Bandsaw Upper/Lower Wheel Alignment Problem

[Dan Clark]

While I agree with where you're going with this I'll go one step further: I'm not sure there is a problem with the saw, or the blades.

My experience is that people center a blade on the top wheel and expect it to be centered on the bottom, as well. But, it doesn't work like that.

I've participated in at least ten threads here and elsewhere about just this issue.

Phil,

Thanks for the feedback. Apparently, that's a characteristic of this saw. Given that it's now working fine except for this issue, I can live with it.

Regards,

Dan.

[Phil Thien]

Phil,

Thanks for the feedback. Apparently, that's a characteristic of this saw. Given that it's now working fine except for this issue, I can live with it.

Regards,

Dan.

It is a characteristic of any saw with crowned wheels running steel bands. It is just how it works.

Think of it like this:

(1) To apply tension, the distance around the two wheels has to be greater than the length of the blade. You can't start to put any force (tension) on the blade until you've met that requirement.

(2) If the blade is shorter than the distance around the two wheels, there is no way for the blade to ride perfectly centered on both wheels.

(3) If it can't ride perfectly centered on both wheels, the best you can expect is for it to ride perfectly centered on one of the wheels, and front of center on the other.

(4) Seeing as the camber of the top wheel is typically used for adjustment, that will be the wheel where the band rides centered.

(5) And so now we see the band will always ride front of center on the bottom wheel.

The degree to which it will ride front of center on the bottom wheel depends on how much tension one is applying, the welding of the band (no matter what, all bands will be minutely longer front or back due to the way they are manufactured), and where the force is being applied on the wheels (the bands don't stretch in a perfectly even manner, due to the fact that they are not in contact with the tire across their entire width).

So there is nothing peculiar about your saw.

Hope that helps.

[glenn bradley]

Once they are in alignment on both sides of the arbors, what some folks call "coplaner", blades of any width should run on the center of both wheels, though the wheel tilt may have to be set differently.

Totally agree with this. When I took the time to do this my larger machine smoothed out so much I can hardly tell it is running. I didn't even know it wasn't running smooth until I went coplaner and this is not what I was aligning the saw for. Like you I wanted better tracking.

Like John, I now change blades widths with impunity. The only thing I adjust is tension and the guides to conform to the blade width/weight. Having learned from this experience, the same conditions now hold true for my 17" machine, dad's 17" machine, dad's 14" machine and even my little 1970's 10" machine.