How to eliminate drift from your bandsaw
How to eliminate drift from your bandsaw
A sharp blade isn’t the only answer to bandsaw drift. In this video Michael Fortune shows you two fixes to make your saw run true. For more information: http://bit.ly/2BxbKWN
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Thanks for the help. I’ve been trying to dial mine in and failing for a month. I’ll shake you hand and thank you Sir. I appreciate the schooling you just gave me. And will use it from now on.
Thank you for this – I was worried I had bought a lemon
Never used a table slot on a bandsaw. My resaw fence, I made doesn’t use the table slot. The 36" bandsaw where I worked didn’t have table slots. After 40 years in my trade and at home of using a bandsaw I never found a table slot necessary.
Omg thank you you helped me soo much
Ah, Ah, Um, Ah, Ah, Ah, Um, Um, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah…..
I did this on my wen and the blade is drifting hard into the fence. Followed all the steps multiple times. Everything is level/square. Please help
Michael, thank you thank you THANK YOU. I have had my saw for 20+ years and it never cut straight. I spent days fiddling with it years ago and came to the conclusion it was just how it was. It never made sense to me. It is a mechanical system. If the wheels are true, then the blade HAS to cut straight! You know what it was. The table mounts. For the first time EVER, my saw cuts as it was designed. I can’t believe the number of people that have elaborate processes to adjust your work to a misadjusted table. Again, thank you. This bothered me every single time I used the saw and hence, I didn’t use it very often. I feel like I just got a new tool!
Watched this video yesterday before re-sawing some nice 2" x 5" hard maple that I plan to use for a furniture project and am I ever glad I did!!! I started cutting and within the first two inches, the blade drifted 1/4" away from the fence. By the way, this is a new saw that I had only cut a couple of pieces on until now. So, I backed it out and set the blade back to the center of the upper wheel as you said. I tried a sacrificial piece and couldn’t believe the difference. Started over (after a few corrective moves…) and the saw ran straight and true for the remaining 8 feet of maple. Then I did the second piece and achieved the same results. Thanks so much for a great tip, I’m already passing it on to other woodworkers that I know!!!
Plllleeeeeeezzzz…. keep this man! He’s the PERFECT SLEEPING DRAUGHT! The cost of medication? Cut in half! (At least).
Thank you. Excellent advice 🙂
Interesting, placing the centre of the blade on the centreline of the wheel opposite to what has been suggested by others, putting the bottom of gullet on the centreline of the top wheel.
Thank you so much 🥰
I have been racking my brain to figure out the drift.. ty sir
In addition to getting the blade exactly centered on the upper wheel, I have found that tightening the tension until the blade when plucked makes a musical note also helps to get a straight cut. I have resawed maple to 1/16 using these two things and a homemade resaw fence (clamped to the table like that guy from Ft Bragg describes in his book). I never use the fence guides on the table.
I thought my bandsaw was just garbage,but I will try this and see if this is the problem. I will be singing your praises if you have saved my saw and thus all the wood that meets the saw!
Very hard to listen to. Should be reading from a script and lots of editing.
My saw’s alignment wont track in the middle of the top wheel while its perfectly centered on the lower wheel.
Thanks. I have been struggling with this problem ever since I got my bandsaw and could never work out how to fix it.
Superb tutorial, Thanks.
I need to do this to an old Dewalt bandsaw I have in my garage.
Thank you!
I just realized why my bandsaw is cutting crooked. Thanks so much for your video, it is most helpful!
Interesting that the Alex Snodgrass method has you setting the deepest part of the gullet at the crown (center) of the wheel, not the center of the blade.
One eliminates BS drift first by removing the table and centering the blade to the deepest part of the gullet on the center of the top wheel.
Then adjusting side bearings just behind the teeth so that they barely touch the blade without spinning. Do the same to the thrust bearings. Replace table and tension the blade appropriately. Don’t use the settings on the saw. Experienced woodworkers know this. Make sure the fence is parallel to the blade and not the slot.
See Snodgrass online to view demonstration.
What if my bandsaw has a non crowned flat wheel?
Thank you. Wish I had watched this video about five years ago!
My bandsaw isn’t fixed down to the standard it’s on so the only way I can move the bandsaw around is by grabing hold of the stand, but great video thanks. Martin in the UK 🇬🇧
And i thought, i was to stupid to use the fence or the saw correctly.
Thank you so much for this explanation 🤘
thank you
I did this on my wen and the blade is drifting hard into the fence. Followed all the steps multiple times. Everything is level/square. Please help
This was explained better than anyone else. Thanks 🙏 for the info.
The best bandsaw guidance I have ever heard. Your advice solved years of recurring problems. I now live by this advice!
To eliminate drift.. the best way is don’t use it. This is the least used piece of equipment in my shop…I regret buying it I should have
Purchase a lathe or drill press instead…Band saw use is over hyped in my view
This works. I’ve tried the Alex Snodgrass method but found that it only works with one width of blade, and other saw/blade combinations do not work. I’ve tried this method and it seems to work on any combination of blade and saw.
Bottom line is you need the blade and the fence to be exactly parallel with the miter slot.
Centering the blade on the wheel is not correct. You should center the deepest part of the gullet on the center of the wheel. 😁👍🏻
My bandsaw doesn’t have the thing to where I can move the table any help
I have a craftsman 12 inch bandsaw. Per the manual, to square the blade, I need to adjust with a set scew. However, it does not matter how much I turn this scew I cannot get the blade square with the table, any suggestions?
Great info Michael, I’m looking forward to finally solving the drift problem with my new Laguna 14/12 saw.
Excellent video. I had no idea that could happen and how to fix it. Thank you.
WOW! What a terrific video and absolutely dead-on as to what I needed. Yep, I’ve been my bandsaw as described, not realizing the problem which might arise.
Thank you for your expertise!
Thanks for the great advice . 👍😀
I messed up my bandsaw (dumb mistake) and was having a hard time getting it to cut properly again. Watched a lot of videos and this one enabled me to solve all the problems. Thanks very much!
I’m 76…never have I seen a
bandsaw lesson in how to properly align a bandsaw so thoroughly…atta boy and thank you!😊
Thank you for the exceptionally informative video.
When "centering" do you do it with the drift control knob?
How do I eliminate a bandsaw from my drift?
"Furiture" Maker
Thanks. Someone else’s video suggested having the back of the blade gullet ride the center of the tire, but after watching your explanation I can now understand why the work piece was drifting to one side. Time to go make some adjustments and see how it goes.
If the bandsaw is set up correctly it should not drift. Great informative video.
This was an amazingly useful and informative video, thanks so much for putting this together!
Extremely well explained and demonstrated. Some of the best advice for setting up a bandsaw I’ve seen. I’m glad I stumbled into this video …. Cheers!!