band saw tuneup--how often & how long?

Question

I had not done a total band saw tuneup in over a year, so I decided to take on the task on my 14" Delta. So far, I've inspected parts, cleaned a few parts with a rag dampened in a little kerosene, corrected an out-of-plane wheel issue, sanded the tires, inspected the blade for teeth missing, and now making adjustments to a brush cleaning mount I installed 5 years ago. No thrust bearing damage. I have much more to do as I read Mark Duginski's Band Saw Handbook which is excellent. So far I've spent 2 hours. I'm thinking about making a personal checklist to make this (dreaded) process easier. I was curious how often you do a full band saw tuneup, and how long does it take? If anyone has a bandsaw tuneup checklist, I'd like to see it here or in A.B.P.W.

B a r r y · Accepted Answer

Sal MacCarone has checklists for many stationary tools in "Tune Up Your Tools".

I do mini-tunes every time I change a blade. This includes tracking, readjusting guides, checking blade to table angle, etc... It takes me less than 5 minutes, including mounting the blade.

If the blade takes more than a minute or two to properly track and set up, or I'm not happy with something else, I do a full check. I have never spent more than about 30 minutes doing Duginske's tune. The inside gets vacuumed each time the Shop Vac passes by while doing the floor.

Barry

Jim Behning · Answer

Blade tension, guides correct, start cutting. 5 minutes of tuneup whenI need to use the tool.  Nerd out once with a tuneup is enough unlessyou spend hundreds of hours a year on the saw. OK, your bandsaw usemay be different than mine. Probably is. My purchase was just a $150twenty year old 14" Delta with little previous use. I installed somecoolblocks and a fresh blade. It cuts. What more do I need?Phisherman  wrote:

band saw tuneup--how often & how long?

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