Bandsaw refurb questions-very pic heavy, sorry

[Jaze Derr]

I know you guys probably get tired of these kinds of questions, but I don't know where else to ask them, sorry.

Bandsaw in question is a 14" Jet with riser block. 3/4 hp motor.

I've never had a bandsaw before, so I have 2 different books and about 6 different articles printed out on tuning up a bandsaw.

First, I took everything apart and cleaned (and de-rusted where necessary).

I had to slide the motor back a bit to take up slack in the drive belt, but the belt itself looks pretty good. Forgot to check for co-planar pulleys, but I can always check that later if it vibrates.

I found a few problems:
1) the upper wheel is...wonky. If I hold the wheel at the 9 and 3 o'clock positions, I can easily wobble it. This is with NO blade, and so no tension on it. This is bad, yes?

I took the wheel off, and looked at the bearings. They spin pretty freely, but I've ordered new ones in case. New bearings never hurt anything except the wallet, right?
The axle shaft looks like it has a worn spot on it:

Now, I think it might just be paint, as I can't really feel any difference. I'm pretty sure the wobble is just from the loose tension guide block. Should I not be concerned until it's under tension and still wobbles?

2) the lower wheel was cocked, with the upper edge towards the frame: (this is looking down at it)

So it took it off, and found this!!

NO KEY!! It was just wedged on there with brute force, and it took some serious prying to get it off. Upon inspection, I found a nasty burr on the end of the drive shaft, and a matching series of grooves in the wheel:
and

Who runs something like this with no key?!? Should I file off the burr on the shaft? And do I need to worry about the grooves in the wheel? I've ordered key stock already.

3) Lower guide blocks are all chewed to hell and back:


Where do I find replacement guides? I can't afford Carter guides (between the new Kreg fence I bought, and now all the little pieces, I'm over the original purchase price already...) EDIT: Ordered a pair of guides from Jet directly. Looks like they still use the same design from when this guy was built.

It's got Cool Blocks in it, which are just fine with me, but that guide can't have much life left in it...that thumbscrew is being held in with prayer, I think.

4) And the tires:
Do these need to be replaced? The guy I bought it from wasn't the original owner, and he's the one who put the riser block and new guide blocks in. He also said the top tire is new...ish.

Upper tire still looks like it has a decent amount of life left?:


I'm not sure about the lower. Would you replace this?


Lots of little problems, but I'm having fun. The best way to learn a machine is to take it apart and then put it back together, right? Poor thing hasn't even been plugged in since I got it home

Have new blades from Highland arriving tomorrow, as well as new thrust bearings (oy, should show you the lower one...frozen solid and scored like crazy).

This is going to be the best running secondhand (or third..or fourth...) bandsaw in the county

Thanks in advance for your help. Creekers are the best!

[george wilson]

The upper wheel needs to have a blade on it before testing for looseness. The tires look mostly o.k.. Yes,file off the burrs on the shaft and get keys as needed. The guide is just about fouled up. Won't be ling before the thumb screw gets too loose. My old Delta has been fine with the original steel guide blocks. I don't think you should waste money for Carters on that Jet.

Find out if the wheels run truly round after you get a blade on it. IF THEY DO,you might consider Carter guides.

[Brian Kent]

Just so you know, I see two thinks wrong in your post. First:

"I know you guys probably get tired of these kinds of questions,"

What? We don't get tired of these questions. I might get tired of having filet minon wrapped in bacon with lobster and drawn butter every day. But questions about big woodworking tools, Never! What were you thinking.

"Bandsaw refurb questions-very pic heavy, sorry"

"Sorry?" This is what we live for. I've never refurbed a bandsaw before and I think your post is great and interesting and more fun than helping with the cleaning before company comes!

If you didn't have a lot of pics we would get on your case for it, but never for having too many. There are not enough tools pics in the world to satisfy us.

I look forward to all the wisdom that will be imparted unto you.

Brian

[Bob Aquino]

Jaze
The tires look fine. If you already have bearings ordered, that's good too. Not sure how that lower guide got that way, you should be able to order a replacement from Jet since they are alive and well and doing business. As for the top axle, its really hard to say if its worn or not. I can see some rust, but to check for sure you either need a vernier caliper or micrometer and check it in several spots or you could take a straight edge and hold it along the side and see if you can see any light in between. The caliper will be a bit more accurate. What you need to determine with the wobble is whether it is the wheel on the axle shaft wobbling or the whole upper assembly. If its the whole assembly, then its not an issue. As George mentioned, that looseness will go away when you have a tensioned blade on it. Only thing else is finding a key for the bottom wheel. You may have to take a small file and smooth out the burrs, but its not the end of the world for sure.

Parts can be found here: https://parts.maam.waltermeier.com/Parts.aspx

or here: http://www.ereplacementparts.com/jet...652_32684.html

Good luck with the saw.

[Bill Bukovec]

Jaze,

Thanks for the detail in your post. Also thanks for your clear photos.

The best way to find solutions is to ask good questions. I can't tell you how many times (at work) that people complain that something looks "funny", and expect me to find a soleution.

Good luck on the saw, keep us posted on your progress.

Bill

[Jaze Derr]

After 3 days, 2 deliveries, and 2 trips to McMaster-Carr (45 mins one way for me!), I finally have this used POS bandsaw running like a dream. Not bad for someone who has never even been near a bandsaw before.

My list of refurbishments:
the table went from this:

to this, via Evapo-Rust:

I replaced the bottom tire with a new urethane one from Rockler. The top tire is still very good, so I have a tire to spare.

I replaced the bearings in the upper wheel. Ordered the wrong size, which necessitated the emergency trip to McMaster again this morning. Had to jury-rig a bearing puller, as the front bearing was STUCK.


It worked:

And now I remember why I didn't like metal shop in school. Had to machine my first ever key:

It took some experimenting to find the best way to cut and file that down to fit, but I was so disgusted with the whole procedure that when it finally slipped into place, I did a little happy dance.

To get the 1" worth of key stock I needed, I had to buy all of this:

Anyone need some key stock?

I aligned the motor and drive pulleys, which really helped with vibration.

Installed new thrust bearings.

Installed a new 1/2" blade, and proceeded to spend way too much time tweaking and adjusting this and that. Verdict: NO DRIFT!

So I then made scrap wood into smaller scrap wood


Also installed a nice, shiny new Kreg fence. wow...talk about some bling on the old machine!

The only thing left to do is replace that chewed up lower guide. But it's ok for now.

Just finished making a mobile base for it:


But getting the chain hoist out and getting the saw ONTO the base is a task for tomorrow. I'm worn out and my feet hurt from that concrete floor.

[Myk Rian]

You had to buy all that key stock for a 1" piece? You can get it at HD, Lowes, ACO, etc. 1 piece at a time.

The guide blocks can be sanded/filed flat and reused.
Or, make some out of hard wood.

[Jaze Derr]

You had to buy all that key stock for a 1" piece? You can get it at HD, Lowes, ACO, etc. 1 piece at a time.

The guide blocks can be sanded/filed flat and reused.
Or, make some out of hard wood.

well...NOW you tell me!

and it's not the guide blocks that need to be replaced, it's the guide assembly that holds them. see above pic, it's half eaten away

[Bruce Wrenn]

The lower guide was eaten up by the blade not being supported by the guide blocks. Cool blocks are just that- cool. I have a new set that have never been out of the box in the 14 years I owned them. I think I know where they are. The original steel ones do just fine. I like the pictures, a picture is worth a THOUSAND words. Nice job on cleaning up the table. If you will give me an address, I'll be happy to send you one of mine to clean up. Great idea for a bearing puller, but most importantly IT WORKED! Louis Ittura's catalog is worth sending him a check for $10 just to cover postage. Maybe someone will chime in with an address for Louis.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Wow Jaze, fantastic pictures! You've got plenty of good advice already so I won't touch that, Grizzly or Jet should have you doing their website close ups.

[Myk Rian]

and it's not the guide blocks that need to be replaced, it's the guide assembly that holds them. see above pic, it's half eaten away

Somehow that passed me by.
That's a fairly cheap replacement part.

[Doug Carpenter]

I did a quick and dirty refeurb on the same bandsaw.

It may not be evident untill you take it apart but the part in the first pic may be broken. I had the same wonky wheel!

Here is the part. I got a new one from grizzley. They were most helpful.

All in all I am reasonably happy with the saw but by the time I bought new tires and the part I was felling like in all I had almost spent as much as a new grizzley would have cost.

On the other hand it was a good interduction to bandsaws and I would upgrade if I bought new....naturally.

[Doug Carpenter]

In my haste to help I didn't notice you had it running.

I am sure however by looking at the first pic that that part is cracked. You should know that it is capable of running but it looks to me like all the problems that machine has could be a result of the part I mentioned.

[Jaze Derr]

I did a quick and dirty refeurb on the same bandsaw.

It may not be evident untill you take it apart but the part in the first pic may be broken. I had the same wonky wheel!

Here is the part. I got a new one from grizzley. They were most helpful.

All in all I am reasonably happy with the saw but by the time I bought new tires and the part I was felling like in all I had almost spent as much as a new grizzley would have cost.

On the other hand it was a good interduction to bandsaws and I would upgrade if I bought new....naturally.

I've spent more than what I paid for the saw already in upgrades and repairs, but most of that was the Kreg fence

I did take the tension guide out and inspect it; it is sound. The wonky wheel was just the loose tension guide, there's NO play when it's under tension now.

I'm pretty pleased at how it turned out, since this is my first ever bandsaw.

[Sean Troy]

I would go ahead and put the new top tire on. You don't need a spare. It would take using the saw 8 hours a day for a couple of years before you'll wear it out. Look on ebay for some new or better guide upgrades. I found a set of carter guides for mine for 60.00.