Shopsmith Forums

Now that I have the shopsmith power head running properly...i'm finally getting to the SPT's. I tried the bandsaw for the first time. It sounds pretty rough. If I turn by hand I can hear what sounds like a metal on metal sound but i'm not sure if thats normal as I can't find any video's of manually turning by hand. Here she is at startup. Lots of squeaks.

https://youtu.be/pp24RrTMlSg

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Now for a video on the manual turn. The bearing i'm showing near the throat turns fine by hand and spins freely. But when I spin the actual blade it doesn't turn the bearing at all. I assume that is not normal but i'm not sure if its an alignment issue or something else?

https://youtu.be/Ur2OnRuVGCc

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The Shopsmith band saws are notoriously noisy but my two are quieter than yours.

I would suggest that you first back out all of the cool blocks so that they do not contact the blade at all.

If that does not change the noise level, remove the blade and spin the wheels to determine if they are the source.

Without the blade installed, the auto-track bearing and the backup (guide) bearings are not involved.

Without the blade, check for noise from the motor, however, what I heard on your videos does not sound like motor noise.

In your videos I see that the blade guide is set high. Lower it down to just above the table top and repeat the previously mentioned noise tests. You can get a metal on metal noise if the blade guide is set up high enough for the top end to contact the upper wheel. Not likely but possible.

Manual video sounds 'typical'. The backup bearing when properly adjusted does NOT turn unless cutting pressure pushes the blade back into it.

It has been mentioned recently that the cast base makes an excellent sounding board. I have to agree with that.

Judging sound level from videos is tricky at best. They are useful for revealing unusual sounds.

I am looking at your second video. When you spin the band saw by hand I can see that your saw blade is totally covered by the blade guides. I think the teeth on the saw blade are rubbing the blade guides causing the noise. You should back up your saw blade guides so they are just behind the teeth on the flat surface of the blade. Be sure to adjust the upper and lower guides this way. Hope this helps.

You have on a narrow blade and have in embedded in the guide blocks, not a problem if you have the correct guide blocks but I think that is some of the noise I hear.

When I use cool blocks I still try to have the teeth forward of the block by say a 1/64" even on the 1/8" blade. I have seen others have them set like you do but I tend to avoid that. I normally have ceramic guides on and only change them for the cool blocks when I use the 1/8" blade.

I'm assuming the bottom set is just like the top?
Ed

I made some minor adjustments to the blocks to back them off a little bit and it didn’t make much difference with the noise level. I will try to remove the blade and retest later. If i lean in close it sounds like a bearing perhaps.

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If you don't have the manual, you can download one here:

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/productmanuals.htm

Mike

Howdy,

That sounds A LOT like mine. I just got the bearing upgrade kit and will be installing them this weekend. I'll also be measuring the db before and after to see if it makes a difference. Have you taken all of the bearing off and cleaned/oiled them? I've got a thread going about adding foam to the aluminum casing to see if additional mass will help quiet it down.
Glad to hear someone else is getting there bandsaw ready for spring.

Check My Google Drive link for the PDF I created based on the
original Patent Application Shopsmith Bandsaw

It has numerous revised and enhanced illustrations and uses the text the inventors used to explain how it works and how it is unique. It also has some new drawings especially in the area of exploded assembly views. You may wish to also snag the Shopsmith Bearing Guide while there as there is a good bit of information on the Bandsaw.

See
http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/viewt ... 90#p185690 for both, plus a host of other things you might find helpful. All downloadable, and all free.

Everett