So there I was, trying to tension the 3/4" timberwolf blade on my Boice-Crane (B-C was, apparently, was owned by the Wilon Group, which now owns Jet, Powermatic, and Performax) 14" bandsaw. New Polyurethane tires, installed with only my recollection of the instructions from Suffolk. I did not glue the tires on. I adjusted the tracking by turning the lower wheel by hand (with the saw unplugged!) I kept at it until the blade was centered on the tires, which have only the barest hint of a crown. The blade stayed centered when I turned wheel enough to rotate the blade all the way around (I saw the weld pass the upper guide, twice.)
Anyway, I may need a new tensioning spring. I tensioned the blade until the pointer on the back of the saw was just a bit past the 3/4" mark, and backed the guides away from the blade (on all three sides, both guides). Spun the wheels for another turn of the blade. So far, so good. I closed the wheel cover, and hit the power switch. The saw came on, and after a few seconds, spun up to speed. There was a noticable side-to-side vibration in the blade. The saw didn't vibrate much when running, just enough to have a nickel-on-edge fall over after ten or twenty seconds. It still deserves a new belt (link belts don't work in
7/16 pulleys :-( ). I still have Suffolk's instructions on tensioning the blade (short version: start at rated tension, reduce tension until the blade starts to flutter, increase tension back until flutter stops, and you're good to go), so I thought the blade needed more tension.
Anyway, I was around turning the tension wheel to increase tension some more, when a loud noise came from somewhere within the saw. I hit the power switch, waited for everything to stop, unplugged the saw, and opened the door. The lower tire had slipped off the wheel, and been carried up the return a little ways, where it got caught, and nearly sliced in half crossways.
So I'm thinking I need glue. The saw manufacturer recommends rubber cement, but that's for rubber tires. Lonnie Bird uses 3M Weatherstripping adhesive. Mark Duginske recommends using cement if the old tire was cemented.
Anyway, what do the rest of you use?
It will take me a little while to get a new tire, and get it installed (and maybe even glued on), so in the mean time, about two board-feet of beautiful quarter-sawn white oak will be planed from 7/8" down to 1/2", instead of being resawn. Oh, the humanity! The $6.50 in lumber that could have been half-saved!
Chris