Offsetting The Blade - Shopsmith 11” Manual

SHOPSMITH 11" BANDSAW
WARNING
Particle board releases toxic formaldehyde gas
when cut. When cutting particle board, always
work in a well-ventilated room and use respira-
tory protection.
NOTE
When you're finished cutting particle board,
plastics or metals, remove the Bandsaw cover
and clean the tires thoroughly with a stiff
bristle brush. If you don't, the filings and
chips will become imbedded in the tires and
damage them.

Offsetting the Blade

During some woodworking operations, you
may find it useful to twist or offset the Bandsaw
blade. By offsetting the blade on your
Shopsmith Bandsaw (as illustrated in Fig. B-
20), you can cut off any length of stock that
you can safely handle - as long as the stock is
not more than 3-7/8" wide.
Fig. B-20
To offset the blade, you must reverse the
guide blocks. Then the gap between the
guide blocks will be angled 30 degrees to the
right (as viewed from the top in Fig. B-21). As
the blade runs through this gap, the guides
twist it to the right. Because the guide blocks
contact the blade in the offset position, they
will wear more rapidly than in their normal
setting. For this reason, we recommend that
you offset the blade only when you have a
special operation to perform.
You may want to replace the metal guide
blocks with optional Cool Blocks (Part No.
555374) to help prolong the life of your
bandsaw blade.
We also recommend that you offset only 3/
8" -and 1/2" -wide Bandsaw blades. The
teeth of narrower blades will contact the
guide blocks and wear them away rapidly.
If you use a 1/2" blade, you will have to
slightly modify your table insert.
If your Bandsaw is mounted on a Power
Stand with a 1/2-hp motor, you can only
offset the 3/8" blade. To offset a 1/2" blade,
the Bandsaw must be powered by the Mark
V or the Power Station.
To offset the blade on your Shopsmith
Bandsaw, follow this procedure carefully:
1. Unplug the machine from its power source.
2. Mount a 3/8" or 1/2" blade on the
Top View
Fig. B-21
3. Adjust the blade guides so that the front
4. Remove and reverse the guide blocks,
CAUTION
Remove the cover and the table insert, and
remove the table leveling bolt (89).
Bandsaw, if you haven't done so already,
following the procedure described in Re-
moving and Mounting Blades in this sec-
tion. However, reduce the blade tension
to the 1/4" setting for 3/8" blades or the 3/
8" setting for 1/2" blades.
edges of the guide blocks are approxi-
mately 1/4" in back of the gullets between
the teeth of the blade.
turning them end- over-end. When you
have reversed the guide blocks, the gap
between them should be angles 30 de-
grees to the right when viewed from the
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