Bandsaw BS400 problems

[paulm]

Apologies if it's grannies and eggs, but you shouldn't be having the problem of the blade moving much on the top wheel when you put the power on, you should be turning the top wheel slowly by hand (after tensioning the blade) and adjusting the tracking knob as soon as you get the first slight bit of unwanted movement of the blade on the wheel. Only after the blade stays in position when hand turning and you lock the adjustment off in that position, should you switch on.

The reason for this is that the tracking is very sensitive and you may need very small adjustments to get it right, you can't really do that properly except slowly and by hand. It's certainly the case on my startrite bandsaw and others I have used.

But if you are still having problems with excess noise and vibrations also it does maybe point to bearing or other mechanical problems, but it's not clear yet that there aren't any operator issues contributing or causing problems. Apologies if you're experienced and know all this stuff though

Cheers, Paul

 

[AJB Temple]

The Alex Snodgrass method is excellent I found. It makes me wonder if your bandsaw has a more fundamental fault such as a warped / out of true wheel. The uses you describe make me think of a wobbly bicycle wheel. If it is shifting the blade off that far and that quickly it may be worth seeing if the top wheel, minus blade, runs true at all.

 

[Alexam]

Thanks James,

It's certainly that top wheel and the tracking, as Paul has also mentioned. When I say turning the top wheel by hand, I mean turning it 6-10 times as quickly as you can whilst looking at the blade. If you do that, you should see the blade move forward or back on the wheel, which means that the tracking knob needs adjusting. If you dont adjust that further, the blade will undoubtedly move a great deal, but power should not be applied if you see movement when hand turning.

As Chas has indicated, it may be something to do with the top wheel mounting if you cannot adjust sufficiently to keep the blade on the wheel when hand turning a lot. I initially did not fully understand how critical that tracking knob was but the larger blades may be more diffucult and I have only used a 1/2" a couple of times. Do you have a smaller blade that you could concentrate on just whilst you try the tuning again?

I feel that hand spinning and track adjustment are the link to this problem and there is no point in turning on the power if you cannot centre the blade reasonably well this way. Even when hand turning 'seems' to be OK and you have locked off the tracking knob and tried the power on, you still need to switch off again, open up and check that the blade has not moved. If it has, you need a tiny adjustment on the tracking again and repeat the process.

Only then do you close in the guides and thrust bearings, which should not have been moved from being clear whilst the blade adjustment was being carried out.

Unfortunately there is no short cut to tuning correctly and initially many people dont take the care that's needed. Thats why the Alex Snodgrass video was so good and you have the link to that again from blackrod.

Let me know if any of this helps.

Malcolm

 

[Jmac80]

Apologies if it's grannies and eggs, but you shouldn't be having the problem of the blade moving much on the top wheel when you put the power on, you should be turning the top wheel slowly by hand (after tensioning the blade) and adjusting the tracking knob as soon as you get the first slight bit of unwanted movement of the blade on the wheel. Only after the blade stays in position when hand turning and you lock the adjustment off in that position, should you switch on.

The reason for this is that the tracking is very sensitive and you may need very small adjustments to get it right, you can't really do that properly except slowly and by hand. It's certainly the case on my startrite bandsaw and others I have used.

But if you are still having problems with excess noise and vibrations also it does maybe point to bearing or other mechanical problems, but it's not clear yet that there aren't any operator issues contributing or causing problems. Apologies if you're experienced and know all this stuff though

Cheers, Paul

Hi Paul
I do turn it slowly by hand while making small adjustments, as stated above, but as soon as I turn on power the blade will shoot off to either left or right side of the wheel. No matter how small an adjustment is made there is no sweet spot it's either mostly left or mostly right side of the wheel, no middle (after powering it up)

 

[John15]

Hi James,

If your bandsaw is still under warranty, it may be best to contact Record Power.

John

 

[woodpig]

It does sound like RP need to send someone out to look at it doesn't it.

 

[Alexam]

What a shame that there is no friendly local member to lend a hand who knows about bandsaws.

 

[Wizard9999]

What a shame that there is no friendly local member to lend a hand who knows about bandsaws.

Just read this thread top to bottom and to be honest it does sound like the OP has a pretty good grip of what he needs to be doing. Another vote for getting somebody from RP to make the trek north.

I also have a BS400 and whilst not having the other issues I too seem to need to put a lot more tension on than the indicator suggests.

Terry.

 

[custard]

I also have a BS400 and whilst not having the other issues I too seem to need to put a lot more tension on than the indicator suggests.

Hello Terry, I've got a Starrett Band Saw Tension Gauge

http://www.starrett.com/saws/saws-hand- ... nsion-gage

If you want to borrow it to calibrate the built in tension gauge on your machine you're welcome, although it's been my experience that a sharp blade on a well set-up machine will cut just fine across a huge range of tensions.

 

[CHJ]

I assume when delivered there was a blade of some description fitted to check wheel alignment, was this running true and tracking correctly?

If so can you remember the course of events immediately prior to you having this new blade tracking problems.

 

[woodpig]

He's having trouble with more than one blade.

2 different blades a 1/2" and a 3/4" both give me the same results.

 

[CHJ]

He's having trouble with more than one blade.

2 different blades a 1/2" and a 3/4" both give me the same results.

That's not disputed, what has not been established is what is causing it, for that we need to know a few base alignment facts about the machine.

I can't remember any statement that indicated or established if the machine as received was running the supplied blade correctly.

If the lower door does not close correctly and actuate the switch, is it just the door/switch adjustment or has the frame been twisted, was it brand new out of original shipping boxes or has it been man handled as a display model at some point.

 

[Jmac80]

Hi
It was supplied with a blade and that came straight off as i had new decent ones to put on it.
There has been a problem with tensioning it from day 1 it has always required to be tensioned to the max to get it acceptable.
The blade moving quickly left to right of the wheel is progressively getting worse, slowly but surely.
Thanks

 

[Jmac80]

PS i sent record a support ticket yesterday but have had no reply yet, anyone know who is the best person to speak to at record?
It's probably easier getting them to read this thread rather than try to explain it all to them.

Thanks

 

[CHJ]

Hi
It was supplied with a blade and that came straight off as i had new decent ones to put on it.
There has been a problem with tensioning it from day 1 it has always required to be tensioned to the max to get it acceptable.
The blade moving quickly left to right of the wheel is progressively getting worse, slowly but surely.
Thanks

Did you run it at all with the supplied and fitted blade?

 

[Jmac80]

Hi
It was supplied with a blade and that came straight off as i had new decent ones to put on it.
There has been a problem with tensioning it from day 1 it has always required to be tensioned to the max to get it acceptable.
The blade moving quickly left to right of the wheel is progressively getting worse, slowly but surely.
Thanks

Did you run it at all with the supplied and fitted blade?

negative i put straight on a tuffsaw blade.
Lots of people say the blade it comes with chuck it, it's rubbish and get a tuffsaws blade.

 

[Rhossydd]

I would test it with the supplied blade before RP ask you to.

 

[CHJ]

Hi
It was supplied with a blade and that came straight off as i had new decent ones to put on it.
There has been a problem with tensioning it from day 1 it has always required to be tensioned to the max to get it acceptable.
The blade moving quickly left to right of the wheel is progressively getting worse, slowly but surely.
Thanks

Did you run it at all with the supplied and fitted blade?

negative i put straight on a tuffsaw blade.
Lots of people say the blade it comes with chuck it, it's rubbish and get a tuffsaws blade.

Then we don't know if the machine was set up correctly as received.

Changing blade should not affect basic machine setup but we don't have a known standard to start from.

 

[Jmac80]

This is my reply from Record:

Thank you for contacting us.
apologies for the issues you are experiencing with your machine. I have looked on our system and can see that we did replace the guides earlier in the year, however the other issues we don't have a record of. I think to start I will send you one of our blades so you can see if this rectifies the issue with the tension, with regards to the tracking of this it may over lap on the bottom wheel this is not unusual or a fault especially if a wide say 1" blade. To help with the blade slipping on the wheels have you tried roughing the tyres up slightly if you take some Henry cloth or something like this and just run it around the tyres this may help the blade grip on the wheels.
I will get the replacement blade on its way, please let me know how you get on.

Many thanks

So i guess I'll do whatever he suggests until we come to a conclusion.

Cheers