compensate for lead by
skewing the fence or adjusting the table.
To skew your fence:
1.
Cut a piece of scrap wood approximately
thick x 3" wide x 17" long. On a wide face of
the board, draw a straight line parallel to the
long edge.
Model G0636X/G0636XB (Mfd. Since 04/17)
2.
Slide the bandsaw fence out of the way and
cut halfway through the board on the line by
pushing it into the blade. Turn the bandsaw
OFF and wait for the blade to stop.
3.
Clamp the board to the bandsaw table with-
out moving it. Now slide the fence over to
the board so it barely touches one end of the
board.
4.
Loosen the two cap screws that secure the
fence rail to the underside of the table (see
Page 29).
5. Skew the fence so it is parallel to the edge of
the scrap piece.
6.
While maintaining the skew, tighten the cap
screws loosened in Step 4.
7.
Make a few cuts using the fence. If the fence
still does not seem parallel to the blade,
repeat Steps 1–6 until the blade and fence
are parallel with each other.
To shift the table:
1. On a scrap piece of wood, mark a line that is
perpendicular to the front edge.
2. Cut halfway through the board on the line by
pushing it into the blade.
3. Turn the bandsaw OFF and wait for the blade
to stop.
4.
Using an 8mm hex wrench, loosen the four
cap screws that mount the table to the trun-
nion (Figure 32). Shift the table to compen-
sate for the blade lead, then retighten the cap
screws.
5. Repeat Steps 1–4 until the blade cuts
straight.
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