BandSaw Blade Tracking Problems

[alancooke]

I have been trying to mount a new bandsaw blade and it won't cooperate.

I have changed blades before and have had no problems, but they have always been 1/4" blades. The new blade is the 1/2" premium blade and here is the problem:

I mount it according to the instructions, but after setting the blade tension, I turn the wheel several times by hand and the blade moves toward the front of the wheel instead of towards the back and the guide rollers.

The first time I mounted it, I thought maybe this blade just rode a little different so I put the cover on and proceeded to resaw a board. Well, it only took a few seconds to get the crap scared out of me when the blade came off.

I have cleaned the rubber wheels and they seem fine. I have tried remounting the blade several times with the same results. The more I turn the wheel by hand, the more the blade works it's way towards the front of the wheel and eventually off the wheel.

I remounted the 1/4" blade and it works perfect.

Could the 1/2" blade be defective? Anyone else had this problem?

Thanks for any help?

[Bruce]

You mentioned setting the tension but you said nothing about setting the tracking. I imagine a 1/2" blade won't track the same as a 1/4" blade. Also, you will have to back off the guides while you set the tracking and tension, then re-adjust the guides to the new blade. If you can't get it to run true when turning it by hand, it's not going to run true at full speed, as you found out.

[billmayo]

I copied the following information previously from one of the forums. More tension for 1/2" blades causes the upper wheel to tilt more than the 1/4" blade.

I suspect that there is not enough tilt on the upper wheel. One of two things has happened: If this is a new machine, it was not adjusted properly. If it is an old machine (as I suspect) there can be a couple problems. First, the bearings in the upper wheel may be worn. Test for this by removing the blade and gently wiggling the upper wheel. If it feels loose, the bearings are bad and the upper wheel needs to be replaced. Second, the axle in the upper arm that supports the upper wheel no longer sits at the proper angle. Over time, with the constant tension of the blade, the angle of the axle is reduced by a slight amount. The arm actually twists very slightly and takes a set. This can be corrected by removing the blade, grasping the wheel at the top and bottom and pulling the bottom of the wheel out while pushing the top in toward the frame with LIGHT pressure. To test whether this twisting was effective, lay a straightedge on the upper wheel. There should be a 1/4" to 1/2" space between the straight-edge and the top edge of the lower wheel. If there is less than the above space, repeat the twisting procedure above. If there is more than a 1/2" space, flex the wheel in the opposite direction until the proper space is obtained. If this happens again it can be adjusted again but this is a sign that the arm has become weak. Plan to replace the upper arm soon.

This worked for me when I had a problem.

Bill Mayo

I have been trying to mount a new bandsaw blade and it won't cooperate.

I have changed blades before and have had no problems, but they have always been 1/4" blades. The new blade is the 1/2" premium blade and here is the problem:

I mount it according to the instructions, but after setting the blade tension, I turn the wheel several times by hand and the blade moves toward the front of the wheel instead of towards the back and the guide rollers.

The first time I mounted it, I thought maybe this blade just rode a little different so I put the cover on and proceeded to resaw a board. Well, it only took a few seconds to get the crap scared out of me when the blade came off.

I have cleaned the rubber wheels and they seem fine. I have tried remounting the blade several times with the same results. The more I turn the wheel by hand, the more the blade works it's way towards the front of the wheel and eventually off the wheel.

I remounted the 1/4" blade and it works perfect.

Could the 1/2" blade be defective? Anyone else had this problem?

Thanks for any help?

[charlese]

Whoops! The above quote posted by billmayo was later corrected to say a 1/4" to 1/2" space above the lower wheel was proper. Not the stated 2" to 2 1/2". I think this originally came from "Smitty" and was corrected in another announcement.

Wow! 2 1/2" would really be a twist on the works!

As batg4 said, did you adjust the upper and lower blocks?

[alancooke]

You mentioned setting the tension but you said nothing about setting the tracking. .

I mounted the blade exactly according to directions and it said nothing about tracking only tensioning the blade correctly. I thought one of the features of the SS was that it was self tracking. I did adjust the guide blocks.

I think I will try the suggestion of putting pressure on the upper part of the wheel. This sounds like the best bet so far as the bandsaw has been used very little so the bearings hopefully aren't bad already. However, it has been under constant tension w/ the 1/4" blade for 7 years, so it very well could have taken a 'set' as suggested.

Thanks for the QUICK help;) I'll let you know how the pressure works.

[Bruce]

I mounted the blade exactly according to directions and it said nothing about tracking only tensioning the blade correctly. I thought one of the features of the SS was that it was self tracking. I did adjust the guide blocks.

Oops! I don't have a SS band saw so was not aware of the "self tracking" feature. However, I think the part about backing off the guides before tensioning still applies.

[alancooke]

. This can be corrected by removing the blade, grasping the wheel at the top and bottom and pulling the bottom of the wheel out while pushing the top in toward the frame with LIGHT pressure.
Bill Mayo

This appears to have done the trick! While performing this, I also did the check for bad bearings. When I removed the blade, The upper wheel did have some slight play, but I would not say it felt LOOSE. I filled the bearings with grease and re-installed the upper wheel. I then remounted the 1/2" blade and was able to resaw my board with no troubles.

For future reference, how much play should the upper wheel have , if any?
Should it be rock solid tight, or is very slight rocking OK?

p.s. Thanks for the heads-up on those clearances Chuck. 2 1/2" would have been a killer!

Thanks again!!!

[billmayo]

Thanks for the correction. I just adjusted the upper wheel until it tracked OK.

Bill Mayo

Whoops! The above quote posted by billmayo was later corrected to say a 1/4" to 1/2" space above the lower wheel was proper. Not the stated 2" to 2 1/2". I think this originally came from "Smitty" and was corrected in another announcement.

Wow! 2 1/2" would really be a twist on the works!

As batg4 said, did you adjust the upper and lower blocks?

[charlese]

....For future reference, how much play should the upper wheel have , if any?
Should it be rock solid tight, or is very slight rocking OK?...
Thanks again!!!

Good question! I remember reading, but cannot now find, a statement saying the upper wheel should have no play.

Don't know how mine was when it was new, but now it rocks a little like yours. It has a rock (runout if you will) of about 1/64" to 1/32" total movement of the bottom of the wheel. I have proceeded with this condition for some time and have noticed no bad effects. I now try real hard to take the tension off of the blade when through using the saw.

I wrote the words "LOOSE TENSION" on a piece of masking tape and stuck it up on the bandsaw case cover. Guess I'll save it there until I get used to always remembering to remove the tension automatically when finishing with the saw. At present, it is on my checklist that I have to do before leaving the shop, and when I go to wiggle the blade, I sometimes find it still tight.

[alancooke]

I wrote the words "LOOSE TENSION" on a piece of masking tape and stuck it up on the bandsaw case cover. .

I was thinking of doing the same thing. I guess it's a good time to get the new bandsaw cover where you can adjust the tension without removing the cover. One more thing to get before the 20% sale ends!!!