: Rehd,
: I bought a new blade from my Delta 14" and at 6tpi it was rough. I got a
: 10tpi and it was smoother, but you could still see irregular vertical
: marks.

By irregular, do you mean that some of the cut marks are deeper than others?? If so, you have a tooth or two that are set a little farther out than the others. Not really a problem unless it is cutting too deep. I would say it's O.K. for now, but if you ever decide to get another blade, see if you can find a saw shop that has the blade stock and will put one together for you. I think You will like them better. ( personal opinion here )

This is one thing you have to deal with on a band saw. You will nearly always get the rough surface on your material. I always have, but I've heard some say they got a fairly smooth cut. "Fairly" being the key word there. To me, fairly smooth means Not smooth, which means rough. ??

If you can locate a planer, you can run them through that and get your smooth surfaces. If not, then you will have to sand them on the boat. If you have to use a band saw, then you will probably have a little more fairing to do later. But, you WILL have to fair it anyway, so that shouldn't be a big deal. Those cuts are, generally, not that deep. Especially if you are using a 10 tpi blade. If you are using a block plane to fair, then they will probably come out on the first stroke.

Is it important to eliminate these, or will it come out easily in
: the sanding when it is on the boat?
: Have you had problems with a wide kerf loosing directional stability while
: sawing?

Yes, but, generally that is because your stops and guides are not snuged up enough. Most of them are soft metal and they wear after some use. If they adjust, then snug them up till the blade just touches them and the blade kinda squeeks when turned by hand. The stop in the back of the blade should also be up and just touching the back of the blade. That way the blade, when pressure is applied, will have nowhere to go. My stops are a bearing and when the blade touches them, they turn and eliminate some friction. My guides have been out and ground smooth a couple of times as they will wear down in little grooves from the constant contact with the moving blade. You will also want to make sure your top guides are as close to the material as possible. That eliminates a lot of twist that the blade may incur.

: Also, what kind of fence/jig do you use?

I just clamp a piece of wood on my table with some C-clamps, but.... I don't cut my strips with the band saw. If I were to do that, I would make a jig that fit over my table, like another table that had slots in it and the fence would have bolts with wing nuts to adjust it and hold it down.

Can it handle boards with a warp?

Not a straight fence, but it can be done. The best way to do this would be to make a jig again that fit over your table and had a couple of posts ( like two empty sewing thread spools ) screwed down to it fairly close together and you would just keep you material touching them both and watch the width of the strip. That will work on boards with a constant bow. If your wood had a varying bow in it, then just use one post, and watch your strip thickness. About the only thing you probably can't do is cut something that is twisted. Too many variables there to try and free-hand. Any amount of twist in the blade and they don't like that. When they pop, they create a whole lot of excitement in a couple of seconds. If your saw has covered wheels, they don't do a whole lot of damage, but, it's not a fun time anyway. This may take a little practice to do if you're not use to using the bandsaw for ripping. Try a couple of little pieces to get your feet wet and then do the bigger boards.

I
: thought I would make a fence specifically for a couple of long but warped
: boards I have, by cutting a curved fence to match the curve of the
: horizontal warp.

That probably won't work because generally most warped boards don't have the same curve all the way around. The single post will probably work the best for you.

This would allow me to use warped boards without loosing
: anything to waste. Think it'll work? - Scott E.

Absolutely!! I have saved many a board from the fireplace by doing just that. Just remember, it's "free-hand" and it's up to you to pay attention and keep the cut at 1/4". Plus, you can't count on infeed and outfeed tables to help you, so a friend would be good. This is not the most accurate way to cut, so you may have to plane them to get it exact. ??? Hope that Helps!!

Rehd