“In Mark Duginske's book, The Complete Guide to the Bandsaw, he says that with a quarter inch blade you can cut a curve with radius of curvature equal to that of a quarter. I can come nowhere near this. The best I can do, with considerable blade flexing, is a radius of more than one and a half inches. I also get noticeable burning of the wood. I am using four quarter maple and yellowheart. Can someone suggest what the likeliest problem is? Could it be poor technique, though I am trying to follow his directions, a cheap Craftsman 10 inch saw, a dull blade, low tension, a cheap blade, a dirty blade or something else?” – Toysandpuzzles
What seemed like a fairly simple question generated a very precise primer on setting up the band saw for tight radius cutting. – Editor
“Most of the things you mentioned could cause your issues. Here are a few ideas to try. First, make sure the tension is right. Tighten the tension gauge up so it is a bit above the gauge marks for your quarter inch blade. Second, make very sure that your guides are set properly above and below the table. I'm guessing your Craftsman has guide blocks. They need to be keeping the blade in place, but not binding. Try slipping a piece of copy paper between the blade and the guide block when you tighten it. Also, be sure not to push the blade to one side or the other as you set the blocks. The blocks should be supporting the blade behind the teeth, not covering them. Then set the thrust bearings, the ones behind the blade, so that the blade is just in front of them. Again, use the paper shims to set a slight gap. Third, for really tight radii, you want a blade with fewer teeth and a good set on the teeth. Set is the amount that the teeth are bent to each side of the blade. The teeth then cut a wider kerf which allows the body of the blade to follow the curve without binding. Fourth, if you have a small grinding stone, use it to gently round the back edges of the blade. With the saw running, just lightly rub the stone on the two back corners being sure to avoid the teeth. You can buy stones mounted on a wooden handle just for this. Picture in your mind what is going on here. You are trying to cut a curved line with a short, straight line segment. The tighter the curve, the more likely that the line segment will bind up. Widening the curve by cutting a slightly wider kerf will help, as will rounding the back edges. Hope this helps.” – Ralph
“I have a few honing stones that are a few years old and are dirty. What is the best way, if any, to clean them? They seem like they are plugged or filled up with dirt. Can this be? I tried to blow them out with the air compressor, and didn’t seem to do anything. Can they be cleaned?” – Larry
Two folks assumed the writer was talking about oil stones. – Editor
“I am assuming you are talking about oil stones and not water stones. If you have used a honing oil with them as I do, they should be pretty easy to clean. Mine come clean very easily by putting honing oil on the surface and rubbing with my finger tip to pick up the old oil and contaminates, then I wipe them clean with a rag. I always pre-coat my oil stones with honing oil. This makes any particles easy to remove after use.” – Larry
“I've had some success with soaking the stones in kerosene. It seems to loosen the filings that clog the stones. After a day or so, a stiff bristle brush gets the stone clean.” – Jim
Not everyone assumed that. This gent gave a rundown for cleaning just about every type of stone. – Editor
“It depends upon what kind of honing stones you are talking about. If they are water stones, I would just go through the procedure to re-flatten them, which would clean up the surface. If they are Arkansas type stones, I have had success washing and scrubbing mine using toothpaste and rinsing, then drying thoroughly. Same treatment for ceramic stones. If they are the porous carborundum type stones, I have had some success using Simple Green to wash them, but I would not soak them in Simple Green as I'm afraid this might destroy whatever is used as a binder. If you were talking about diamond stones, I have cleaned these by washing and scrubbing with scouring powder and a fingernail brush.” – Bob
“In Mark Duginske's book, The Complete Guide to the Bandsaw, he says that with a quarter inch blade you can cut a curve with radius of curvature equal to that of a quarter. I can come nowhere near this. The best I can do, with considerable blade flexing, is a radius of more than one and a half inches. I also get noticeable burning of the wood. I am using four quarter maple and yellowheart. Can someone suggest what the likeliest problem is? Could it be poor technique, though I am trying to follow his directions, a cheap Craftsman 10 inch saw, a dull blade, low tension, a cheap blade, a dirty blade or something else?” – Toysandpuzzles 
“I have a few honing stones that are a few years old and are dirty. What is the best way, if any, to clean them? They seem like they are plugged or filled up with dirt. Can this be? I tried to blow them out with the air compressor, and didn’t seem to do anything. Can they be cleaned?” – Larry
