Why no 3-wheel bandsaws?

[Willy Wanka]

Why would you want to have 3 wheels when 2 will do?

Try COST being the determining factor.

[Mark Jerde]

You can have a deeper throat, and it can sit on a bench.

-- Mark

[Jeffo]

"Hylourgos" asked news: [e-mail]...

My father had one... for about a day, please don't make me think about it.=) I can't remember who it was made by, likely Trademaster, smaller bench top size. The blade was a pain to set up, just when we thought it was ready to go, it would come off one of the wheels. Maybe it was ignorance, maybe a problem with the machine, bad design could is an option, you do get what you pay for, but that just can't justify everything. All I know is that he replaced it with a 14" 2 wheel and hasn't looked back.

HTH, Jeffo

[Chuck B.]

I started with a Black/Decker 3 wheel bandsaw years ago. I broke a blade almost every time I used it. I also burned up many moters. I always took it back to the store and they gave me a new one. I finally got tired buying new blades. They usually broke at the solder joint. I guess heat and bending caused this. My Delta 14" has never caused me a problem and has never broken a blade. My 2 cents!! Chuck B.

[Andy Dingley]

It isn't.

It's 3/2 the bending per cycle, but the bending per minute depends on the band length (and the speed). A large bandsaw always gets better band life, simply because it's spreading the load between more band.

-- Do whales have krillfiles ?

[DJ Delorie]

And if you read my original email, you'll note that I specified that the distance between the wheels remained constant, as did the motor RPM and wheel diameter.

[Andy Dingley]

But how can the distance between the wheels remain constant in switching between a 2 and 3 wheeled machine ?

A tricycle is either going to have tiny wheels (band breakers) or it's going to have the same wheels, same spacing and an extra long band (long band, long life). Presumably there's a point somewhere in the middle where band life is equal for the same cut performance, but you'd have to estimate the increase in fatigue with decreasing radius to calculate it.

-- Do whales have krillfiles ?

[Bridger]

cheap benchtop 3 wheel bandsaws aside, big 3 wheel saws generally have

2 wheels top and bottom and a third bigger wheel somewhere way back there to open up the width. it makes for a large expensive saw usually requiring a pretty specialized process to justify it. Bridger

[The Davenports]

DINGDINGDINGDING!!!! We Have a Winner, Folks!

That is exactly why the three wheel BS blade break faster. The fatigue is created from the flexing of the blade BOTH onto and off off the wheel, therefore you are absolutely correct that the blade on a 2 wheeler will have

150% the life of the 3...all other things being equal, of course.

Mike

[John Pickett]

It has alot to do with traction.....you don't get as much with less blade contact on three wheel saws as with 2 wheel saws. I bought an Amada saw once that could cut 36" thick steel 12 foot long on a power feed table, The capacity was an issue at the time. I asked about three wheel saws and the Amada people explained about blade traction and blade life.

The saw took a blade 1/8" x 2 5/8" x 19' 11"

John

[David Clarke]

[Joel Jacobson]

There are three wheel bandsaws. They have at least two serious disadvantages: it's really hard to align the wheels and keep them aligned. Also, the blades tend to break much easier.

[Garrett]

I admit, I have that little Grizzly 3 wheeler. It's awful to set up, I can't get the table square to the blade, and if the blade slips off the wheel only once each time I use it, I feel pretty lucky. The access panel isn't hinged, so you have to take the whole side off each time you need to get inside, which is quite annoying. Also, the little feet on the bottom aren't square to each other or the saw body. I haven't broken any blades yet, but I have the speed set as low as I can to help keep the blade on the wheels, while still being able to manage making my cut. I wouldn't even DREAM of using it to resaw anything; it only has 3 5/16" cutting height anyway, regardless of what the website claims. In all, I'd say it was a waste of my 140 bucks plus whatever the shipping was. FWIW

[Bridger]

I wonder if it would be more useful as a band sander than as a band saw....

[John O. Kopf]

Blades break when they're flexed repeatedly. They are flexed each time they pass over a wheel.

JK

Joel Jacobs>

[Phisherman]

Duginski's book talks about this. Three-wheel machines are more difficult to tune, more expensive to make, and blades wear out faster. Better to have a large two-wheeler than a small three-wheeler with the same capacities.

[William Falberg]

replying to Willy Wanka, William Falberg wrote: Three wheels allows for wider throat width, a vital attribute for scrolling.

[William Falberg]

replying to Chuck B., William Falberg wrote: The problem isn't three wheels; the problem is cheap/poorly designed band saws; they come in two wheel models also.

[William Falberg]

replying to Joel Jacobson, William Falberg wrote: Most/cheap band saws provide tracking for only one wheel. Tracking adjustment should be available for all two wheelers. Adjustable tracking is especially needed for three wheelers. Because co-planar alignment on a properly crowned set of blade transport wheels is the only way to keep a blade tracking tenaciously at the speed of ordinary woodcutting band saws. Good, well -made bandsaws provide tracking adjustment for all blade transport wheels.

[William Falberg]

replying to Phisherman, William Falberg wrote: The only statement there that is true is that three-wheelers are 33% costlier than two-wheelers. Better yet to have a large, quality band saw with tracking adjustment on all blade transport wheels.