trouble setting up band saw

big · Post by **big** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 11:36 am

I'm new to Shopsmithing, but not woodworking. I bought a used Mark V, and an unopened, unused band saw attachment from 1987. I purchased the band saw primarily for re-sawing, so I installed a 72" Olson 4 tpi, 1/2" blade with a hook set. Then I adjusted the tension screw, centered the guide wheels, set the gap for the guide blocks, and aligned the table to true 90 degrees.

For a test, I tried to re-saw a foot long 1X2 piece of hickory. I realize that this is a very hard wood, so I fed it very slowly, but it started smoking almost immediately. I let it cool off and started over several times, and it took about 6 minutes to rip the foot long piece. I'm new to band saws, but this is obviously not right.

More facts for your review:
*speed setting on "D"
* The hickory was well cured, straight and dry, so I'm eliminating sap and warp issues
*For a fence, I C-clamped another very straight piece of hickory to the table, and measured it three times to make sure it was exactly parallel
*The blade seems to be a bit "gummy" even though it and the saw are unused, and the wood is dry.
* Just in case there was a problem with my set up of the fence, I removed it and tried to cut "free hand"; the same smoking occurred.

Do you think the heat from cutting this hard wood is melting the treads, and the smoke is coming from the rubber residue on the blade?
I'm open to any observations and suggestions.

Thanks.

oldc6 · Post by **oldc6** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 11:41 am

just a thought. which side of the powehead are do you have the bandsaw?? if you are coupled on the right side where you mount the table saw blade the bandsaw will run backwards...bandsaw must be mounted on left side of machine...... experience i also have had smoking blade!!!!!!!!!

big · Post by **big** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 11:48 am

OK, am I the biggest dumba** of all time? You think I could have figured this out by myself. I think I'll remove my post before I get hooted off the board.

Well, at least I probably won't do anything dumber the rest of the day!

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 2:45 pm

The speed seems excessive to me. Did ya check the tire condition? They may knot be good after 22 years.

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 5:00 pm

big wrote:OK, am I the biggest dumba** of all time? You think I could have figured this out by myself. I think I'll remove my post before I get hooted off the board.

Well, at least I probably won't do anything dumber the rest of the day!

Don't remove your post! You are not the Lone Ranger concerning this! Your post will be helpful to others! It is neat that oldc6 was able to come up with a diagnosis so quickly.

See! others have been there/done that! Since there are/have been others that have made the same mistake, it will also be made in the future. Your post will be very helpful to some of us!

There is also a possibility that the blade is installed inside out - with the hook in the teeth pointed up rather than down. Some have and will make this error also. The fix is to flip the blade right side out. Wear gloves when doing this.

If your blade is at all sharp it will walk right through your hickory! I always try to keep my speed down to the lower side of "D" or the upper side of "C".

Concerning the smoke from the tires. The blade must have been slipping on the tires! Hopefully the tires are firm, a little supple when pushing your thumb nail into the surface - and not hardened and deeply cracked. Below is a thread reference that discusses care of rubber tires. https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=3304

CAUTION: If you choose to use silicone spray (as I do) be careful with the spray so you won't get the silicone on the table surface or on the wood. It can/will lead to problems with 'fish eye' in surface finishes. (You can clean silicone off of wood with mineral spirits) However some folks have outlawed silicone from their shops.

big · Post by **big** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 6:26 pm

Well, I turned that bad boy around, and it works wonders. At least now I've been all over my machine familiarizing myself with the adjustments and internal parts.

The smoke was clearly coming from the back side of the blade rubbing against the wood. Even though I wasn't pushing the stock that hard, it created enough friction. Also, I'm going to back of the speed just a little.

Anyway, it cuts like a dream now.

Side note: I'm also active on a car forum for engine swaps, and I put a Corvette engine in a Mazda RX-7. I completed the swap but couldn't get the engine to run. I checked all my electrical leads, fuel lines, fuel pressure, etc. but all checked out fine. Finally, I checked the gas tank and it was dry....

billmayo · Post by **billmayo** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:25 pm

I have found the bandsaw blade on backwards with the teeth point up instead of down on some bandsaws that I have been able to buy cheap. Seller claims the bandsaw did not work for him. I get a lot of rusty bandsaw blades. I install them on backwards and being very careful, using Naval Jelly (turn wheel by hand for this) and then fine sandpaper (power applied) with a light touch to remove the rust and actually somewhat resharpen the teeth. I do a batch of blades each time as the cleanup is messy. I have been able to reuse quite a few of the former rusty saw blades doing this action. Again, this can be very dangerous if you are not real careful.

nuhobby · Post by **nuhobby** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 8:11 pm

Good Discussion, and it may be very pertinent soon when the (Reversible) Power Pro headstock is out!