Bandsaw tires coming off

[Joe Pack]

I have a Grizzly G503 17" bandsaw that I have used from time to time for about 8 years with no problem. About 2 months ago a guy working with me used it to cut (yes, he did) a piece of Durock cement board, obviously ruining the 1/2" blade instantly...dull is not the word.

Having no replacement blade readily at hand, I went ahead and used this dull blade for some rough cutting (burning), using a lot of pressure on the blade. I was able to burn my way through a few pieces of pine and 1/4" plywood until...oops - the blade popped off.

I opened up the saw to replace the blade and found that not only the blade had come off, but the top tire did too. I easily worked the tire back into the groove, put the blade back on and proceeded to make another 4" cut/burn and....the blade and both top and bottom tires came off again. So, I walked away and found another job to do.

I finally came up with a new blade and installed it tonight, popping the tires back into place, installing the new 1/4" blade, adjusting guides, etc., then spinning it up by hand. Everything looked and felt good, so I flipped on the saw and it ran fine...until the blade started flopping. When I turned the saw off and looked, I found both the blade and top and bottom tires had come off again. Thinking I did something wrong, I repeated the process and...poof....same result.

When I spin up the wheels by hand, everything looks good. No wobble, good tracking....nothing wrong that I can see, but...

I have done some research tonight and find that this is not a terribly uncommon problem. Assuming all adjustments are within reason, and I think they are, the solution seems to be replacing the tires with urethane. With what I know now, this seems a likely solution. The tires on my bandsaw simply slide back on with very little effort. Everything I have read says this should NOT be the case; urethane tires should take a fair degree of effort to put on, not just slip back like mine do.

17" tires are hard to find! Grizzly has urethane tires (their picture shows a gray color), and I have also been able to find them at PS Wood (orange), but the large difference in price has me wondering...Grizzly's gray urethane run about $23/pair, while the orange PS Wood run about $49/pair. The Suffolk/Timberwolf page lists the orange models also, but, for the ones that fit the Grizzly 17", they say to go through Grizzly (but remember, the Grizzly catalog now shows gray - maybe or maybe not the same quality).

So, my questions: (1) Am I on the right track re: the solution for tires coming off? (2) Am I on the right track thinking the orange urethane would be better than the gray? (I only found the gray material on Grizzly's web page. The other urethane tires, regardless of brand and/or size seem to be orange, and in the same price range as those on the PS Wood site.

Any advice or comments would be greatly welcomed.

[Rick Fisher]

Hey .. I had the same problem after a restoration of an old bandsaw. I used Hairspray... Lift up the edge of the tire all the way around, spray liberally, replace in wife's bathroom before she notices.

First time I did it, it lasted about 3 years. I just did it again a month ago and its working fine.

[Mikail Khan]

I have had to replace my tires every few years. Apparently urathane tires creep and loose their elasticity. Currently using blue tires from bandsaw tire warehouse purchased on ebay.

I was not happy with the grizzly replacements


MK

[Carroll Courtney]

Like the hair spray ideal!If it was not a problem before the cement board then I would say it has something to do with the dust,cement fibers.I would remove the tire,take some acetone and wipe the wheel and tire down.Install the tire and give it a try,but you had said that you easily installed the tire so that may also be a part of the problem.I have install several tires using my fingers,pulling and stretching then snapping them in place but its never been easy but doable.Then I would take apiece of maybe 3/4 dowel rod put between the tire/wheel and rotate the rod several times around the wheel.Just to help the tire be equal thickness all the way around the wheel,also help equal the tension all the way around.While your at it with the acetone maybe wipe down the inside the upper wheel cabinet just to be on the safe side.Good luck----Carroll

[Chuck Darney]

Just had the same thing happen with the same kind of bandsaw. Fortunately I had gotten another set of tires from Grizzly a while back to replace a tire I had broken but only used one of them. I'm going to look for a new source to have a couple of spares on hand.

...Chuck

[Jim Finn]

I had the lower tire come loose on my, well used, GO555. It is the original(2008), rubber one. I put rubber cement on the wheel and then re-installed the tire. Stays put now and rubber cement is not a permanent type glue so I am sure I will be able to remove the tire when I need to.

[Rick Fisher]

I got the hairspray idea here, several years ago .. I guess Hairspray has liquid urethane in it .. It like pressure sensitive adhesive when it dries ..

[Mike Gresham]

Maybe burning your way through put more heat in the tires than they were able to withstand. So, now they have lost their elastic ability.

[Larry Frank]

I just put the urethane tires on a 16" band saw this week. I got them from Carter Products. I have not used them very long but they seem very good.

I also used the urethane band saw jig I found on YouTube to get them on. A soak in 130°F water and then used the jig. I had another person helping me but using the jig makes it easy to make certain you get the tires evenly distributed around the wheel.