I have a Griz 14" bandsaw with riser. Nearly all I do is cut out bowl blanks from green, wet wood, average thickness 5-6 inches. I use Timber Wolf 3/8" blades 3 tpi. Now for the question. I have always run it on the low blade speed. Has anyone used the high speed for such work? It is wired for 220 and never really bogs down on the low speed but was wondering there is any advantage of a faster blade speed.
A faster blade speed will cut more smoothly and faster if the saw does not bog down. Neither may offer any advantage for your purpose.
On Tue, 11 Feb 2014 17:10:03 -0600, G. Ross wrote (in message ):
Blade speed is a careful dance with blade tension, and feed rate. Part of blade speed is the mechanical factors in your saw, the bearings for the wheels, and the tires on the wheels, and the tension keeping the blade straight. Part of the blade tension is again, mechanical factors in your saw
- notably the bearings - and then there is the weld in the blade and when it will let go - plus the continual flexing of the blade and the shape of the notch at the bottom of each tooth and the likelihood of a work-hardening failure at any tooth notch. Faster blades will also heat up faster and hotter, accelerating the work hardening thing. In general, the saw manufacturer has probably considered some of these issues in establishing the blade speed for the given saw. You can go slower, depending on the nature of the item being cut, but faster is not always better. Blade tension is another variable, which you may have control over, and Timber Wolf may have a nice tutorial on that issue in its sales literature. tom koehler
I think the old saw :-) that "if it feels right, it probably is" applies here. If you've been getting good results on low speed, I'd stick with it. You're not going to overheat the blade, and it sounds like you haven't got a supervisor leaning over your shoulder going "Haven't you finished yet?", so you can afford the time.
Steve
Good to hear from you, Tom. These blanks are sopping wet so heat is probably not a problem, but I think I will stay with low speed.
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