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Bandsaw Tuneup Question

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Bandsaw Tuneup Question

#1

Bandsaw Tuneup Question

Ben

>Hello fellow woodworkers,

I�ve been reading this web site for a several months now and there are a lot of interesting and quite informed wood workers on this site.

I just bought a new 18-inch band saw and I�m trying to get it tuned up. The problem I�m having is the blade moves in and out a little more than a 16th of an inch while it is running. I have a brand new blade on it and tried a second. It appears to be tracking correctly and the tension is set.

I�m not sure if the upper wheel is in the same plane as the lower wheel or how to check that accurately. I know the upper wheel tilts to adjust the tracking and the lower wheel has adjustment bolts. I guess I need to know how to measure the relationship of the two wheels and set them correctly.

I have not checked the wheels for run out yet that could be the problem also. They don�t appear to be wobbling. After running it for a short time making some practice cuts and aligning the guides I noticed that the upper wheel bearing was warm to the touch. Not sure how normal this is.

I spent most of this weekend working on the guides. This band saw has ball bearing carter type guides. The problem I had with them is that they would not follow the blade when I would adjust the upper blade guide carriage up and down. I loosened the blade guide carriage mounting bolts and adjusted it side to side. With this adjustment the side bearings follow the sides of the blade when moving the carriage up and down. The back bearing still did not follow the back of the blade when adjusting the carriage up and down. For this fix I had to shim the upper blade guide carriage out at the top. One more problem I haven�t solved yet is the side bearings are not perfectly parallel to the blade.

I would like to get this band saw to work as good as possible. I don�t mind spending the time and understand the manufactures can�t afford to. Any help is welcome I haven�t used a band saws much compared to my other woodworking equipment. Equipment that works well get used a lot and I know there is a lot you can do with a band saw and some jigs. Is there more I can do to tune this saw to run at the best of its ability?

Thanks and Best Wishes,

Ben

PS:

I�m learning a lot about this saw and I really like it so far despite the work I�ve had to do to it and more I still intend to.

Re: Bandsaw Tuneup Question

#2

Re: Bandsaw Tuneup Question

Jerry Whitaker

>Ben,

I have an 18 in. Jet bandsaw that was totally set up and tuned right out of the crate. I did have a slight in and out motion of the blade and I had this problem even worse on a Craftsman Tilt/Head bandsaw that I used to have. For the Craftsman 80 in blade, I took a 3 ft. straight edge and laid it against the back side with the weld in the middle of the straight edge to see if the weld is the problem and it was. Nearly all the Craftsman blades have bad welds in my experience. It does not take being off very much to give a considerable forward and backward motion while running. Hope this helps. As for the tuning up of the guide bearings, I cannot help you there as mine performed excellent right out of the crate. On the Craftsman bandsaw, I never really cared.

Re: Bandsaw Tuneup Question

#3

Re: Bandsaw Tuneup Question

Joel Hunnicutt

>I have a 3 year old 18 and haven't had your problem. I do have a suggestion as to checking that the wheels are coplanar. Take a 6ft piece of 2x4 and joint the edge. Glue 2 ft 2x4 pieces to the ends so that you have an "E" without the middle arm. You can then lay the 2 blocks on the upper and lower wheels and check for them being in plane.

Re: Bandsaw Tuneup Question

#4

Re: Bandsaw Tuneup Question

Brad

>Ben,

'Sounds like you need to do a step-by-step tune up. There are several great books, I can recommend "The Bandsaw Handbook" by Mark Duginske. You will find a very comprehensive guide on tuning up your saw, should be available through your library.

Re: Bandsaw Tuneup Question

#5

Re: Bandsaw Tuneup Question

Greg W. in NC

>Ben,

When I got my 14" bandsaw, I couldn't get the 3/4" blades to stay lined up. Finally I checked to see if the wheels were coplanar, and they weren't even close! Delta immediately shipped out a new one, and once I was satisfied, they had a truck pick up my old one. The customer service rep personally tested the one in their warehouse. I was most pleased (and still am) with the replacement. He had no explanation as to how the wheels could be that far out. I check by putting a long straight edge on the wheels.....it was very obvious how out they were.

Re: Bandsaw Tuneup Question

#6

Re: Bandsaw Tuneup Question

Steve Worcester

>After you get it all tuned up, check it again and see if the blade is welded a bit crooked. This can also give you the same symptom. I have had that problem even on the very best of blades.

Steve Worcester

www.turningwood.com

Re: Bandsaw Tuneup Question

#7

Re: Bandsaw Tuneup Question

Peter Teubel

>Ditto. My Jet 20" was spot-on right out of the crate. My bet is the blade weld is crooked.

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