Newly acquired Bandsaw

wannabewoodworker · Post by **wannabewoodworker** » Sun Jan 23, 2011 10:51 pm

Well after looking and looking for a bandsaw for my Mark VII I finally got lucky cruising Craigslist the other night. I saw an ad for a jointer, belt sander and bandsaw all setup on their own power stands and the kicker was they only wanted $250 ea. for the tools. So I emailed and got a response quickly from the wife. She sent me pics and I planned to go up and look at it today. It was about an hour drive from me just north of Hartford so not a big deal. I got there and sure enough the husband met me and showed me the bandsaw and beltsander. I really wanted the belt sander as well but couldn't swing $500 for both tools although i think it was a good deal. So I turned the bandsaw on and it started right up and seemed to work fine. It did not have a fence but no biggie. I gave him the $250 and I was on my way. I stopped at Woodcraft as it was right down the street and picked up a Kraig fence for the saw even though I wasn't sure if it would fit or not. I got home and it took me a couple of hours screwing around with the fence to get it mounted but I figured it out. It really wasn't designed for the small short table on this bandsaw but I was able to make it work barely. So I am pretty psyched I finally got a bandsaw. Now the one thing I noticed when making a test cut was the saw seems to be somewhat loud, it sounds a little like dry bearings possible the blade guides. The wheels seem very quiet and the tires just need some cleaning. So what do I have to purchase to quiet down this saw? And what is the best way to clean the rubber tires with? Been a while since I have posted but it is good to be back.

By the way if anyone is interested in purchasing the belt sander with power stand for $250 let me know and i will put you in touch with the owner. It is mint and just came back from Shopsmith for maintenance.

mgdesigns · Post by **mgdesigns** » Sun Jan 23, 2011 11:11 pm

Beautiful condition saw there. Very nice.

Are the tires rubber or urethane? Either - if they are not cracked - can be cleaned with mild soapy water. I think you can grease the main bearings, and clean the guide rollers. It should all be fine.

wannabewoodworker · Post by **wannabewoodworker** » Mon Jan 24, 2011 12:13 am

I believe they are rubber tires and look reasonably good no cracking that I could see but they are pretty dirty with built up sawdust gunk. I am going to tear it apart and clean everything real good as that is what I always do anyway. I would like to get the aluminum table as i think it is a bit larger and would fit the Kraig fence better although I am not sure if it is a direct replacement or not.

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Mon Jan 24, 2011 12:48 am

I just use a brass brush held up against the wheel while I spin the wheel. Then apply silicone spray to the rubber tires. Don't forget to regrease the upper bearings.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Mon Jan 24, 2011 1:30 am

The alum table merely bolts on where the ci one did!

wannabewoodworker · Post by **wannabewoodworker** » Mon Jan 24, 2011 1:38 am

JPG,
Is the aluminum table bigger than the cast iron one I have with this bandsaw?

wannabewoodworker · Post by **wannabewoodworker** » Mon Jan 24, 2011 1:39 am

beeg wrote:I just use a brass brush held up against the wheel while I spin the wheel. Then apply silicone spray to the rubber tires. Don't forget to regrease the upper bearings.

Tanks Beeg I forgot about the silicone trick.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Mon Jan 24, 2011 5:30 am

Get use to the noise. Your band saw will never run really quiet. You may notice some difference if you change out the tracking bearings but it will be short lived. This band saw is just not quiet.

When I think it is noisier than it should be, I pull back the cool blocks and CAREFULLY stop the bearings from spinning (one bearing set at a time). If a set of bearings s bad, this will tell you.

wannabewoodworker · Post by **wannabewoodworker** » Mon Jan 24, 2011 8:52 am

Thanks Dusty I will give that a try to isolate the offending part.