Band Saw Blade Adjustment for Dummies

bandsaw blade tracking

One of the hints that a freelancer is spreading manure is the misuse of technical terms. Sometimes the term isn't all that technical, in fact, which is the case with our nominee for today. The guy claims he works in the construction industry (LinkedIn says he's a home inspector), but we're pretty sure that his broad experience does not include certain power tools. We base that on the post "How to Adjust Blade on Craftsman Bandsaw" [sic] that Adam Yeomans has on HomeSteady.com.

Yeomans' unfamiliarity with band saws is apparent from the get-go, given that he claims in his introduction that,

"The Craftsman bandsaw is one of Craftsman Tools' most popular woodworking tools."

Yeah, sure, Adam: "most popular." We might have believed "most versatile" or "most coveted," but popular? naaah.... Band saws are far less common than table saws and even drill presses, about as "popular" as a jointer-planer. But that wasn't the only thing that made us wonder where Adam was coming from. Here are the three things Yeomans wants his readers to do to "adjust blade":

1. Adjust the blade tension guide to the correct blade width.
2. "Adjust the blade guilds [sic]... until there is approximately 1/16-inch of clearance between the blade and the guild blade holder on either side. The guild blade holder is... the adjustable apparatus underneath the wheel with four silver adjustment knobs..."
3. "...adjust the bandsaw table position to allow proper blade clearance, turn the lockdown handle counter clockwise. The table top will become loose. Adjust until the table top is exactly 90 degrees."

OK, here's what the house band saw user had to say about that:

1. Yeah, it goes without saying that you should make certain that the blade width is properly set. You should also adjust the tracking so that the blade runs in the center of the wheels. Adam didn't mention tracking at all, though...
2. WTF is a "blade guild"? Oh, wait a minute, Yeomans probably means "blade guide." Sure, but that's not part of the blade adjustment... and there's the "misuse" our staffer noticed.
3. Once again, table position isn't part of blade adjustment. 

In reality, it's small wonder our Dumbass of the Day did such a lousy job, though. For references, Adam managed to find the instructions for assembling a 1969 model Craftsman band saw and a website that was all about the band saws used in lumber mills. Oops...

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