Band Saw Tire Blew up!

Re: Band Saw Tire Blew up!

My Hammer N4400 (18”) bandsaw is now about 11 or 12 years old. The frame, wheels and springs are stiff enough to tension up a 1” Lenox Woodmaster carbide blade, which is what I use for resawing. But this does place more stress on the tyres (“tires” for all outside the English-spelling world!). 

About two years ago the bandsaw began vibrating a little, which is unusual for it. Suddenly the tyre came off, as did the blade with a huge clatter. I pushed the tyre back on, which was possible as it was not glued and fitted inside a slight raised section on the rims. This was okay for a short while, then happened again. The tyre was too loose, and it really had stretched beyond its life. It still looked and felt like new, but clearly the rubber no longer felt this way (like many of us, looking in the mirror in the morning).

This was all new to me, as my previous bandsaw was a cheapish 14”, which I sold after about 5 years. There followed a quick lesson that bandsaw tyres needed to be replaced. 

I ordered one of the blue urethane tyres on line but, as this would take a few weeks to arrived in Perth from the USA, I decided to glue the original tyre down and get on with my build. The transformation was dramatic - gone was the vibration and all felt like the days of olde. It has been running pretty well for around two years now, but this past few weeks I noticed a little vibration creeping in, and felt it prudent to stick with a 1/2” bimetal blade for my current project. After this is done I shall pull off the tyre and replace it with the blue one, which has patiently been waiting its turn.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: Band Saw Tire Blew up!

So the old were urethane.  Are rubber tires a better choice? 

Re: Band Saw Tire Blew up!

So the old were urethane.  Are rubber tires a better choice? 

Tom, the old tyres were rubber, the new are urethane ... which I have not used as yet. Will be replacing the tyres after the current project.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Now comes the tricky part.

Stretching the new tire around the wheel can be an arduous task, at least it was on my 36” high speed bandsaw. I started out trying to clamp it at one point, then work my way around, but just couldn’t ever get all the way around. The best method is to clamp it at two points 180* apart, then pull each half, somewhat like drawing an archery bow. This allows the stretched part to be spread more equally, rather than all of it needing to be in the last 10-20%. 

This big old saw didn’t have any curb like Derek’s and when I turned it on, I could see that the centrifugal force was allowing it to separate about 1” on the part not under the blade, so it needed to be glued down. I think 3M makes a glue just for this. The trick to getting  it under the tire was to Chuck a rod into a drill that I inserted between the tire and rim, then slowly run the drill in reverse, while following it with the glue spout tip in the gap behind the dowel as it is rotated. 

Re: Now comes the tricky part.

My friend made a fixture to install the tire. It's a disc of plywood the same diameter as the wheel, and clamped to the wheel during installation. Every 30 degrees he screwed a tapered 2x2 to the plywood. The tapers allow an equal stretch as you work the tire on the wheel. 

Re: Now comes the tricky part.

After having  a chat with the rep @ Carter I  went with the Blue Non rubber  tires.

Small world.......

Derek.......those blue tires were probably a Carter product which is located here in greater Grand Rapids......I'm across town from them and don't get over there often......but, a home town company nonetheless.

Re: Band Saw Tire Blew up!

Immersing the urethane tires in hot (but not boiling hot) water for about thirty minutes makes them more pliable and easier to install.

Re: Band Saw Tire Blew up!

The easy way to glue tires on, at least for my saws, was to follow the procedure for golf club grips.  Get some double sided tape where the solvent softens with varsol, or water.   Wrap the tape around. Wet tape. Then stretch the tire on.  The tape surface is like grease, and the tire will distribute evenly.  Give it a little time to dry, and your tire is well adhered.  FWW had an article on this process and it included router jig to mill the tire so that the surface was ever, after it had been glued on.  Wow.  I prefer my method.

Installing new tires

Warming up the new tires helps but do not boil them.  Add just a bit of Dawn dish soap to the water.  Urethane tires don't need any glue.  While the tire is warming, make a stick out of good hard wood that is 6-8" long, 3/4" wide and 3/16" thick.  Round all four edges and taper one end to a blunt point.  Wax the piece of wood with paste wax.   Slide the new tire onto the bottom of the wheel as far as you can get it.  Place a clamp on one side so the tire cannot slip back off the rim.  On the opposite side, place the stick you made under the tire and up over the edge of the wheel.  Then slide the stick up toward the top of the wheel while levering the tire up onto the wheel.  It should slide up onto the wheel.  Let the tire dry for at least 24 hours before using the saw..