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Thread: New Laguna SUV not tracking

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
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    East San Francisco Bay CA.
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    206

    New Laguna SUV not tracking

    Hi All,

    I have a one month old LT14-SUV bandsaw from Laguna. I am trying to get the 1" wide Laguna Resaw King blade to track. When I first got the saw I had this blade installed and it worked perfectly. I took the blade off to put a 1/2 inch on, changed my mind, but for the life of me I cannot get the 1" back on the saw. IN fact, at first I thought I had it on correctly, adjusted the guides etc, turned it on, and I started getting all kinds of black bits of rubber falling out of the upper wheel. I stopped it and found the blade digging into the tire - not real bad, but not something I am really thrilled about. So I figured what the hell, I must have made a mistake, so I went about trying to get it tracking again, and for the life of me I cannot get it to track. It is almost immediately moving off the back of the tire and impacting the frame of the saw on the left side of the upper wheel. No matter what I do with tension or the tracking knob this condition persists. I am trying to get to Laguna Tech Support, but I keep missing the guy. Anyone have any ideas? I read one thread on line where this had happened to one other person and it took some surgery to rectify. I am not a bandsaw neophyte - I owned a Jet 14" for years. I at least somewhat grasp the principles and I have to believe I am doing things correctly. (I hate it when you start doubting yourself with machinery.)

    Anyway - anyone experience anything similar? I am batting a goose egg here - I broke the Carter arm on my Jet earlier this week. I am out of bandsaws to screw up! Any help would be most appreciated.

    Joe

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Bloomington, IL
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    6,009
    Its the tracking adjustment and you move it in very very small increments. Move the wheels by hand slowly and you will see it move. Adjust till it does not.
    Glad its my shop I am responsible for - I only have to make me happy.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Tampa Bay, FL
    Posts
    3,895
    I feel your pain regarding getting someone from Laguna customer support on the phone. I've also been trying all day.

    That being said, I never had any issues with getting my Resaw King to track on my 14SUV. But I agree with Mike's advice that small adjustments are necessary. And you can spin the wheel by hand to see if it is tracking before you do it under power, which should detect any large problems.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  4. #4
    Forgive my ignorance but is a 1.0" a recommended width for a 14-inch bandsaw? That's a pretty wide blade, even for bigger industrial saws.

    Erik

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    East San Francisco Bay CA.
    Posts
    206
    Hey Folks,

    Thanks for the responses. I got it working. The upper wheel would not move with the tracking adjustment knob. It would move toward me, but not back towards the back of the saw. I thought it was bottomed out and there was something wrong, but it turned out it was just stuck in a forward position. I tapped it with a mallet, gently, and the whole wheel slid back into the correct space, and I was able then to adjust the tracking. Phew. If it happens again I will try and get Laguna involved. They did actually call me back, but it was after I had fixed it. He said it might have gotten hung up (. Now I have to go and sand the tires smooth again. But at least I have one working bandsaw now. I am on vacation and wasn't going to be a happy camper without my brand new bandsaw. Thanks for trying to help all.

  6. #6
    A 1" blade on a 14" bandsaw? No wonder it won't track, too much blade for the saw. On a 14" Delta I used a 3/4" blade back in the day.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    WNY
    Posts
    9,647
    I doubt that saw can adequately tension a 1" blade, even if Laguna says it can, and regardless of whether or not you can get it to track straight. A 3/4" blade is probably the upper end of what that saw can handle, and I think you'd get better performance with that over a 1" one.

    John

  8. #8
    I disagree with the others - you shouldn't have trouble tracking a 1" blade on it. I have a 1" Resaw King on my LT14SE, and it tensions and tracks without any problems. That said, I got equally good results with narrower blades.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    WNY
    Posts
    9,647
    Tracking and tension are two different things. The OP said he could track the 1" blade OK - once he got the tracking yoke unstuck. But I'll bet he and you can't put enough tension on it to take full advantage of its capabilities. With a 3/4" blade he should be able to, and that would result in the blade cutting straighter and faster. You may be able to get enough tension on it to use it, but not enough to take full advantage of it. 30K psi on a 1" blade takes a pretty beefy saw - I don't know of any 14" saws that can do it though maybe they are out there.

    John

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    So Cal
    Posts
    3,739
    It's hard to believe it but the Rk blade is a very unique critter.It really doesn't take very much to pull one tight and gets good cuts when it's sharp.
    I just picked one up last week along with a Woodmaster Ct and it's a step above.The Woodmaster cuts faster but the Rk surface just might be glue ready depending on the wood.
    Check out these specs

    Sorry Joe if I am Hijacking your thread.

    Aj
    Attached Images Attached Images

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    East San Francisco Bay CA.
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    206
    No sweat Andrew.

    I can tell you that the yoke on this saw is much beefier than the flimsy junk on the Jet 14" saw I have, and Jet claims a 3/4 " blade is ok on that saw. The difference is significant. The SUV saw is made as a resaw machine, it has a 3 hp motor and a very heavy set of wheels, and by all tests I can certainly put more than the recommended amount of tension on that blade. Using the "deflect" rule about 6" below the wheel I only get a 1/4" of deflection on the blade, and I have resawn a block of purple heart that was 12" think effortlessly with that blade at that tension. It works beautifully. I appreciate ate the idea guys, but the 1" RK blade works fine.

    Joe

  12. #12
    Joe, are the tires flat or crowned?

    Erik

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    WNY
    Posts
    9,647
    I've never used the RK, but it's hard to imagine it can cut smoother than the Woodmaster CT. No trickery, this is not a one off picture. It cuts like this slice after slice:



    John

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    So Cal
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    3,739
    Now that's a nice Cut John,I wouldn't change a thing with your setup.You got that saw dialed in nice!

    Aj

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    LA & SC neither one is Cali
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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe Beaulieu View Post
    No sweat Andrew.

    I can tell you that the yoke on this saw is much beefier than the flimsy junk on the Jet 14" saw I have, and Jet claims a 3/4 " blade is ok on that saw. The difference is significant. The SUV saw is made as a resaw machine, it has a 3 hp motor and a very heavy set of wheels, and by all tests I can certainly put more than the recommended amount of tension on that blade. Using the "deflect" rule about 6" below the wheel I only get a 1/4" of deflection on the blade, and I have resawn a block of purple heart that was 12" think effortlessly with that blade at that tension. It works beautifully. I appreciate ate the idea guys, but the 1" RK blade works fine.

    Joe
    While the SUV is the second beefiest 14" saw I have every played with I think if you put a strain gauge on the blade you will see it maxes out about 20K psi on a 1" RK. The one I set up for a guy near me was maxed out at about 26K psi with a 3/4" RK. So while at 20K it will cut well as it dulls the cut quality will drop, while this is true with all blades you will be able to get high quality cuts for longer with the 3/4" RK since you can get higher tension on it (more into the sweet spot for the blade 25-30K). So I would suggest when you have exhasted the 1" (will take a while since it can be resharpened several times) you replace it with a 3/4" RK and it will last longer. I understand the mantra is using the widest blade possible but that is only to the extent it can be tensioned where it needs to be. The 1" at lower tension will give basically the same cut as the 3/4" at a more optimum tension but it won't do it as long. My point being you won't give up any cut quality with the 3/4" and it will last longer between sharpenings. Note the 1" would give slightly better cut quality over a 3/4" if they are both tensioned the same with optimum (IME) being about 27K to 30K psi.

    To Erik, all the Laguna Asian saws have crowned wheels, the SUV is Asian.
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

    Deep thought for the day:

    Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.

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