Bandsaw Vibrations

[Fred Woodward]

I have a MM 16 that has developed some pretty serious vibrations when running and need some help in troubleshooting the cause. The saw is less than a year old and hasn't been abused. The saw has not been run in the last 6 months; I've been pre-occupied with handling my dad's estate since his passing in May. Recently decided it was time I got back to doing some working in my shop and when I fired up the bandsaw the vibration was there.
The blade is a 1" Trimaster and tension was let off completely while the saw was idle for so long. I'm wondering if the belt could have taken a set in that period of time. Wheels are tight with no play; saw blade runs true. The vibration can be heard and seen in the frame of the saw; the saw looks to vibrate maybe 1/8" and certainly cannot pass a coin test. When the power is shut off and the saw is coasting down, the vibration goes away and the saw is butter smooth. Suggestions before I start tearing down the saw?
I did talk to Sam at MM and he suggested that it could be the belt and it could possibly go away with a little bit of running.
If it does turn out to be the belt, have any other MM 16 owners out there tried the link belts on this saw and how well did they work.

[Brian Hale]

I know it's a pain but take the blade off and run the saw for 20 minutes or so and see if it goes away.

Brian

[Fred Woodward]

Thanks Brian, that's simple enough to do.

[David Duke]

I would think it is the belt also, it probably developed a "memory" from months of sitting on the pulleys in the same spot. Like Brian said remove the blade and run the saw for awhile maybe the belt will loosen up.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Could be the belts. They are often a cause of vibration.
or

the wheels may have a compression set in the tires (MM's instructions say to release tension on the blade because of this)
or

A pulley's set screw might be loose (this could be serious if left un-fixed 'cause it can ruin the shaft)

Check 'em all it might more than one thing

[Ray Moser]

My first suspect would also be the belt. Some years ago my jointer started to vibrate so much that it practically danced across the floor. A new belt smoothed things right out.