Bandsaw blades moves back and forth

[Prashun Patel]

Have you tried filing down the weld? You might screw up the tooth set of a couple surrounding teeth. I tried to file it a little, but it didn't make a noticeable diff. But I didn't keep at it for fear of...aw, who'm I kidding..bekuz I was lazy.

[Chris Kelble]

Have you tried filing down the weld? You might screw up the tooth set of a couple surrounding teeth. I tried to file it a little, but it didn't make a noticeable diff. But I didn't keep at it for fear of...aw, who'm I kidding..bekuz I was lazy.

Filing wouldn't help in my case. It is the angle that the two ends are joined that causes the fore/aft movement (not side-to-side). Wish I could sketch this....

[Rick Huelsbeck]

Thanks alot for this link, I'm going to print this out and try the steps they list when I get home.

Thanks again to everyone for all the suggestions.

-Stephen

Your welcome, make sure to let us know how it works out.

[Howard Acheson]

First thing to do is to try one of your other blades. Hopefully you are not using the blade that came with the saw. These blades are frequently of low quality. It that is the blade you are using buy a new one. In fact, you should have at least 3 or 4 blades. Different blades are used for different cuts. There is no "one blade for all cuts".

[Tai Fu]

Thanks alot for this link, I'm going to print this out and try the steps they list when I get home.

Thanks again to everyone for all the suggestions.

-Stephen

Old thread, but I just found it because I was wondering why my bandsaw blades wobble back and forth. Everyone keeps saying "bad weld" but it does it on EVERY single blade I put on that bandsaw (it was also the possible cause of the shaking). I found this instruction, and while I do not have a Rikon I found similar adjustments on the back of my bandsaw to change the lower wheel pitch... Since it's 1am I do not dare turn the bandsaw on to see if this actually solved anything (my neighbor's house is literally 3 feet away and he will wake up if I power it) but I was able to align the blade position on both wheels (before the blade would sit really close to the front edge of the lower wheel even though the upper wheel position is where it should be) and I think I was also able to take out the blade wobble as well (but this is only based on turning the wheel by hand, not actually powering the saw).

I will report back tomorrow to tell you if this solved everything.

[Andy Pratt]

I had this problem after installing new band saw tires. The problem was that a few portions of the tires had not fully seated inside the groove on the bandsaw wheels. This had the effect of rocking the blade back and forth when it rotated over those areas. I fixed it by going inch by inch with a screwdriver, tucking each tire edge all the way into the groove. It was somewhat annoying to do but it did fix the problem and it hasn't resurfaced since. This would probably not be an issue with a crowned bandsaw tire style.

[Cody Colston]

I had this problem on my 17" Grizzly BS using TW blades. I quit using them, problem solved.

[John Coloccia]

It's almost always a bad weld, and partly why I stopped using TW blades also. It's easy to tell if it's the wheel or the blade. If it's the blade, it will oscillate at exactly the same point in the blade travel every time. You can see it even just turning the wheel by hand. Stick a block snug up against the back of the blade, and now start turning the blade. A bad weld will be obvious and you see it moving in and out in relation to the block.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

I have a 16" Minimax and the on-saw tension gauge is not very accurate. I don't use low tension blades and use a meter to set up the blade tension. The first time I used the meter I was a little leery of how far I had to crank the tension wheel to get to the recommended tension on the blade and the saw gauge is way off by then. The results were excellent though, the blade tracked better and the cut was cleaner. I think you'd be surprised how much you have to crank the wheel to put 30,000 lbs of tension on a blade.

[Tai Fu]

I really need a tension meter because my saw has no spring (yes, that's right, it has no tension spring, just a square nut bearing against the wheel support). I don't really want to spend 300 dollars on one but I read you can make one with a dial indicator... just not sure how to mount it and how much stretch do I need to equate to 30,000 psi?

[Dennis McDonaugh]

I'm at work and don't remember what brand mine is, but it didn't cost $300. I'll look tonight.

[Erik Loza]

Dennis, I can tell you how to calibrate that on-machine tension gauge if you like.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[BOB OLINGER]

For band saw help, call Louis Iturra (904) 642-2802 - no website, does business on the phone. He specializes in Delta band saws but knows them all. He's forgot more about band saws than I'd ever hope to learn. He publishes a parts and guide book nearly an 1" thick.