bandsaw question

[Echatham]

just made my first half dozen shafts from a two by four by ripping 3/8 x 3/8 blanks on my grizzly 14" bandsaw, and then hand planing down to spine.  works great and im excited about super cheap and perfectly functional arrows, but i am wasting material with bad cuts. im using the 3/8" blade that came with the saw, and it wants to run towards the fence. im having better luck free handing but i aint perfect and ive ruined a couple of perfect pieces of wood by cutting to thin.  would a 3/4" blade help alot, or is tuning the saw in order, or should i just get a table saw?  if i ought to be able to make accurate rips with a 3/8" blade, what is out of tune on the saw causing the blade to run toward the fence... actually a more accurate way to put it would be that it pulls the work piece away from the fence.  thanks guys, i know this isn't a bow making question exactly, but i know there are alot of 14" bandsaw owning woodworkers here, and im a noob and all...  

[heartlandbowyer]

Yep ya need to give er a tune up, I believe Kenny m did a bandsaw tune up thread a couple months ago.

I can rip .050 lams with no run out or tracking problems on my shop fox saw.

[2treks]

http://www.amazon.com/movies-tv/dp/B000H6ECBK

This got me set up and running good. I have the book and DVD.
You should be able to peel a paper thin veneer off with your saw and a 3/8 blade.
I just did a quick search on youtube for Bandsaw tuning tips and there is plenty.
A table saw works great, but, you throw a lot of material on the floor due to the large kerf.
Good luck

[Echatham]

thanks guys. guess i have a project for tomorrow!

[kennym]

The blade that came with my new Griz was near junk! It wouldn't cut straight for anything! Now it has Lennox Diemaster II and is fine.  May be your stock blade.

You may have to adjust your fence slightly also, but both Griz saws I've had were dead on.....

[macbow]

Definitely could be the blade. If any of the teeth have been worn on one side it will cut to one side.
A new sharp blade is good for critical work.

And of coarse tuning.

[Echatham]

well that didn't take long at all.  this is kind of embarrassing, but some how i was convinced that this bottom knob needed to be loosened to adjust blade tension with the top knob, and at some point i must have played with it and got the blade tracking out of the center of the wheel.


once i fixed that, and properly adjusted blade tension, and tweaked the guide and thrust bearings. all is well and it cuts straight and true. and yes it is stock blade. heres some shaft blanks i just ripped out in no time, the one on the right is one from yesterday.



and just because i like em... here's some finished arrows. all wild turkey and goose feathers.




really appreciate it guys.    

[kennym]

That is sweet grain on the shafts, what wood is it?

Glad you got her tuned in!!

[Echatham]

Kenny, that there is a big box hardware store 2x4. it don't smell like pine so i think it must be spruce or fir. so far they all spine about 60# at roughly 11/32. i just drilled a 23/64 hole in a board and then plane it down to where it will fit snuggly in the hole. then sand it down to spine.

[LittleBen]

Very neat. Looks like it could be fir. I think those 2x4 are sold as SPF (spruce pine fir)

[Zradix]

Very cool!

We must be picking up similar vibes man.
Just made my first arrow out of a boo garden stake last night..lol
Though I didn't go the extra for self nocks like you did.

[Dan Bonner]

Nice! I have that same saw. Call grizzly and they will walk you through a tuneup on the phone. They will help you get the saw running perfectly.

Bonner

[RedMan37]

After seeing and some of Dan's buildalongs I am really getting tempted to go out and get a band saw. This information is great and more importantly is an awesome way for the average bow hunter to save money. Imagine how much you can hone your shooting skills shooting at whatever and knowing you have about 100 arrows if some get lost or broken. The low cost of these compared to $7-$10/arrow makes self built arrows the way to go! Thanks so much echatham and the rest of you who contribute so much information on tradgang. RedMan.

[Echatham]

well its cheap on the wallet but not necessarily on time. im still gonna wince at a broken arrow, not because it cost $12, but because it cost a couple hours.  if i had/made a dowler it would be way quicker.  check out George Tsoukalis' site for a build along on these arrows.

[kennym]

I made a doweler I saw in TBM a few years back. Just a pc of metal strap, with decreasing size holes in it.  If you take a chisel and make a spur on the infeed side of the first one, it really speeds it up!!

You ram the first end in and twist to get it round enuff to chuck in your drill, then spin it thru the holes til you get close, then sand(gets hot quick!)

[cunruhshoot]

I have really enjoyed making my own arrows and I also build a jig that was shown in TBM...This system uses a router and I chuck the wood in my drill and spin across the router bit.





A sample arrow is on top of the jig.

[cunruhshoot]

I also use the same 14" Grizzly Bandsaw and it does save wood as compared to how I was using the table saw and I think it is a little safer over the table saw as well. I had some close calls on the table saw...scary! The savings in wood cost does not outweigh the value of a finger...

[Bowjunkie]

That looks a lot like this one.

 Dowel  making jig

[cunruhshoot]

Yes  - I believe it is the same design. The article in TBM was from a number of years ago - I would have to look it up to be sure but it was a past issue that I bought. The TBM article included a table for support. And this makes turning the wood into dowels a very quick process.

[Echatham]

any chance you could let me know which issue of tbm? i got boxes and boxes of old issues, but i don't recall seeing it.