Dave, great job on the video. I made a bandsaw sled a few years ago for cutting circles. It has an adjustable pivotpoint for almost any size circle. Later I added a fence for cutting small pieces, it's much safer than a table saw or chop saw. Recently I added another removable fence for resaw jobs. Band saws are very versatile. Now I will add the miter gage for cutting acurate angles. :)
Very cool. I ended up buying a commercial circle cutting jig for my bandsaw because I had a project where I needed to have the circle cut and not enough time to make the jig. It's a shame but I don't even use that now as I have a large CNC machine. I just secure the wood and end up with a perfect circle with little effort. Frees me up to work on the other creative aspects of a project. I totally agree with you about the bandsaw being much safer than a table saw, especially with cuts on small pieces.
Great idea. I have learnt how to set up my bandsaw with zero drift some time ago with great success - but a sled like this will make it even more versatile.
Very well done & informative Dave! I have been a scroll saw artisan for many years, but never obtained a band saw, until yesterday! As not entirely green at a band saw, I wanted to get some band saw 101 going to become a little more acquainted. Thanx so much!
Looking at the Grizzly 17" anniversary model on sale now. Their engineers still suggest the blade center wheel in their in house videos, rather than the gullet center. I think I will apply the latter.
Going with gullet center was a real game changer for me. never looked back. The saw in the above video is set up this way as well as my 14" Laguna. Makes re-sawing much easier as well. Best of luck with your new saw.
How does a wider blade fit on the center of the tire? I can see eliminating drift using Alex Snodgrass method with small blades...but how does it work with a 3/4 blade?. Wont it be off the edge?
I understand now. I thought you were referring to the jig. In this video I am using my Powermatic (Delta Style cast frame) bandsaw. I use this saw for smaller/detail work. Some people try to run a 3/4 blade on this type of saw but it is questionable if the cast frame can handle the tension needed to support the blade. A 1/2 in blade is much better suited to this type of saw and will pretty much cut through anything you throw at it. That said I have another bandsaw, a Laguna 1412 that I use for heavier work. I presently have a 3/4 Timberwolf blade mounted on it that I switch out with a 3/4 in Laguna Resaw King blade when resawing. You are correct in the fact that if you try to center the gullet (as Snodgrass suggests) on a 1 inch wide tire the blade will hang over the wheel and this is not good. On this saw I center the blade and just try to cheat the gullet towards the center a little. The steel frame on this saw has no problem with the required tension and with the wider blade drift does not seem to be an issue as it is with a narrower blade. I can cut Vernier's so thin you can see through them without accounting for drift. So I guess the point is that on a 14in Bandsaw that has 1 inch tires you can center gullets on blades up to 1/2 in. Anything wider and you have to settle for centering the blade and then shifting is a little to the right. Hope this helps. Dave
I also have a Laguna 1412 in addition to Powermatic in this video so I have experience with both ceramic and ball bearing guides. I really like both. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses. I certainly prefer the ceramic for tasks like re-sawing. I feel the ball bearing guides give me better control for detailed scroll cuts.
Sorry but I don't quite understand what you are asking. What do you mean they hang over the edge?. If I use a wider blade it just cuts a deeper kerf into the jig. All works fine.
