Belt Dressing

[ERLover]

I need to clean up the tires on SS BS, would belt dressing add anything/enhance them at all??

[reubenjames]

Belt dressing will generally increase the friction on the rubber, which is why it is useful for belts that are starting to wear and may be slipping, in this case potentially hanging on to the blade more. I'm not sure if that would add anything to the BS's functionality in this case, unless your blade is having severe tracking problems and wandering off the tire, though it shouldn't with proper tension. There could be situations where too much grip is a bad thing, say if your blade hit something and came to a stop, you might want the blade to slip on the tires at that point. I would be interested to hear if anyone has thoughts or has tried it. I don't know that I would do it, personally, unless I was trying to overcome some defects temporarily before getting new tires.

[ERLover]

RJ good points, it was just a thought, I have not run it yet, just brought it home this evening. I am sure JPG and or John B, or my buddy Dusty will give me and you the insight on this in the AM, me being a night owl and get up with the birds, I cover both ends here.

[robinson46176]

Belt dressing on the bandsaw tires... Hmmmm. I can't say that it ever crossed my mind. Slipping has never been an issue on any of the bandsaws I have had including a big old industrial BS with 24" wheels that had leather tires. My first bandsaw sawmill (Kasco "The Saw II) used metal wheels without any tires. The wheels had a step in the surface that kept the blade from moving back too far and kept the teeth out far enough that the teeth never ran on the wheel surface. It of course always used the same width of blade (3/4") since it only had to cut in a straight line.
My current little Woodmizer mill uses a special drive belt that drives the driving wheel as a Vee belt but has a special back surface that acts as a drive wheel tire.
I don't suppose that it would hurt anything to use belt dressing as long as it wasn't so much goo that it built up sawdust. I guess that possible buildup on either the wheel or the blade would be my main concern if any.
I do like using my SS bandsaw and love the lack of tracking problems. I acquired the later one with the bigger aluminum table and sold the one with the cast iron table. I kind of miss having the cross table slot where I could use the miter gauge as a fence... Not a very big problem since I am usually just following a line when bandsawing.

I guess my response is a shrug...

.

[oldiron]

JMO, I wouldn't use belt dressing on the BS tires. Sawdust could possibly stick to the tires to the point that the blade may start slipping and cause the tracking to run off.

All of us with a BS know how much dust accumulates in the housing. Excess tackiness of the tires could be a larger problem.

Mike

[ERLover]

JMO, I wouldn't use belt dressing on the BS tires. Sawdust could possibly stick to the tires to the point that the blade may start slipping and cause the tracking to run off.

All of us with a BS know how much dust accumulates in the housing. Excess tackiness of the tires could be a larger problem.

Mike

I never gave that a thought, I will not put any on.

[charlese]

Try Silicone spray. It will soften the rubber and make the rubber less likely to pick up sawdust.

[JPG]

Been there, done that.

However only to attempt the squeeze a bit more usable life from badly dried out/cracked tires. i.e. if it ain't almost broke, don't fix it.

As for the crud pickup, those cracks provide a safe harbor for it.

I think allowing sufficient time to 'dry' will minimize it anyway. Time will tell.


Get the inkling I am not looking forward to tire replacement?

[jsburger]

I agree that saw dust build up might be a problem. Does belt dressing actually do anything to the rubber like soften it if it is dry and hard? I don't know the answer but if it does it might help temporarily until the tires can be changed.

[JPG]

I agree that saw dust build up might be a problem. Does belt dressing actually do anything to the rubber like soften it if it is dry and hard? I don't know the answer but if it does it might help temporarily until the tires can be changed.

It appears to. How long?????????