SHOPSMITH 11” BANDSAW
555943
Page 26
also use a feather board to help hold the stock
up on edge and flat against the fence.
Shopsmith offers a feather board as part of our
Safety Kit (505973).
If you’re using a 1/4" blade for this operation,
increase the tension to the 3/8" mark on the
blade tension scale. Do not increase the ten-
sion if you’re using a 3/8" or 1/2" blade. For
a 5/8" blade, set the tension at the 1/2" scale
setting.
As you make the cut, hold the workpiece
firmly against the fence. Take your time and
don’t rush the cut. If you rush, the blade may
follow the annual rings in the wood, giving
you an uneven cut. Blade lead can also ruin
your cut. If the blade tends to wander, even
when you feed the wood slowly, readjust the
blade guides or the angle of the fence. If this
doesn’t work, follow the procedure described
in the Troubleshooting section. If none of
these remedies correct the problem, use an-
other blade for resawing.
WARNING
Always finish up a resawing cut with a push
stick. The last few inches will bring your fingers
too close to the danger zone for safety.
Making Bevel Cuts
To make beveled cuts, simply tilt the table tot
he desired tilt and secure the tilt lock. If the
accuracy of the cutting angle is critical, check
the tilt with a protractor or drafting triangle.
You can make beveled cuts freehand, or you
can use the fence to guide and support the
work, as demonstrated in Fig. B-12.
Adjust the upper blade guide so that it’s as
close to the work as possible. The left or
uphill side of the work should barely clear the
left guide block. As you cut, hold the work
firmly on the table and against the fence. If
To increase the cutoff capacity when crosscut-
ting, you can offset the blade, as described on
page 26. When the blade is offset, you can cut
off any length of stock that you can safely
handle, as long as the stock is not more than 3-
7/8" wide. This is particularly handy for
crosscutting 2 x 4’s, demonstrated in Fig. B-11.
However, when the blade is offset, you must
crosscut freehand, without the miter gauge.
Fig. B-10
Fig. B-11
Resawing
Resawing thick stock into thin boards is one
of the Bandsaw’s most useful functions. This
operation cannot be performed as efficiently
on any other home workshop power tool. We
recommend buying and using the optional
Bandsaw Fence (Part No. 555645).
To get a good resaw, first joint or sand the
bottom edge of the stock. Also make sure the
stock face that will rest against the fence is as
smooth and flat as possible. If the board is
cupped, the cup should face the fence. Check
the squareness of the table to the blade and
adjust it, if necessary - just 1 degree or 2
degrees out of square will make the resawn
board noticeably uneven.
Since resawing usually involves stock sev-
eral inches thick and many feet long, you
should use the Bandsaw fence. You should
