Bandsaw blues

[claimdude]

Hi All,

I bought a used SS Bandsaw a while back and just now got around to setting it up. I installed the blade and turned it on but the blade moves from the center of the wheel ot to the edge of the wheel and rides there. This makes the guides totally ineffective. Is there an adjustment for this or do I need to replace the tires on the wheels? This bandsaw was made in the late 90s I think and has the aluminum table.

Thanks
Jack Lemley

[charlese]

First of all, if your saw was made in the late ninety's, the serial number will show the month, day and year of manufacture. My serial number sticker is on the side of the case near the bottom of the saw.

If you didn't notice any big cracks or other rough parts on your belts, they are probably O.K.

Remove the belt and check to see if you have wobble in your upper wheel. If it wobbles more than a slight amount, you might/might need a new bearing. This Upper bearing is has needle rollers and should be lubricated at least once a year. Improper maintenance can cause this bearing to wear badly. The lower wheel bearing is sealed and requires no maintenance. Just replacement if it ever fails.

Your mis-alignment problem probably stems from leaving a blade on for a long time, while under tension. There is a test to see if your wheels are aligned. Remove the blade and place a straight edge along the outside edge of the upper wheel, there should be about 1/4 inch space between the straight edge and the lower wheel. If there is not this space, the upper wheel needs to be re-aligned. Simply grab the top and the bottom of the upper wheel and move out the bottom of the wheel and push in on the upper part. This bends the arm supporting the wheel and will bring it back into the proper position. This maneuver can be done several times, but eventually the arm will weaken and need replaced.

P.S. Read through the thread from this link. It has more info. http://www.shopsmith.net/forums/showthr ... ht=bandsaw

[james.miller]

Which edge of the wheel did the blade move to? The SS bandsaw is made to track against tracking bearings toward the back of the wheels. There is no crown on the wheels for it to track on to keep it centered. It's actually a good system once you learn how it works.

There is a tracking bearing just before the blade goes onto the upper wheel and the lower guide backup bearing functions as the tracking bearing for the lower wheel.

This actually makes adjusting the guides easier as the back of the blade is always the same and the backup bearing doesn't have to be adjusted each time you change a blade.

[johnmccrossen]

The shopsmith part number for the bandsaw manual is 845539. It was $ 7.50 in April. This has very detailed set up and alignment instructions (especially for the blade guide rollers) that can easily followed regardless of the age of the bandsaw. Good luck, John McCrossen