Bandsaw Drift

[Chet]

Submitted on the old forum by Coop

Can one of you guys explain this term? I’ve watched videos on this subject and still don’t comprehend. I have a 14” Grizz with a riser block, with a 6” fence and with a sharp blade, can get some pretty good slices of wood while resawing. Why would someone have to manipulate a board while resawing if the saw was tuned right. 

Follow up posts

1) Sometimes, even a perfectly tuned bandsaw will have a natural drift. I know that both of mine do and that's why the fences are adjustable to account for that drift.

Ultimately, they shouldn't be adjusting the board while resawing, they should have adjusted for that before the cut.

This is usually the first sign that my blade has about had it.. Even though my saws are set up for the drift, it gets more pronounced as the blade gets dull.

2) It is the blade that creates the drift if I am not mistaking. That is why when you change out a dull blade to a new one when re-sawing you may have to adjust the fence again. I just did this and had to re-adjust the fence back the other way just a touch.

3) Correct..  I always have to adjust after a blade change.

4) A sharp blade, the right TPI, good tracking and the ability to properly tension the blade which in my opinion the most important part.

5) Actually I’ve seen where people use a pivot point and saw to the line which makes me wonder what the bottom of the board looks like? When I start loosing it on a blade, using the fence, the bottom of the board will be wider or less, which leads me to think it is the blade. So you guys adjust the fence for the drift? I usually, on a wider board, use a stacked feather board, to maintain the cut.

6) On that saw, if you look at the fence, you'll see some screws on the top near the handle.  By loosening those screws, you can adjust the fence to account for the drift.

I could probably toss a quickie video together for you if it would be helpful since I have that same saw?

7) My Laguna 1412 can take up to a 3/4 inch blade which is what I have been using since I purchased the saw.  I recently went to a 1/2 inch blade and what a difference.  Being able to get better tension on the 1/2 inch that I couldn't on the 3/4 is worth the sacrifice of the wider blade.

8 ) Coop, some people like to use a pivot point because they feel it is faster and most likely not have right blade and tension. I'm not a fan of that method, if you are paying attention you could mess up. Anybody that says you can resaw and immediately use the piece is most likely lying. On of the best methods I heard of for resawing is to draw 2 lines on the board and stay between them.  

I started off with a 3/4" blade like Chet and now use 1/2" once I learned more about proper tension.

9) Thanks Kev for the offer but I’m completely satisfied with mine for now. Right before I started this, I had watched another video where drift was mentioned and adjusted for and wondered what I was missing. As long as my boards are the same thickness throughout after going thru the blade, I’m happy. I have seen the adjustment screws you speak of and used them when I set the saw up to be parallel to the slot for the miter bar. Thanks guys for your answers.