bandsaw almost 14"

[Dave Chamberlain]

I have an old Continental Ulticut 14" bandsaw. The tires are pretty old and last month really loosened up. There is a posting on here about that.

I ordered new ones from Delta for a 14". That order went in on April 4 and FINALLY today (May 6) they arrived.

Down to the shop I ran with the new tires in hand. Open the saw and remove the old ones. The new ones just slip right on and off the other side again. They're too big! A more accurate measurement reveals that the wheels are about 13 5/8! Of course, with the

1/4" tires that are on there it is 14, but not without them.

Anyone have any ideas? For the moment I have the old tires back on, and the new ones ontop of them. It does make the blade hit the guard (and I can't adjust that).

Does anyone know of a place I can get some odd-sized tires or the actual wheel size of some non-delta 14" machines?

[aswr]

Carter makes custom sizes...the same company that sells bandsaw guides and lazer guides.... Mike

[nospambob]

[gpdewitt]

How much hassle would it be to change out the wheels with actual 14" ones? If you use the saw a lot, and anticipate several tire changes down the road, might be worth considering... Just a thought.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

What is an actual 14" wheel? My Jet is about 1/4" under across the face and suspect others are also. The tires bring it back a bit more but I don't have a very accurate measure across the tops.

[Dave Chamberlain]

SUCCESS!!!!

I got a couple emails from people, so just to say it here, I went to Western Tool (which is the closest tool shop to my house that isn't Home Depot). I measured the wheels and thought about ordering new ones from Delta as the hub size is the same (I brought a wheel with me).

The problem is that by increasing the diameter of the wheel, then adding a tire I have changed things enough that I need to heat and bend my guards so they don't drag on the blade itself.

I had found a Jet manual online that had everything exactly the same as the one I have. The only Jets that Western Tool had were 16" which didn't help.

I gave them a call and spoke to someone in the tech dept. He took my number and went to get a 14" wheel and measure it. He called back a couple hours later. It is 13 5/8 from the edge of the rim edge to rim edge.

They call them "wheel protectors" not tires, I don't care :-) They are also only $5.00 each so I ordered two replacement ones and they should be here in a week.

Meanwhile, I took off my wheels with the old rotten tires; put some contact cement on them and placed the new tires over them. This does make the blade rub on the guard, so I duct-taped it for now. Anyhow, it will hold for the week anyhow but I'm not going to push it longer than that.