[OP]
Member
Louis Iturra has a section in his catalog on "supercharging your band saw", specifically a Delta 14". One of the items he has is a larger pulley wheel which will increase the speed of the blade. He claims the increased speed will improve your cutting, especially resawing, leaving a smoother cut with less "washboarding" . Has anyone tried this? Is it recommended? Can you do this on any 14" saw?
Member
You might well be able to do it to your Griz, BUT I think money is better spent on a top flight resaw blade and possibly some other things before that. I think the biggest difference you will make in a 14" cast clone is high quality blades, but they aren't cheap but the bi-metal and carbide blades last a LOT longer.
Member
LOL, reminds me of several years ago when I had a delta 14'' band saw. I was going to "supercharge" it. I change the pulleys, turned it on and the centrifugal force cause the upper wheel tire to lift off the wheel and it caught on something. Made a heck of a noise, scared the crap out of me and I had to buy a new tire.Originally Posted by Thomas Delpizzo
Rich
ALASKANS FOR GLOBAL WARMING
Eagle River Alaska
Contributor
A slower feed rate will accomplish the same thing, and it's cheaper. I'd also be concerned about the motor having enough torque at the higher blade speed. Try this--resaw a piece a couple feet long. Feed the first foot at your normal rate, then feed the second foot at a slower rate, maybe 1/2 or 2/3 the rate. I can notice the difference. There's still "washboarding" but mine is noticeably less and less has to be sanded off. I'd like to try a blade like the carbide tipped bandsaw blades that don't have any set but I don't know of one that would work on 14" saws. I suspect the set of the teeth contributes to the cut roughness.
I'm with Curt. If I want more cuts per inch, I just slow my feed rate.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
Member
Speeding up the saw will do something (somethings good and somethings bad). I agree that the best medicine is a well tuned saw and a nice blade. Speed isn't always what it's cracked up to be. Notice that most 14" saws are designed to run at about 3000 fpm, good resaws can run 5000-7000 and there are even some saws (Tannewitz GH) that run upwards of 8000 fpm. Now that's just moving. The key here is that a 10% increase in your blade speed probably isn't going to get you a whole lot, and a 50% increase is going to put a lot more stress on your machine (bearings, frame, motor, blade, guides, etc.). I would also be worried about more blade breakage. In the sawmill business we know that there's only so many times you can bend a blade around the wheels, the smaller the wheels (like 14") the more stress you put on the band everytime it goes around, the quicker it breaks.
Long story short, I think there's a reason these 14" saws have remained substantially unchanged for almost 60 years. I don't think "supercharging" is the answer.
Ryan
Member
How could the upper wheel tire fly off with a blade on it? Without a blade, doesn't the upper wheel just sit there?
Member
I am at work and don't have the document with me but I believe I read in the Suffolk Machinery (Timberwolf blades) paperwork they send out with blades that the blades are designed to run at 3000 to 3500 fpm. Would higher speed mean shorter blade life or quick breakage?
Member
Isn't "washboarding" caused by left/right variations in the tooth position over the course of the cut? This would come from out-of-round wheels (maybe due to debris on the tires or poor crowning) combined with a slight amount of extra room between the guides,or deflection caused by a bad weld, or a twist in the blade over it's length, or kinks in the blade, or variations in the tooth set.
Slowing the feed rate or speeding up the blade will mean the blade will tend to cut a wider kerf at any one location as the teeth oscillate right and left faster. The root cause is not addressed.
If I were concerned with this, I'd clean my wheels, check my guides, check my blade for twists or kinks or a bad weld, and then if it's still a problem maybe lightly stone the sides of the blade to even out the set. If necessary after that, recrown the tires or get new ones and crown them right.
Or just walk over to the jointer or sander and get rid of the marks. Bandsaws aren't meant for glue-line rips.
Kirk
Member
Absolutely, and it becomes more of an issue when you are trying to "cheat" and run carbide blades on a small wheeled (under 20") machine. Anything that further restricts my ability to use a good carbide resaw blade on any bandsaw is a non-starter for me.
Member
[QUOTE=Will Overton;1509176]How could the upper wheel tire fly off with a blade on it? Without a blade, doesn't the upper wheel just sit there?
I don't know what to tell you but I have no reason to make up stories.
when I started up the band saw the tire somehow lifted off the wheel and caught on the door retainer clip.
Rich
ALASKANS FOR GLOBAL WARMING
Eagle River Alaska
Member
I didn't try "supercharging," but did overhaul my Dad's old 14" Delta last year with Louis Iturra's help. I found his catalogue, read cover-to-cover, to be as valuable as Mark Duginske's book. Louis was patient, clear, and completely knowledgeable when I called him two or three times for clarification and advice, and all of the bearings, tires, springs, etc I purchased from him have been highly satisfactory. Good man - I recommend doing business with him.
(wish he'd get a website, though)
Member
First let me say Louis Iturra has forgotten more about bandsaws particularly Delta 14"ers and their clones than I will ever know but,...
I was stuck driving 3 hours this morning and was thinking about this post and it seems one would be trying to do one of three things by "supercharging"
1. increase resaw speed
2. increase rip speed
3. increase quality of the cut
The quality of cut I am not sure would be increased simply by increased band speed and better addressed through tuning, blades etc.
If rip speed is what you are after put a 20T WWII from Forrest in your table saw and rip like a dragster.
If resaw speed is what you are after I don't think you are gonna get it on a lightweight 14" saw by increasing blade speed. If you use pulleys to increase the wheel speed you are decreasing the torque to the wheel since you reduce the torque multiplication of the larger wheel pulley. This might work on a big saw with a 5+ hp motor but might actually reduce the resaw speed on a smaller saw with minamal HP in tall stock.
Just like Timberwolf's low tension claim for their band I have not seen a resonable explanation nor can I think of one to support the claim of increased band speed on a 14" saw being of any positive use. The extra strain on bearings/motor et al along with increased fatigue on the bands seem like false economy, plus you also enter an arena where a voiding of the warranty is probably valid for most any moving part on the saw including the motor once the pulley size is changed.
Member
I don't think Will was calling BS, I think he is just confused, as I am, why/how the upper was moving if there was no blade on the saw, normally the top wheel would just sit there static as it has no connection to the motor without a band on the saw. When I read it I just assumed you mis-spoke and meant it occured on the lower wheel.
Guest
He didn't say there was no blade on the saw.
The blade onto holds the tires on the top of the top wheel. The bottom of the tire is not supported.
And yes, centrifugal force will cause a lose and/or unglued band to lift several inches from the wheel in spots. I have witnessed this first-hand with a small Inca bandsaw.
It created an odd snapping sound and when I was able to observe with the door open I could see the tire lifting from the wheel quite a bit. A couple of times it did start to come off.
I finally glued the tire down using elephant snot.
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