Shopsmith Forums

I have an older Mark V that is having an issue with the band saw. The blade keeps riding to the inboard side of the upper pulley to the point that it spins the rubber belt/gasket off the pulley rendering the saw inoperable. Adjustments to the tension and blade tracking guides have not remedied the problem.
Any ideas anyone?

The Shopsmith band saw is unique in that the upper wheel is supposed to be canted (angled) with the top of the wheel leaning back. The blade would run off the back except for the autotrack bearing.

Anyway, too much or too little backwards lean can cause issues, which usually can be adjusted by applying a little elbow grease.

Opinions vary on how much. But my guess is yours has too much. Per another post: "A previous 'test' was to place a straight edge against the upper wheel and measure the distance the straight edge clears the top of the lower wheel. I suggest you do that. The clearance may be excessive in your case(an unusual occurrence). It should clear 1/4 to 3/8". If it is more than that, the cant needs to be DECREASED."

Jcamp2082 wrote:I have an older Mark V that is having an issue with the band saw. The blade keeps riding to the inboard side of the upper pulley to the point that it spins the rubber belt/gasket off the pulley rendering the saw inoperable. Adjustments to the tension and blade tracking guides have not remedied the problem.
Any ideas anyone?

Al's comments are spot on.

However, what does the bold comment above mean? If by the pulley, you mean the upper wheel tire then you have a serious problem. The rubber tire on the upper wheel should not come off. That needs to be fixed first. Then see what happens.

Pictures would help.

One thing that can pop a tire off a bandsaw wheel is excessive speed. Run it at the correct speed to be sure. Also, rubber tires are glued on.

Thank you all for your help, jsburger, yes it is the top wheel;
ChrisNeilan, even at the lowest speed the blade migrates to the upside of the wheel.
I will find a good adhesive and affix the tire back on and see if anything changes. However in the process of trouble-shooting, I removed the shroud and could watch the blade do that migration after each of many adjustments to speed, tension and guide alignment.

Again, check the cant (lean). Dollars to donuts you've got too much. The blade should ride toward the back but excessive lean will cause the issue you are seeing.

I am concerned by what you mean by adjusting the "blade guides".

They should only support the blade, not 'guide' it.

You seem to be concerned that the blade rides at the 'inboard' side of the upper wheel. It is supposed to do that. The SS band saw is unique and does not track like most all other bandsaws.

The blade tracking bearings are not adjustable other than to align with the tangent common to both wheels and that only applies to guide bearings that have two bearings(the blade needs to ride in the groove between the two bearings).

If the upper wheel 'tire' is not rubber, it has become too big(stretched). There has been some history of them being made too large from the manufacturer.

As has been stated 'rubber' tires are supposed to be glued on. They are black in color.

A more recent defined cant check is that the back spine of the blade rides about 1/4" from the inner rim of the wheel. If it goes all the way to the raised rim, cant is inadequate. That sounds like the problem you described.

Careful twist force on the shaft with a pipe(or similar) will increase/decrease the cant. That force needs to be torque only. Push/pulling on the wheel may warp the wheel.

To increase the cant/rim clearance, torque the shaft by causing the end of the shaft to move upward. The intent is to slightly twist the support arm.

This is a time to be sure you understand what is 'normal' and only tweak that which is not 'normal' for this uniquely designed SS bandsaw.

A big THANK YOU goes out to algale, jsburger, ChrisNeilan and JPG. The cant was off on the upper wheel and that has been gently corrected. The saw works well now and I am free to make an infinite number of mistakes, LOL!

Jcamp2082 wrote:A big THANK YOU goes out to algale, jsburger, ChrisNeilan and JPG. The cant was off on the upper wheel and that has been gently corrected. The saw works well now and I am free to make an infinite number of mistakes, LOL!

Hooorayyyyyy

JPG wrote:

Jcamp2082 wrote:A big THANK YOU goes out to algale, jsburger, ChrisNeilan and JPG. The cant was off on the upper wheel and that has been gently corrected. The saw works well now and I am free to make an infinite number of mistakes, LOL!

Hooorayyyyyy

Heh!!!