Broke a bandsaw blade

This is probably a good excuse to do a tune-up on the saw... check for co-planar wheels, check the blocks or bearings, tires, etc.

Yes, make sure the blades teeth point down. (DAMHIKT).

If this is a delta 14" take a look at the piece that hung up. It's prone to bending at least according to Iturra... He has a new better piece. If mine ever goes I'll get his... since my post doesn't track straight up and down and his somehow remedies that.

I'd check the tires for cuts....

A few weeks back I had a tire break while doing a lot of resawing of large pine boards. I didn't even notice as the saw kept cutting just fine as the wheel itself is crowned. It wasn't until I was cleaning up and found the broken tire laying in the bottom of the saw that I knew the tire broke. I thought that was really weird! It was one of the tight fitting, non-rubber tires and it appears to have broken at the joint as it was a perfectly straight break.

John

tiredofspam wrote in news:qoCdndtzlffRc0rSnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@ptd.net:

It's a 14" Jet. Everything seemed ok, but that was only during a quick onceover trying to figure out how to get the top wheel free again. I'll have to take a closer look at it.

Puckdropper

"John Grossbohlin" wrote in news:qf6dnXZTFKRhckrSnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.com:

I was planning on changing the tires anyway, so maybe I'll delay putting a blade on until the new ones get here. One of them moved on me a couple days ago as I was putting a different blade on, so I figured it was time to replace them.

This bandsaw has taught me a lot about bandsaws, but it sure does gobble up the parts...

Puckdropper

My credo has been "To really learn about something bust it and then fix it!"

I took the opportunity to go over my whole bandsaw and tweak it after the tire broke. It worked much better afterwards with the tweaking, new tire and new blade.... I had been running it nearly non-stop for a couple-three days so the improvement was very noticeable.

John

Out of curiousity how do you check for co-planarity of the wheels? My bandsaw is fairly new, but I'm curious how it's done.

You take the table off and anything that restricts putting a level or straight edge against the wheels.

Both wheels are co-planar when they touch the wheels at 4 points.

So first start with the very top and bottom of the wheels stick a straight edge/level across them. Then move out to 2 other points on each side of center. It should still touch at 4 points. If not adjust ..

The quick answer is "use a straight edge".

Snag a copy of Duginske's "Bandsaw Handbook"... It's a good resource.

Puckdropper wrote in news:4fd80c4b$0$26579$c3e8da3$ snipped-for-privacy@news.astraweb.com:

Don't forget to inflate the tires to the proper pressure. :)

And rotate them every 3000 miles ...

Swingman wrote in news:B5Cdna3ELvBH9kfSnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Wait, you're supposed to rotate them every 3000 miles?! I thought I was supposed to do that soon before and during each use. No wonder they need to be changed!

Puckdropper

And when the treads are worn down and they're bare, it's time to replace them...

Dave wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Bandsaw tires are more like drag slicks... How can you tell with those? (Not the bandsaw tires.)

Puckdropper

In either case, when there is more of the tire on the ground than on the wheel it's time to change them...