Axminster bandsaw woes

[RogerS]

The belt on my trusty Axminster AWSBS finally gave up the ghost after about 15 years service.

I've got a replacement from Axminster but have two questions. The pulley wheels are grooved and yet the belt is notched. Kind of expected a grooved belt but what do I know !




But the real $64000 question is how on earth do you get it over that bottom wheel ? There's a circlip - now removed - thought it would just pull off. There are those three Philips/Pozidrive bolts. Which are seized solid. I could undo the four bolts on the other side of the panel that hold the shaft in place but I'm told that if I do that ....well, not a good idea.

Any suggestions ?

 

[Old.bodger]

Hi RogerS

Most certainly the wrong belt, and whilst I was certain I have just been to check mine, you need a ‘polyvee’ belt.

If no one comes along with the correct procedure to get the bottom pulley off, I will take mine apart tomorrow and work it out for you.

I will check back later.

Jim

 

[Rorschach]

The belt should have matching grooves for the pulley, if it doesn't you have the wrong belt.

The wheel does come off, it can be a bit tight. Mine doesn't have those screws so I can't say if they need to be removed or not.

 

[sunnybob]

DO NOT TOUCH THE WHEEL MOUNTING :shock:
The motor shaft is in a slotted hole. loosen the motor and slide it forwards. If it doesnt go, MAKE IT, by whatever means necessary.
I would say you have the wrong belt, but I have been known to be wrong :roll:
Take the old belt to any motor factors, they will have a million belts and a tool for measuring exactly which one you need.
I had to replace my axminster belt within the first 6 months.

 

[Rorschach]

I had to replace my axminster belt within the first 6 months.

My original belt didn't last long either. I measured carefully and found a suitable belt for a fraction of the cost, going strong for about 8 years now I think. I wrote down the code inside the door of the bandsaw so I know what to buy, when belts break the writing has usually long since worn off the belt itself :lol:

 

[sunnybob]

Belts and bearings are never actually made by the machine manufacturer. Theyre bought in at the cheapest possible price.
The wheel bearings went on my axminster bandsaw in a matter of weeks. I went to the local bearing shop and he said "cheap chinese or good japanese?"
I said "whats the price difference"
he said "1 euro per bearing" :roll:

My japanese bearings have been going strong for at least three years now :lol: =D>
The same shop supplied the new belt. They have a sliding tool with two half circle pulleys. Put the old belt on, pull the bottom pulley till its tight, and read the size off the scale.
Or, I could spend a while on the blocklayer site working out the theoretical size (hammer)
On this same machine, the belt jockey wheel bearings are now rattling. Another fiver gone.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

https://www.solenttools.co.uk/

Wrong Belt.
Been there, done that. axminster tools were 1 step away from being useless.
The above place got me the right belt, with in a few days.

The Drive wheel should pull off, but it may be seized. I was able to warm mine. Using a copper block and small blow torch and firm hand pressure.
But I have resorted to a small DIY puller.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

https://www.solenttools.co.uk/catalogse ... ter+AWSBS+

 

[RogerS]

Hi RogerS

Most certainly the wrong belt, and whilst I was certain I have just been to check mine, you need a ‘polyvee’ belt.

If no one comes along with the correct procedure to get the bottom pulley off, I will take mine apart tomorrow and work it out for you.

I will check back later.

Jim

Many thanks, Jim. How old is yours, as matter of interest ?

 

[RogerS]

DO NOT TOUCH THE WHEEL MOUNTING :shock:
The motor shaft is in a slotted hole. loosen the motor and slide it forwards. If it doesnt go, MAKE IT, by whatever means necessary.
I would say you have the wrong belt, but I have been known to be wrong :roll:
Take the old belt to any motor factors, they will have a million belts and a tool for measuring exactly which one you need.
I had to replace my axminster belt within the first 6 months.

There is a slot to adjust and tighten the belt by moving the motor. That is not the problem. It is how you get the belt over the bottom wheel.

 

[RogerS]

https://www.solenttools.co.uk/

Wrong Belt.
Been there, done that. axminster tools were 1 step away from being useless.
The above place got me the right belt, with in a few days.

The Drive wheel should pull off, but it may be seized. I was able to warm mine. Using a copper block and small blow torch and firm hand pressure.
But I have resorted to a small DIY puller.

How does the copper block work ? Not heard of that. The only warming device I have is either a plumbers blowtorch or a hot air gun.

 

[Eric The Viking]

It's a bit concerning that the wheel appears to be stuck on the shaft. PlusGas or (second best) WD40? The bearing(s) should just slide off the shaft.

I got my replacement belt from a bearing company (they often sell both bearings and bolts). It wasn't expensive.

 

[RogerS]

Looking at the picture, there appears to be no circlip on the bottom wheel. Do assume you removed it? If not it's a bit concerning that the wheel appears to be stuck on the shaft.

Mine is SIP, not Axy, but the bottom wheel comes off very easily (once you remove the circlip), and there is a separate tensioner, so it's easy to put the belt on the bottom wheel when it's off the machine, then fit it to the motor pulley, then tension it. I assume in your case the motor moves (like the alternator on a car).

I got my replacement belt from a bearing company (they often sell both bearings and bolts). It wasn't expensive.

I removed it. So at least it sounds as if that's the way it's supposed to happen.

 

[sunnybob]

DO NOT TOUCH THE WHEEL MOUNTING :shock:
The motor shaft is in a slotted hole. loosen the motor and slide it forwards. If it doesnt go, MAKE IT, by whatever means necessary.
I would say you have the wrong belt, but I have been known to be wrong :roll:
Take the old belt to any motor factors, they will have a million belts and a tool for measuring exactly which one you need.
I had to replace my axminster belt within the first 6 months.

There is a slot to adjust and tighten the belt by moving the motor. That is not the problem. It is how you get the belt over the bottom wheel.

The slot is the adjustment. You move the motor as close as possible to the wheel and the belt goes on. You then move the motor back and tighten it once the belt is under very slight tension. Why should you have to remove a pulley to fit a belt?

 

[RogerS]

Suggest you look at the photo again, Bob, and tell me just how you'd propose to get that tiny belt over that very large bandsaw wheel.

 

[sunnybob]

You have a point. I was focussing on the word "pulley" which was used at the start of the thread rather than the wheel. Tunnel vision is a curse.
Mine is replaced without touching the wheel, but there is a long travel jockey wheel to take up the slack.
It seems crazy to have to remove the wheel but if that is the correct size of belt then there is no alternative.
What does the manual say? Almost all axminster manuals are online.

Hub pullers are available very cheaply at any car parts or big diy store. I dont think the phillips screws should need to be undone. On the two bandsaws I have owned, both sets of wheels have come off by removing the circlip.

 

[RogerS]

Wheel is now off. I found my original manual but there was nothing in it at all about how to replace the drive belt.

So I used my hot air gun. The bearing got left behind because of some rust on the shaft which will easily clean off.


Emailed Axminster to tell them they sent the wrong belt.

Time enough to get the vacuum cleaner out.

 

[Trevanion]

It's probably worth changing the bearings whilst you've got the wheel off for the sake of a couple of quid, those cheapo chinese bearings fail eventually and make a horrible noise.

I changed the wheel bearings in my Basato 3 for SKF 2RS bearings after the non-branded chinese ones became a bit too noisy and the difference in noise afterward was night and day, runs like a sewing machine rather than a chainsaw.

I get my bearings and belts from SimplyBearings, if you measure the tooth width of the old belt and the overall length I reckon you'd pick one up from there for a fraction of the price from a spare parts shop.

https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/Belts-Multi-Ribbed-Poly-V-Belts/c4601_4791/index.html

 

[Eric The Viking]

New bearing time*, definitely - cheap upgrade (do both wheels!).

Clean the shaft gently but thoroughly (Scotchbrite is good for this, then some fairly fine wet+dry), and grease it. It may have been zinc plated originally, but the wheel should be able to move freely along it, so it finds its own position when running - this will minimise wear on the bearings and improve cut quality/drift issues. So it needs to be clean and smooth, but still snug.

New bearings will almost certainly mean a small bit of tuning, but hopefully not much.

You might have difficulty removing the bearings from the top wheel - I have a technique involving a rawlanchor that works really nicely.

E.

*Mine came from Simply Bearings: there are lots of equivalence tables available and good prices. See also The Bearing Boys - there are a number of good suppliers out there. The existing bearing's size is written on the edge of the outer race, and you can usually type it directly into the search on these sites. DON'T get the high temperature bearing variant ("C3" suffix), as those are intended for the insides of engines (crankshafts and camshafts, etc.). They are sloppy at room temperature: bandsaw bearings shouldn't heat up. I bought SKF grease at the same time, for the shafts, etc.

 

[RogerS]

..... So it needs to be clean and smooth, but still snug.

...

That's exactly how my wife likes it :shock: