Bandsaw Tune-Up

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Hey!

After my assembly frustrations (chronicled here), I've decided to give my Delta 28-276 Bandsaw a chance. After all, I've got 90 days to return it to Lowes if I'm not completely satisfied.

So, while I wait for a replacement stand top, I've decided to tune up everything else I can. I've read Mark Duginske's "The New Complete Guide to the Band Saw" from cover to cover. It was worth every penny and then some!

The first thing I've done is measured the runout on the wheels, tires, wheel pulley, and motor pulley to see how out of true they were. Here are my findings:

Upper Wheel Circumferential Run-Out: 0.003"
Upper Wheel Lateral Run-Out: 0.007"
Upper Tire Circumferential Run-Out: 0.019"
Lower Wheel Circumferential Run-Out: 0.011"
Lower Wheel Lateral Run-Out: 0.013"
Lower Tire Circumferential Run-Out: 0.005"
Wheel Pulley Circumferential Run-Out: 0.006"
Wheel Pulley Lateral Run-Out: 0.018"
Motor Pulley Circumferential Run-Out: 0.004"
Motor Pulley Lateral Run-Out: 0.005"

Some of that seems a bit excessive to me. What do you all think?

Paul

[Sean Troy]

Is that with or without a tensioned blade mounted?

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Is that with or without a tensioned blade mounted?

Everything except the tire run-out was with a 1/4" blade mounted and tensioned per the tension gauge.

I could redo the tire test and measure the blade as it passes over the tire if need be. Though I'm not sure if that would be accurate.

Paul

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Well, I took the tire off the top wheel and found that the top wheel has less than 0.001" (not a typo) of circumferential run-out, so the tire is definitely at fault here.

Would urethane tires fix this problem?

Should I sand the existing tires like I saw David Marks do on Wood Works? BTW, what does this do to the crown?

Paul

[Thomas Williams]

If you sand the tires per David Marks, you should be sanding in a crown. If I recall correctly he used a 5 gal bucket to get the circumference. I know you don't want to do this, but maybe a call to Delta for replacement tires.

[Phil Thien]

Well, I took the tire off the top wheel and found that the top wheel has less than 0.001" (not a typo) of circumferential run-out, so the tire is definitely at fault here.

Would urethane tires fix this problem?

Should I sand the existing tires like I saw David Marks do on Wood Works? BTW, what does this do to the crown?

Paul

Absolutely sand the tires like David Marks did. I believe the sander jig he uses has the crown shaped into it, so the crown on the tire isn't eliminated by sanding.

But you can end-up with .001 or less of run-out, which will substantially reduce blade jumping and all but eliminate vibration.

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Know where I can find info on the sanding jig? It'd sure be easier than starting from scratch.

I took the tire off the bottom wheel as well. It too has less than 0.001" of runout.

If urethane tires would solve this problem, I could forego the sanding altogether.

Ya know... tuning tools can be kind of fun.

Paul

[Phil Thien]

Know where I can find info on the sanding jig? It'd sure be easier than starting from scratch.

I took the tire off the bottom wheel as well. It too has less than 0.001" of runout.

If urethane tires would solve this problem, I could forego the sanding altogether.

Ya know... tuning tools can be kind of fun.

Paul

I hear ya. My little Inca 9" bandsaw (all aluminum) passes the nickel test (start/run/stop, nickel still standing on edge).

Unfortunately for you (for fortunate for me), the Inca tires don't have a crown. I was able to sand them using a piece of wood with some self-adhestive sandpaper applied. I was also lucky in that the enclosure had some machining which allowed me to easily wedge my sanding block in there and then change the angle ever so slightly as I was working. So I didn't need a more elaborate jig like Marks. Making a jig can't be too hard, though.

BTW, it shoulda been difficult to remove those tires. They're supposed to be real tight. If not, then tend to flap at the top of the bottom wheel and bottom of the top wheel.

Finally, it seems rubber tires are making somewhat of a comback.

Being frugal, I'd try to get what I already have working before buying new tires.

[Jared Cuneo]

Paul, I have this same saw, and I too had a lot of problems with it, including a chunk of one wheel flying off!

No way would this thing pass the nickel test!

HOWEVER......I've adjusted it for tracking, added a nice fence and a Timber wolf blade, and I can resaw stock all day long with less than .01 across 6 inches.

That may horrify some, but one swipe through the planer and I have perfect pieces.

Try not to get caught up in the numbers game. If the saw produces good square cuts, then numbers don't mean a whole lot. In the end, we're working with wood here, not machining nuclear reactor parts.

JC

[Vic Damone]

Before you sand the tires try reinstalling them. There is a great how to on this at the Fine Woodworking site. The tire could be bunched up. Measure the thickness of the tire off the wheel, if it's a uniform thickness then it must be the installation.

Vic

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Try not to get caught up in the numbers game. If the saw produces good square cuts, then numbers don't mean a whole lot. In the end, we're working with wood here, not machining nuclear reactor parts.

JC

I'm trying not to get caught up in the numbers. But it's real hard. LOL

I can actually see the blade go back and forth and left and right, so I thought posting the numbers would be helpful in determining the problem.

Before you sand the tires try reinstalling them. There is a great how to on this at the Fine Woodworking site. The tire could be bunched up. Measure the thickness of the tire off the wheel, if it's a uniform thickness then it must be the installation.

Vic

When I reinstalled the tires, I ran a screwdriver between the wheel and tire and went round and round to help keep them from bunching up. I'm not sure where I picked that up... could have been a magazine article.

I didn't think to measure the thickness of the tires when they were off the wheels. Since the wheels don't seem to have a problem, and the tires don't appear to be bunched up, it's got to be a hump in the tires.

BTW, it shoulda been difficult to remove those tires. They're supposed to be real tight. If not, then tend to flap at the top of the bottom wheel and bottom of the top wheel.

They came off and went back on without much trouble. They certainly weren't "hard" to take off or put back on, and I wouldn't call them "real tight".

I think I'm going to order some urethane tires. But before I do...

Upper Wheel Lateral Run-Out: 0.007"
Lower Wheel Lateral Run-Out: 0.013"

Would that cause the blade to move back and forth, or is that more attributable to the tires? I'm guessing it's more attributable to the tires, because I can watch the blade move back and forth on the tire at the high spot. The high spot doesn't seem to be consistent across the width of the tire, thus causing both back and forth and side to side blade wobble.

Thanks for the info!

Paul

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Just a quick update...

I ordered a set of urethane tires from Rockler. Amazingly, they fixed a good amount of the shaking and practically every last bit of blade wavering. The blade no longer moves back and forth or left and right! They were worth every last penny!

I also installed a set of Cool Blocks and am very happy with them.

Finally, I installed a 1/2" Woodslicer blade and ground the back of it. I ran some 3/4" pine through and I really like this blade!

So the only thing left to tune up are the pulleys. The motor pulley is fine, but the wheel pulley is visibly wobbly. Once that's taken care of, I think that should take care of most of the shaking.

So far so good!

Paul