drive shaft/band saw alignment

keakap · Post by **keakap** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 4:47 pm

JPG40504 wrote:. I believe it is possible to achieve left end/ right end compatibility of the extension table and rip fence. A simple alignment 'jig' makes it possible to get both ends correct. ....

Label me "Avid Reader".

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 7:04 pm

If the eccentric tubes have been removed from the bandsaw or the setscrews loosened so that the band saw slides down on the eccentrics - getting everything realigned can be momentarily aggravating.

Charlese's use of a board as a lever is almost a necessity for me these days. I used to be able to lift the bandsaw with one hand while securing the setscrews with the other. No more.

If the eccentric have been twisted out of position, it can be even more frustrating.

Once set up, secure all the setscrews associated with the eccentrics. Then when it is necessary to remove the band saw, do not loosen the set screws that secure the bandsaw to the eccentrics. The eccentrics get removed along with the bandsaw. No setup required when reinstalling. Just drop it in place and make saw dust.

It's a piece of cake once done right.

keakap · Post by **keakap** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 2:19 pm

dusty wrote:...
If the eccentric have been twisted out of position, it can be even more frustrating.....

Last time I had to align the eccentrics (post Pro) it was extremely hard to twist the eccentrics for lateral adjust., til I gave in and spritzed them with WD40. Even tho they had been cleaned and previously waxed, still didn't want to turn, but the WD did the trick.
I was afraid of the old bugaboo of wet lubricant's collecting sawdust and makin a mess, but WD completely evaporates after a while. Not a problem.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 3:45 pm

dulcimerguy wrote:I've got my Mark V restoration project nearly done, but the most serious remaining problem is that the lower drive shaft in the headstock does not line up with the band saw shaft. They're out of horizontal line by about 1/4 inch--plenty of skew to shred the plastic power coupler, as I've discovered. What controls this alignment? Thanks in advance for your advice!

There has been some discussion about your question and it seems like it should have provided the information you need but there is no way to know for sure.

Can you give us some feedback. Did you get everything aligned? If not, let us try again.

billmayo · Post by **billmayo** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:58 pm

keakap wrote:Last time I had to align the eccentrics (post Pro) it was extremely hard to twist the eccentrics for lateral adjust., til I gave in and spritzed them with WD40. Even tho they had been cleaned and previously waxed, still didn't want to turn, but the WD did the trick.
I was afraid of the old bugaboo of wet lubricant's collecting sawdust and makin a mess, but WD completely evaporates after a while. Not a problem.

I first align the vertical using a board to hold the bandsaw up. Once the vertical is aligned and set screws tighten, I check to see how much horizontal movement is needed. I remove the bandsaw and readjust each tube to make up the difference in alignment. Set the bandsaw in the headrest and check alignment again. Normally a max of 2 tries is all I needed. I was never able to twist the tubes while the bandsaw was mounted.