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That's the correct thickness. Can you get a fresh log to see if the band will cut true? My guess is that your semi sharp band will cut true in green wood but is marginal in the dry cedar. Have you set the guide blocks per the manual yet?
 
Semi sharp? Its new, should be very sharp? When I set the guide blocks I think I used one piece of paper. Cant remember now. When setting the guide blocks, with one piece of paper, which block do you put the paper in, then where do you set the other guide block first?
 
parrisw said:
Also Cedar is very soft, why would it not cut well in that, as apposed to green wood.
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I'm assuming you have enough tension? Of all the things that can screw up a Ripsaw session, that is often the main culprit I've found. Not enough tension and you get wavy cuts and blade wanders all over the place, too much tension and you start to actually pull the saw out of alignment and the blade starts to go off track. In an extreme case (yes I have done this in my haste) if you have way way too much tension it causes the blade to start coming off the wheel to the point where it digs into the aluminum cover. Ya have to really crank it to get to that point though. As the blade starts to get dull and starts to wander, I found if I increase the tension a bit I can stretch a little more life out of it. I've pushed that way too far a few times though. Also, that is hard on the mill so not a good idea to make that a common practice.
 
parrisw said:
Dam well how do I know where the right tension is? I hate wasting loads of wood testing? I've done it like the manual said, to the white line.
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Yes, but that white line is found by mechanical means, it's a machine like anything else. All that had to have happened is have that long lever banged out of place at one time, bending that lever and that white line is out of adjustment. Mine had been bent out of place many times over the years and I've had to re-adjust it. Some guys have an actual blade tension meter, but I don't, so here is what I do when I think it needs adjusting.

1)start with a brand new blade

2)tighten it to where it starts to feel and look tight. Ballpark is after you put a new blade in and before you start to tighten it, turn on the saw and rev it a bit, the blade will not turn since it is not tight enough on wheels. Turn that big tension nut about 2 full turns after the Ripsaw starts to turn the blade. I use a ratchet and socket and turn it one half turn at a time so I can keep track. Make sure the blade is tracking correctly as you do this by peeking in the end of the mill and looking at where it is sitting on the wheel. If when you put the new blade in you set it on the wheel correctly and the saw tracking is set correctly the blade will find its proper track as soon as there is enough tension for it to start to turn.

3)then pick a log that is not too hard or too easy... something like cherry or walnut or doug fir and take a slice. If wavy cut crank another half turn till you get good boards. Should only take couple boards.

4)at that point adjust that tension meter arm till it's right on that red line.

What I do from that point is rarely even look at that tension meter... every time I tension and untension the thing I simply turn it 4 full turns (8 half turns with the ratchet) at a time in or out... and I know it is back at the right spot. Very hard wood or wood with lots of tight knots will need more tension and I crank the thing another turn or so if needed. It is something you get a feel for after milling with it for a while. It used to frustrate me in the beginning, and now it's almost second nature and I can tell whether it needs more or less tension and adjust it thus. Once you set it though, you can rely on that white line if you want, and just keep it there.
 
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parrisw said:
Semi sharp? Its new, should be very sharp? When I set the guide blocks I think I used one piece of paper. Cant remember now. When setting the guide blocks, with one piece of paper, which block do you put the paper in, then where do you set the other guide block first?
Click to expand...

Will, if your dry cedar is knotty like the western red cedar and eastern red cedar that I've planed then you blade is now semi sharp. You can take it out into the sunlight and look at it through a 10X loupe for verification. For adjusting the carbide guides the instructions on page 11 of the Ripsaw manual states to loosen the screws, place the paper between the band and the top carbide block, squeeze the blocks together with pliers or vise grips , then tighten the screws. I would think that it would be important for the band to be tensioned although it does not say in the manual. Here is the updated manual. http://www.ripsaw.com/manuals/ripsawmanual.pdf In the old manual there was a explanation as to calibrating the tension indicator and it basically said to take the tension off the band and adjust the indicator so that it's parallel to the bending beam under it.
 
scottr said:
Will, if your dry cedar is knotty like the western red cedar and eastern red cedar that I've planed then you blade is now semi sharp. You can take it out into the sunlight and look at it through a 10X loupe for verification. For adjusting the carbide guides the instructions on page 11 of the Ripsaw manual states to loosen the screws, place the paper between the band and the top carbide block, squeeze the blocks together with pliers or vise grips , then tighten the screws. I would think that it would be important for the band to be tensioned although it does not say in the manual. Here is the updated manual. http://www.ripsaw.com/manuals/ripsawmanual.pdf In the old manual there was a explanation as to calibrating the tension indicator and it basically said to take the tension off the band and adjust the indicator so that it's parallel to the bending beam under it.
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Ahh ok, thanks for clearing that up. I'll check out the updated manual.

Actually the guy at the shop where I got the band's, said that Cedar is the worst for dulling a blade.
 
Ok, I did some more cutting yesterday. I reset the guide blocks, what a pain to get at the screws for it. Readjusted the tension, its definatly cutting better, cut some beautiful boards with it, got a few wavy ones too. I found that, like you guys said, its all about feed pressure throttle and smoothness is the key I found yesterday, If I got the right throttle setting, feed it in at a angle, and smooth feed rate, it cut real nice. As soon as I let the blade grab and the cut speed drasticly changed thats when I would get a wavy cut. I found doing it like Woodshop worked best for me, just holding the saw back without using the guide finger. I also found it works better if i laid the guide beam on top of the log too.

So all in all, its cutting better but no 100% to my liking yet, but it just me I think, need more time with it. I also need a better sawhorse setup to make it at a comfortable height.

Thanks to all that have helped me, lets keep this going with more tips for other users who may be wanting to start in the milling venture!!
 
Oh, also, once I found the perfect throttle setting I just listened to the saw a tried to keep it there, it would cut perfect without grabbing much and was easy to control the saw, however it was hard to keep the throttle setting, I wish there were some way to control the throttle better.

Also I am thinking of putting my 038 super on the mill instead of the 044, the 044 isn't even working at all, don't even think it was barely at half throttle.
 
Thanks for the link. Did some more milling today. Man it work perfect today, every board came out really nice. I couldn't be happier with it. Here are a few pics. All of it pretty much came out real nice vertical grain/straight grain.

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Ya, I was pretty excited when that first board came off the saw. I almost couldn't believe how nice it was. Now I just have to finally do something with these stacks of Cedar lumber in my shop. And still have another 8 logs to go get, SHEESSH
 
scottr said:
Will, your cedar pictures show clear knot free wood, what kind of cedar is it? The cedar that I've seen has a lot of knots.
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Looks like Western Red to me (also assuming that due to his being in Victoria) - but clear wood is all about the size of the tree. I know I'm a bit late on this, but as far as band tension goes - the general rule I've heard for wood shop bandsaws is that the blade should only deflect about 1/4" when pressed on. Don't know how well that would translate to a smaller bandsaw with beefier bands like the Ripsaw though. Also, has anyone considered trying to swap out the guide blocks and modify it to install small roller bearings? I find them WAY better on a woodworking bandsaw as opposed to blocks, and the blade seems to stay cooler with them too as there's less friction.

EDIT: I don't know if this has been discussed, but releasing the tension on the band when it's not in use will result in it lasting much longer before it breaks. When bands go for a long period under tension but without moving, they can get a "memory" of that oval shape and aren't as flexible as they used to be.
 
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Western red cedar. That piece I cut up was almost 100% clear, there were a couple of very small tight knots. Most of the boards came out clear wood.
 

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