Diamond Tech XL 3000 band saw - blade deviates

dblood · Post by **dblood** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 4:52 pm

Hello, band saw experts. I'm making a lot of straight cuts on my saw, using a fence, and the blade is deviating too much for my taste. The things I can think of to try are:

- change the blade, it may be somewhat worn out.
- push the glass through slowly, don't exceed the cutting speed of the saw.
- tighten the blade tension?
- keep the upper blade guide assembly as low down on the material as possible
- keep the copper guide pieces tight against the blade.

Any other ideas?

I'm thinking of trying a ring saw. Aren't they more resistant to deviating?

charlie · Post by **charlie** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 5:05 pm

that's the nature of the beast. it's HARD to get straight cuts on a bandsaw. a ring saw is just a different type of bandsaw. you really need a tile saw for this.

you can get roughly straight cuts using a fence and going extremely slowly.

Terry Ow-Wing · Post by **Terry Ow-Wing** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 11:55 pm

i vote for a tile saw for straight cuts!

terry O.

Tony Smith · Post by **Tony Smith** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 7:20 am

I have the Diamond Laser 5000 which has a thicker blade, and the blade still wanders. I've been using bandsaws for years in wood, and this saw really isn't any different than any other bandsaw that I've used with a 1/2" blade. If you take your time and pay attention to where the blade's going, you can get decent, straight cuts. But I agree that the tile saw is the best choice for straight cuts.

The piece below was cut with the 5000. If you take a close look, the two side edges have a gentle radius cut into them... that's where the bandsaw comes in really handy.

Tony

lissa · Post by **lissa** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 10:03 am

We have had a really hard time with that saw, so much so that it was shelved and we got another brand. In the past few days we have had to pull it off the shelf and boy does that blade wobble. Use the tile saw if you can and be very gentle and slow with the band saw.

lissa.

dblood · Post by **dblood** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 12:20 pm

Thanks for the replies! So here is my question: What's a good basic tile saw that will make smooth cuts that don't chip the glass? I am cutting small pieces to fairly close tolerances.

Valla E · Post by **Valla E** » Fri Feb 13, 2004 6:03 am

I got a Diamond Laser band saw recently that wobbled so much I couldn't use it, had to take it back and exchange it. When I took it apart, I found that the little shaft attached to the top wheel didn't look wonky, but it was.... enough to make the blade wobble. They tested the new one before I took it home, and its shaft was fine.