The two new bandsaws are live. The only wrinkle is that our 1/8" blades did not arrive, so both have the stock 3/8. I don’t expect those to last a long time, as they seem to chip really cheap blades installed on the saws.
As usual, you need to clean up after using the bandsaws. This includes opening the top and bottom door and sweeping / vacuuming it out. And the floor around it.
Is the 1/8” blade still on its way? I was hoping to work on a bandsaw box and 3/8” would be more like a bandsaw shipping container 
I’d be happy to sponsor a blade if needed.
Grizzly has not shipped the blades out yet, but they did open a ticket to investigate. 1/8 will be a standard, once they arrive.
What length blades go on these saws?
We keep 1/8 and 3/8 blades on them. We do not encourage swapping out the blades, unless a steward does it. Unfortunately some people fiddle with the bandsaws, when they shouldn’t, and that is where the blades get trashed.
What are you looking to put on it? The new bandsaw class will be covering blade changes, specifically on those saws.
Actually the decision was made during the run through to specifically not cover blade changes during the bandsaw class. If one happens to break or if a bad blade is on the machine we will cover it but there was too much other content to fit in otherwise.
I know y’all don’t want to keep a blade on the saw that is ideal for cutting blanks for the lathe, so I was going to buy a high quality blade to use for that purpose. I’ve owned bandsaws before and know how to change a blade, but I’d be happy to arrange to meet with a Steward for that purpose. I also noted in the wiki that the blades are 120 inches.
What Charlie notes: “some people fiddle with the bandsaws, when they shouldn’t, and that is where the blades get trashed.” and Steven reports, " the decision was made during the run through to specifically not cover blade changes during the bandsaw class" is exactly why we keep having so many problems with our woodworking machines. We would do a lot better if our users were actually trained to use and maintain the machines competently. Bandsaws do need regular adjustments to guides and tracking. Just saying people shouldn’t mess with these adjustments means that the machines will go out of adjustment and users won’t know how or be allowed to do the needed changes. A bandsaw user should know how to change a blade and set up the machine to appropriate standards for the machine being used. Getting the back of the gullet aligned with the crown of the tire is not that hard if you have been taught ow to do it. Aligning the guides is also not that difficult if you know where they should go. Likewise, tensioning a blade is not all that difficult, but you have to know when the bade needs tensioning (this is not static) and how to get the tension right. Anyone allowed to use a bandsaw without supervision should be able to do these things independently. Training our users to this level of ability (not professional, but competent woodshop user) would be a valuable goal for the organization, as it would ensure more competent and safer work as well as saving on costs and downtime. That’s just my opinion and others are free to differ.
@Scott I don’t disagree with any of what you say. The challenge is that we have hundreds of members, most of whom are hobbyists. We try to strike the balance between amount of training, and basic tool safety. Were we to extend this band saw philosophy across the shop, training would would require dozens of hours to be turned loose in the shop. Learning while working on projects is the nature of a makerspace / community workshop, and for any hobbyist. We are not a shop full of professional users. The downside is that the tools get a higher level of abuse. All of that said, there are discussions going about developing some skills classes for deep dives on individual tools, table saw, router, etc…
I was not aware that changing/tuning the blade was dropped from the bandsaw class. It was my hope that the class would help to educate more members on bandsaw adjustments. Like most tools in the shop, the bandsaws get abused through lack of attention and lack of experience. They are just more prone to go off the rails versus the Sawstop. On the Sawstop, the lack of adjustment tends to show up in the workpiece.
All of that said, it would be great to train up more people on bandsaw maintenance. Perhaps we can put together some workshops, where we at least teach how to tune the bandsaws. @Scott , are you interested in helping out with that?
I agree that it would be impractical to train everyone to this level, especially during onboarding. I like the idea of having classes available to train users to a more competent intermediate level though with checkout on specific machines. Combining these kinds of classes with shop maintenance days - for instance having the experts who tune the jointer do a class on that when they are already here to do the work - would be a good way to integrate expertise with processes already in place. Granting greater privileges with higher levels of training might also be advised, while limiting those with lower levels to using frequently misused machines with some level of supervision, or to certain hours when support is available may also be considered. At some point, I would be open to helping with training. I’ve not been in the shop much recently because I am overwhelmed at work, so adding to my load right now is not possible. Maybe in the New Year.
We would love to have more videos demonstrating these things and pointing out proper use. With the size and variety of experience within our membership, having visual resources like that that can act as refreshers goes a really long way. Many members are not able to use equipment they are trained on quickly or frequently enough for the things they learn in person to sink in when they actually go to use the tool.
We are covering tracking, guides, bearings, adjustments etc. in the class. We will just not be going to the full step of switching out the blades due to time associated with it. This was meant to be a project focused class to get people excited and using the bandsaws (and edge and spindle sanders). The more users we can get over the initial hump of using the tools knowledgeably will lead to more power users who are then the target audience for more advanced maintenance/usage (e.g. changing blades, tilting tables, calibration, etc.)
Adjusting the guides and bearings will be good enough.
per your message above @cfstaley - this may be an opportunity to offer a class on advanced tool maintenance/calibration across multiple tools in the shop. I know I would like to understand calibrating the jointer and miter saw better. This class could also serve as a pipeline to the steward program.
Second the jointer. The fence baffles me, and if it’s not 90 degrees, I find some other way to accomplish my task.
We are way far afield of the posted topic now. But I don’t want to leave these point hanging.
The jointer is it’s own basket of issues, and a result of to many people wrenching too tight. Though it wasn’t a great fence design to begin with. The are some modifications that have been discussed, but time to actually make the mod is limited.
Anyone can be a steward, and we can arrange for you to learn how to adjust the different tools.
Work day is a great way to get some focus time on tool maintenance and adjustment.