Cutting strips with Byrnes saw.....Strips start out fine then they thin.

[bigcreekdad]

What am I doing wrong?  Haven't milled strips in a couple years. Also, I changed blades and am not sure I've got the washers on either side placed properly. Any help there?

[No Idea]

Hi - If you had the arbours wrong the blade would not run true and give you all sorts of problems - you would know it wasn't right.

 

So assuming they are ok if your wood is tapering during a cut it could be one of many reasons.

 

1.  The edge of the wood that is on the fence is not straight and true.  This will need correcting.

2.  You are not keeping the wood tight up against the fence as you cut?

3.  The blade is too thin and is deflecting - what size blade and with how many teeth are you using?

 

Cheers Mark

[Roger Pellett]

A shameless plug for the (very) inexpensive thin rip guide sold by MSW’s owner the Nautical Research Guild.  Using this, the wood being cut is not squeezed between the fence and the blade.  This should produce more even cuts.

 

Since you haven’t used the Saw for a while, have you checked the fence alignment.  There are instructions for doing this here on the forum.

 

Adding to Mark’s comment #2 above, a handy Saw accessory is a simple block of wood that can be used to press the piece being cut against the fence.  Using this, the right hand pushes with the push stick while the left with the wooden block presses the wood being cut against the fence.  The NRG’s guile eliminates the need for this.

 

Roger

Edited December 31, 2023 by Roger Pellett

[bigcreekdad]

NO IDEA........I am exposing my limited knowledge......Can you explain the "arbors" thing?

[No Idea]

1 minute ago, bigcreekdad said:

NO IDEA........I am exposing my limited knowledge......Can you explain the "arbors" thing?

Yes of course - they are what you describe as the washers that secure the blade.  If installed correctly they look like this and the blade runs true with no vibration or wobble. 

[bigcreekdad]

I feel stupid, but I have a large washer on either side. Is that what you mean? And how do you know if they are set correctly?

 

[No Idea]

You are correct there is a large washer on either side of the blade. If you have a look one of them has a small step machined into it. The blade locates on the step which makes it central and run true. If the blade is not properly located on the step it will visibly not run straight. 

[bigcreekdad]

Got it!...Many thanks Sir!!

[No Idea]

No problem mate I’m glad you’ve got it sorted. I’ll put mine back together again now!  Only joking these are old pictures that I took 😂. Good luck with your milling 👍

[bigcreekdad]

Had the washers correctly placed. What a difference! Getting a little light burning, but I need to clean the table up. Also, ordered that device recommended above from NRG.

 

That's all for the great advice!

[KeithAug]

On 12/31/2023 at 5:43 PM, No Idea said:

1.  The edge of the wood that is on the fence is not straight and true.  This will need correcting.

2.  You are not keeping the wood tight up against the fence as you cut?

3.  The blade is too thin and is deflecting - what size blade and with how many teeth are you using?

 

Bigcreekdad - One other possible cause is the grain direction on the wood you are cutting. If you are using a narrow blade and the grain tapers away from the fence then the blade tends to follow the grain and the resulting planks can have a taper. If this is the case try flipping the wood over lengthways so the grain taper is towards the fence. This usually improves the accuracy of the cut plank.

[Jaager]

For ripping - a thin blade with lots of teeth seems like a good idea, but it is not.

The thicker the stock, the fewer the  teeth and deeper the gullet to carry away the kerf cut.

When the gullet is full, the cutting edge in front of it cannot cut.  The stress and friction heat has the blade seeking the path of least resistance.  If the blade is thin enough it will twist or flex or whatever the correct verb is to describe it getting out of plane.

[KeithAug]

4 hours ago, Jaager said:

For ripping - a thin blade with lots of teeth seems like a good idea, but it is not.

I agree. I tend to use the thinnest blade I can get away with to reduce waste. In practice I never find anything less than a 1/32" (0.8mm) slitting blade is stiff enough to prevent it flexing and wandering off line. If the wood is difficult (pronounced grain, hard, high moisture) I tend to use a .040" (1.0mm) blade. I always go for a slitting saw with large teeth.  

[Thunder]

Thanks all, great information. I have the same issue on my Proxxon FET and assumed it was a fault of the saw. However, practice cuts with lime and oak were fine. When started to cut the boxwood, brought specially for my build, had horrible issues. I did make a blade change which helped a little but am limited with choice of blades with the Proxxon.

[bigcreekdad]

Where to buy the larger toothed blades? What great advice on this board!

[KeithAug]

Amazon:-

They have a 22mm bore - not 0.5" as on the Byrnes saw. Jim used to sell spacers but I guess they are not available at the moment. Making spacers is very easy if you know someone with a lathe.

[KeithAug]

21 hours ago, Thunder said:

I did make a blade change which helped a little but am limited with choice of blades with the Proxxon.

Thunder - see above post. Im not sure what size you need but these blades are available in many diameters and thicknesses - although you might need a spacer for the bore.

[Gregory]

37 minutes ago, bigcreekdad said:

Where to buy the larger toothed blades? What great advice on this board!

A good source in US is Malco Saw..

Not in a good situation to post a link right now,  but will later if no one beats me to it.

 

For Proxxon , get the 1/2" arbor adaptor from MicroMark.  It will give you a lot more blade options. 

 

 

[No Idea]

For anything above 4mm thick I now use a 1mmx100mmx64T blade. It works great and gives a good finish. 

[KeithAug]

1 hour ago, Gregory said:

A good source in US is Malco Saw..

https://www.malcosaw.com

[Gregory]

A caveat for Malco, in the past they have had a $100 minimum order,  but their prices are very reasonable. 

 

Edited January 4 by Gregory

[Gregory]

This is the adapter you want if you have a Proxxon FET or Microlux

 

https://www.micromark.com/Saw-Blade-Adapter

 

 

[Nirvana]

On 1/3/2024 at 5:03 AM, Jaager said:

For ripping - a thin blade with lots of teeth seems like a good idea, but it is not.

If the blade is thin enough it will twist or flex or whatever the correct verb is to describe it getting out of plane.

Which I have experienced, it was not a pretty site. 
So I thank you for this insight and help.

[Wahka_est]

Hi,

 

Just noticed this topic.

 

I cut most of hobbymill.eu with 80 teeth 0,8mm 80mm blade. For very thin pieces i use more teeth and slimmer blade (example 1mm). 
 

Adjusting feed rate helps a lot with cut quality.

 

To remove burn marks put spacer on fence that ends little after blade meets the stock. Idea is what strip will be loose and will not get stuck between fence and blade after it meets the blade.

Br

Vahur

Hobbymill.EU