Shopsmith Forums

On the bearing howl problem. Try this apply a light coating of grease or wax on the bearing surface where the blade touches it. I found that stopped the noise for awhile.
I suspect the problem is more the noise that the blade makes rubbing ever so slightly on the bearing surface. It gets amplified and soon you have a squeal or howl.

My bandsaw makes a un-nerving ghostly howl or moan. Drove me nuts until I figured out what was going on. I never changed the bearings but I suspect new ones would end up making a noise also. Any time you have metal rubbing against metal in a fiction setup like the blade to the bearing setup used in the shopsmith you will have noise.

To find the noise is easy. Just allow the bandsaw to run without the front blade cover (be careful) and using a screw driver lift (be very careful) the blade away from each bearing until you find the right one. Remember not to lift the blade so far that it comes off the drive wheel or you may find yourself wrestling with a blade that has lots of teeth wanting to bite you.

dusty wrote:This is not a bearing issue/question but it arose while I was working on the bearings.

What is the nylon screw for. I find no reference to this screw in the manual. I have tinkered with it and it seems to effect the Upper Guide Height Lock feature.

[ATTACH]18519[/ATTACH]

The screw is #65 on the exploded parts view part number 517908.

On Page 16 of the online manual seen at http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/manuals/845539.pdf
In the second column it talks of this screw #65
Says the screw is adjusted at the factory and is used to mimize the side to side movement of the upper blade guard.
Adjustment is shown in fig A13

As mentioned, the screw may vary or be missing.

https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?p=97098&postcount=6

Ed in Tampa wrote:I believe this has been discussed before and it was determined it was an adjustment on the upper blade guard to keep if from free falling down and also to steady it.

I as well believe it has been previously discussed. Unfortunately, I did not remember just what was discussed. You young whipper snappers have a distinct advantage in this area.

I hope I am the only one here that is in the process of loosing it.

Ed in Tampa wrote:On Page 16 of the online manual seen at http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/manuals/845539.pdf
In the second column it talks of this screw #65
Says the screw is adjusted at the factory and is used to mimize the side to side movement of the upper blade guard.
Adjustment is shown in fig A13

Referencing the manual that came with my bandsaw, there is NO REFERENCE to this nylon screw.

I have a PDF copy but when possible I prefer to reference a hard copy manual. I can't take the PDF version there with me but I can carry the hard copy.

Yeah, I know. It sounds like a personal problem.

I just quickly went through the bandsaw pdf manual and came across this reference to what i believe we now call drift. It's interesting to read as it implies if all is well, then there will be no blade lead aka drift. Interesting.
Below is found on page 38 of the Bandsaw Manual.





Correcting Blade Lead
If the blade guides are worn or improperly adjusted,
or if the blade teeth are improperly set, the
blade may “lead” while you’re working - wander
off the pattern line to one side or the other.
This can ruin your cut, particularly when you’re
ripping or resawing. You may be able to compensate
for this lead by simply changing the
angle you feed the work into the blade. If the
blade lead is excessive and interferes with your
work, check the blade guides, and then:
• If the gaps between the guide blocks are too wide or the
guide blocks are set too far back behind the gullets,
readjust the blade guides as described in Steps 13-15
of the Adjust the Roller Bearings section.
• If the guide blocks are worn, grind a new face on the
guide blocks as in Resurfacing the Guide Blocks.
• If the blade guides are correctly adjusted and not worn,
the blade lead is probably caused by the uneven set of
the teeth. One clue that the teeth may be improperly set
is when the blade always leads to one side or the other.
If the blade lead is strong, you can only correct it by
having the blade reset and resharpened at a saw shopor
replace the blade.
WARNING
Use extreme caution when correcting for blade
lead, since more of the running blade is exposed
than on any other Bandsaw operation. Also,
remember to wear eye protection.

I had resisted getting a shopsmith band saw for years. First I had heard about the noise they make, eating bearings, hard to adjust.... On the other hand most seemed to be happy with the cutting operations.

My own experience with with a non-shopsmith saw was doing a good deal of tweaking such as adding a set of Carter Guides (they cost more then I paid for the bandsaw w/o motor). Using a linked belt, rebalanced wheels, isolation fixes and getting rid the noise caused by a loose tension lever. It runs quieter now and I am happy enough with it.

After working "upnorth" I discovered how much I depend on a bandsaw so I got one used for under a $100. I then proceeded to upgrade per this thread:

https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=8361

For those who missed it I think you will find it well worth the read, those who may have forgotten the content a quick skim might be in order.

The bandsaw as it stands in very quiet. I can not say how it was for the previous owner as I never ran it as was.

I have gone to several shopsmith demos in the last while, in each of them the bandsaw was used, in each case it was as quiet as mine is. I think this is how they should be. So if you have been to a demo of late you should compare what you heard there and what yours sounds like.

Anyway that is my view on the subject, quiet is better.

Ed

I still do not fully understand the noise emitting from my bandsaw but I do now believe I know what needs to be done to reduce some of it.

Simple alignment of the Auto_Track bearing to the blade. I say simple because it is very easy to do but it must be done meticulously. What looks to be close enough just might not be 'right on".

I think this video tells all with regard to the noise source. The procedure for installing and aligning the Auto-Track bearing is contained within the operators manual and need not be repeated here.

When I stop the auto-track bearings from turning, the noise level reduces even more. I believe the bearings that I have now could be better (quieter). These particulars bearings have been installed for about 1 year.

I should have done this video with the bandsaw mounted on the Mark V. Much of the background noise is inherent in the Power Station.

I am very interested in hearing a few comments about the bandsaw noise. Is what you hear in this video typical of your own set up or am I working on an anomalous source of noise.

dusty wrote:I still do not fully understand the noise emitting from my bandsaw but I do now believe I know what needs to be done to reduce some of it.

Simple alignment of the Auto_Track bearing to the blade. I say simple because it is very easy to do but it must be done meticulously. What looks to be close enough just might not be 'right on".

I think this video tells all with regard to the noise source. The procedure for installing and aligning the Auto-Track bearing is contained within the operators manual and need not be repeated here.

When I stop the auto-track bearings from turning, the noise level reduces even more. I believe the bearings that I have now could be better (quieter). These particulars bearings have been installed for about 1 year.

I should have done this video with the bandsaw mounted on the Mark V. Much of the background noise is inherent in the Power Station.

I am very interested in hearing a few comments about the bandsaw noise. Is what you hear in this video typical of your own set up or am I working on an anomalous source of noise.

Are you causing the blade to track in/out of the space between the dual bearing?

I have heard similar noises but do not recall if recently(my bandsaw is currently unavailable or I woiuld check).

Food for thought: The back of the blade is essentially flat(unless excessive honing has occurred) and the space between the bearings is convex shaped on each bearings. That makes the back corners of the blade ride on the rounded sides of the bearings. This is not a stable condition, and the blade will tend to slide sideways on the curved bearing surfaces and may even oscillate.

A solution MIGHT be to further hone the blade back corners so as to create bevels that will be more likely to not slip on the curved bearing surfaces.