Shopsmith Forums

My thoughts (opinions) regarding your "take away" list.

Lithium grease may well quiet the beast but it will also collect dust and become paste.

The band saw should also be operated at a low speed. Check the charts in that manual for recommended speeds.

Yes, the band runs on the high side of the wheel and should.

Yes, it is recommended that you reduce tension on the blades when stored. I have never, in 30+ years, done that faithfully and I have experienced no problems that could reasonably be attributed to "constant tension".

When you do remove a blade or re-tension the blade realignment should not be required.

The clicking noise may be the weld but I seriously doubt that it was brought on as a direct result of what you have been doing and I doubt that you have stretched a blade enough to create an issue.

Watch for a special and purchase a few band saw blades for "just in case". Get a couple of each that you are likely to use. The type of sawing that you do should determine the type of blades you need to stock up on.

Loosening the tension does a couple things , one it saves the rubber tire , two it helps prevent the blade from stretching, especially on the smaller blades , I agree with Dusty , allways use light weight oil or even better would be graphite ,, never grease,,, the clicking could be dirt or dust gummed up on one of the tires or the blade bumping a bearing during rotation .

One fella I worked with years ago was a firm believer in rolling ,,folding ,,,,his blades and another liked to hang them on a wooden dowel he had on a board like a coat rack ,they would argue about their theories for hrs at a time, the one who folded his blades would say the other guy's blades would end up with a bend in them , the guy who hung his up would say the other guy had twist in his blades,,, honestly I never noticed a difference either way once the blade tension was right .

I roll (twist my blades twice; this gives me 3 loops. I used to hang them on pegboard hooks but now keep them flat in a large thin drawer. I do this not because of kinks in the blades but because I have other else to go in the thin drawer.

I don't know what sort of life span one should expect from a bandsaw blade but I have never discarded one for any other reason than it broke or was too dull to use.

As for the rubber tires, both of my bandsaws are getting up in years and both are running with original tires.

I sort of suspicion environment may be a contributor to rubber tire failure. If not that, users changing out tires that don't really need to be replaced.

Again I must say: These are my opinions. Disagree if you will but don't expect me to alter my point of view. I am a stubborn old man set in my ways.

As usually you guys are a great source of insight!

Look for a ding/burr/bend on the back/sides of the blade.