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Thread: sources for bandsaw replacement tires

  1. #1
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    sources for bandsaw replacement tires

    I am looking for a source for replacement tires for a walker-turner 16 inch bandsaw. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

  2. #2
    Trust me on this one:

    Contact the guy on Ebay who makes & sells "Blue Max" tires. The quality of these USA-made tires is excellent, and he can make any custom size you need, with no surcharge. He made me some for my 20 7/8" Grizzly wheels, for $85, and I had them in about 4 days. He even includes a little wooden dingus to help install them.

    They're nice & thick, and they don't attract dust like some other urethane formulas.

    -------------

    BTW, this company also evidently has a machine shop, as they make & sell hard-to-find replacement parts for certain vintage machines. So, he might be a good source for any future needs with that Walker Turner. Those are cool looking machines, BTW, and nice resaw height for a 16" wheel. Nice score !
    Last edited by Allan Speers; 07-05-2015 at 5:01 PM.

  3. #3
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    Allan thanks very much for your reply to my post. So if I just go on ebay and search bandsaw tires I should find this blue max guy. Thanks also for the VFD info. I have been reading about VFD for a while but had no idea what they cost. I will definitely check out my motor to see if it is a candidate for rebuild or not.

  4. #4
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    When I had my 16 " WT. I got my rubber tire from woodworkerstoolworks.com.
    Great guys and sell you the right tires that you need.

  5. #5
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    Allan, no offense but didn't you just post a thread a couple months ago about looking for tires? You're happy with what you got which is great, but to say "trust me on this" when you have used one type is a bit of a stretch.

    I'm in the same category as you though, I've just used stock and one manufacturers tires. I got mine from sulphurgrove and am happy with them, excellent CS and quick shipping too.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Day View Post
    Allan, no offense but didn't you just post a thread a couple months ago about looking for tires? You're happy with what you got which is great, but to say "trust me on this" when you have used one type is a bit of a stretch. .

    I haven't used one type. That recent post was only for my new 21" machine. (Which I've been using virtually every day for about 3 weeks now.) I've had 14" bandsaws for over 30 years. I also have 2 friends who are serious woodworkers and have used their machines. Seen a lot of bandsaw tires in my day, rubber, black urethane, orange, and now blue. The blue is clearly the best formula. It's thick, it's firm, it tracks really well with varied thickness blades, and it doesn't attract sawdust like the orange ones do (and the black ones are horrendous.)

    Plus, that company makes custom sizes.

    Plus, you know, made in the USA.
    Last edited by Allan Speers; 07-05-2015 at 9:05 PM.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Allan Speers View Post
    I haven't used one type. I've had 14" bandsaws for over 30 years.
    The OP is specifically asking for advise on a 16" Walker Turner. And exactly how many Walker Turners do you own Allen? How many have you rebuild and retired?

    Me? Own 3, two 14" and a 16" and I've rebuilt a total of 5 including new 7 sets of tires and crowning truing which is a vital step if you want top performance. Allen, you are aware the WT uses a flat rim with no lip and the tires need to be glued unlike the Delta (and variants) which use a pre-crowned rim with a lip to retain the tire?

    Quote Originally Posted by Allan Speers View Post
    The blue is clearly the best formula.
    As compared to what? Having tired several different brands of urethane which all failed (I'm a slow learner) I finally listened to the experts and went back to the rubber tires from woodworkerstoolworks.com which are a full 3/8" thick to allow proper crowning. Mike - call Bobby and talk to him, he's an expert in his field and a will be more than happy to explain the pros and cons.

    Mike

  8. #8
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    walker turner cont.

    Quote Originally Posted by M Toupin View Post
    The OP is specifically asking for advise on a 16" Walker Turner. And exactly how many Walker Turners do you own Allen? How many have you rebuild and retired?

    Me? Own 3, two 14" and a 16" and I've rebuilt a total of 5 including new 7 sets of tires and crowning truing which is a vital step if you want top performance. Allen, you are aware the WT uses a flat rim with no lip and the tires need to be glued unlike the Delta (and variants) which use a pre-crowned rim with a lip to retain the tire?



    As compared to what? Having tired several different brands of urethane which all failed (I'm a slow learner) I finally listened to the experts and went back to the rubber tires from woodworkerstoolworks.com which are a full 3/8" thick to allow proper crowning. Mike - call Bobby and talk to him, he's an expert in his field and a will be more than happy to explain the pros and cons.

    Mike
    I did notice the flat wheel when I looked at the saw. So these rubber tires have to be glued? how does one crown a bandsaw wheel? Do the urethane tires already have the crown moulded in? I did look up the"Blue Max" tires and they have a model for the walker turner. Just curious how do you like the bandsaws once you are done?

  9. #9
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    17 years ago when I re-built my 16 inch WT band saw I sent the wheels to Woodworkers Tool Works had them put on the Vulcanized Band saw Tires. They are still in good shape. I don't use that band saw that often so maybe a factor in longevity . I don't remember the cost now but that's probably a moot point 17 years later. They crowned the tires and balanced the wheels also.

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    Last edited by Richard McComas; 07-06-2015 at 12:37 AM.
    Rich
    ALASKANS FOR GLOBAL WARMING

    Eagle River Alaska

  10. #10
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    Bigger Industrial bandsaws don't have crowned tires. They're flat.. The blade actually hangs off the end of the rim.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by M Toupin View Post
    .....Allen, you are aware the WT uses a flat rim with no lip and the tires need to be glued unlike the Delta (and variants) which use a pre-crowned rim with a lip to retain the tire?

    I did not know that, so yes you win.

    In my defense, the OP was specifically asking about replacement tires, not a vulcanizing service.

    For future reference, are you saying that one can GLUE ON rubber tires and then crown them, the same as with vulcanized tires?

  12. #12
    I'd give Iturra Design (904-642-2802) a call and see what Louis recommends. He is a very well respected authority on bandsaws. Reading their catalog it sounds like Luxite EPDM tires would be the best.

    Quote Originally Posted by Allan Speers View Post
    The blue is clearly the best formula.
    FYI: Blue is not a formula, its a color of dye that is added to the urethane to make it look pretty.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Allan Speers View Post
    For future reference, are you saying that one can GLUE ON rubber tires and then crown them, the same as with vulcanized tires?
    Allen, no where did I say anything about a vulcanizing service. While vulcanizing works, until recently all tires were glued on flat rims (with a few exceptions). vulcanizing is a more recent process and it does work well but good old fashioned gluing works just fine too and its cheaper and easier to replace. Tires are wear items, if you keep a BS long enough you will be replacing them down the road just like any wear item ie blades, bearings, guide blocks etc.

    Ok, on to the question; There's several different types of wheel systems so let's keep this discussion to flat wheels with crowned tires. Notice I said crowned tires, not European flat wheels, not steel on steel, which is common on metal cutting BS. Each is different and has different geometry to insure proper tracking. And no, you can't make your crowned tire system BS into a flat wheel system. Well, yes you can, but you won't be happy.

    Yes, tires, depending on the mounting style, are glued on. WT, like most American industrial wood BS of the era, used a flat rimmed wheel and glued on tire. The tire is then trued and crowned to insure proper tracking and eliminating drift. You'll hear all sorts of noise about not needing to true and crown. Yes, you may be able to install some tires and run a blade but you won't get very good performance wich then leads to all sorts of grumbling about a "crappy saw". Truing also insures you're tire is completely round and concentric to the axle which is important also. It's really not that difficult but for some reason folks avoid it like it's nuclear waste. Yes you can slap a set of tires on and it'll go round (sorta) but any variation in the rim, excess glue under one spot etc cause a lump and out of round condition. That in turn leads to the blade is not running true and causing vibration etc.

    Case and point; I bought a 14" WT for $50 after the PO bought it and installed orange urethane tires and declared "the tracking is broke". There was nothing wrong with the BS except the "new" tires. He had 2 problems, first he didn't glue the tires on which caused them to come off and second he didn't crown and true the tires which caused all sorts of tracking problems. New rubber tires and a crowning job fixed it.

    Ok, so I said lets keep this discussion to flat wheels with crowned tires but I know many are saying "but my 14" Delta" works wonderfully with urethane tires!".
    So here's my 2 cents; I'm not a fan of urethane tires, they do work OK for the Delta 14" type wheel were the rim has a lip to retain the tire and there's a crown machined into it. The thin urethane conforms to the rim giving a crown. I said OK... The issue is there's not enough material left to TRUE the tire which can still cause vibration and a wandering blade (see above). I get it, you paid good money for new tires and now everything works better. Got it, you replaced crappy worn out tires... anything would have been and improvement. If you're happy with the new found performance all's good now. But you can take it to the next level crown and true and you'll see even more improvement.

    Mike - I hope you're still with me

    Yes, all tires on a flat rim need to be glued and see above on crowning.

    Do I like my WT's? I own 3 right now two 14" and a 16". IMO the WT's are one of the nicest saws in their class, light industrial.
    Sent you a PM

    Mike

  14. #14
    The only difference between blue urethane tires and orange urethane tires is the color.

    Urethane rubber colorants are just tints. There is nothing special about blue tint in terms of attracting or repelling sawdust.

    Various urethane rubbers have varying hardness characteristics. And harder urethane might be less likely to hold onto sawdust.

    But harder urethane is also less elastic and more slippery.

    What I'm getting at is, no free lunches. Any quality that makes a tire less likely to hold sawdust may make it less suitable as a bandsaw tire, over the long term.

    The fact that an outfit is saying their tires are blue and therefor less likely to hold sawdust makes me wonder if there is anything to their claim at all, as truly meaningful details (like Shore A hardness) are omitted.

    For the record, I've seen plenty of blue and orange urethane tires and have noticed not one bit of difference in the amount of sawdust on the tires.

  15. #15
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    Wow this one took off, so thanks for all the responses. Once again I have learned a great deal more about something that I had never considered before. From all the info I have decided to go with rubber tires and glue and crown them. Now I just need to figure out which rubber and how to crown them. Sounds like OWWM is the next forum to join. Thanks for all the help and discussion.

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