How do I get this old B&D band saw working again?

[LFS19]

Having realized thanks to this forum that a band saw would be a great aid to me considering I don't own a table saw, I decided to dig out an old one I have but haven't been using.
It's a Black & Decker table top that I got for free, so nothing particularly heavy duty or powerful.
Below are some pictures.

Anyway, I've never been able to set up right and so the blade always wandered off. Furthermore, as you might be able to see from the pictures the previous owner placed a piece of plastic behind one of the wheels to keep the blade from slipping off. If I recall when you removed this piece, the blade did indeed slip off the wheels after a few seconds and when any pressure was applied to the blade immediately.

I tried to use it briefly and when it became more hassle than it was worth, it went under the bench and has been living there for the past two years.
Today I got it out again, tried to power it on, and nothing...
It won't power up, so my initial plan to fix whatever was wrong with it has turned into trouble shooting why it won't even start.
I'm guessing my first job is to check the fuse, but I really don't understand why it's just not powering up when it has remained in the same place for two years.
Any ideas?
The wire connected to the motor at the back feels somewhat loose, but I don't know whether that's normal or not. You can push it back and forth an inch or so.

Many thanks,

Linden

 

[whatknot]

Yes first thing to check is the fuse, if unused for a period might there be a little damp crept in?

My first band saw was one of these three wheelers, different branding but basically the same saw, yours looks in much better condition than the one I bought for £20

I also found at first the blade would throw off very easily, I used large elastic bands for tyres as they were missing, with a little adjustment & trial & error, I found I got the blade to stay on, but by turning the wheels by hand, the top wheel being the critical one as is obvious, I first loosened off the guides and gave it a good clean and lube where needed

Although I have a better band saw now, I still use this one on occasion, its quite useful to have two sizes of blade to use at the same time on the different saws

 

[Ttrees]

Has anyone made a sander out of one of these style machines?

I have a similar machine that was skipped out, as its missing a table amongst other stuff.
The switch was wired incorrectly when inspected, one of the wires could have came loose
on your machine possibly.
Is there any safety button thats preventing the saw running until the doors are closed?
It could be worth looking at the brushes also.

Tom

 

[sunnybob]

If it worked when you put it away, then the fuse cant blow while the machine is disconnected. But if when you first plugged it back in there was any kind of jolt, spark, hum, then the fuse might have given up the ghost so youll need to look inside the plug anyway.
Spin the motor by hand (unplugged of course). sometimes a motor standing a long time will get rust particles bridging the gaps inside.
If the motor spins freely, check that the door safety switch actually connects when the door is closed.
If the wire that is loose goes into a box, take the cover off the box and check (UNPLUGGED of course).
After that, its down to more serious fault finding.

3 wheelers are notorious for throwing blades, so it might be worth considering just getting a newer one with 2 wheels that is known to work

 

[AndyT]

If it's like my older Burgess three wheeler then it won't have or need rubber tyres at all.
If the fuse is ok your next step would be to check for voltage at the motor terminals, but only if you know what you are doing working on mains electricity.
It probably only had a light duty switch. They can fail in various ways including the plastic inside going weak over the years. I had to replace the switch on mine.
Setup routine is as for any bandsaw, if you can get it running.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Have you checked the starting capacitor?

 

[whatknot]

I was being a little to general when I said these three wheelers are more or less the same

There is a significant difference in the Burgess style to such as mine which I believe is a Clarke version (no badges on it)

The Burgess style is driven by a belt around the lower wheel below the table, that belt also act as a tyre

The Clarke type is driven directly through the left hand lower wheel, so does require tyres

Although I would say the Burgess nylon wheels would probably also benefit from tyres on the two wheels without the belt drive

If it's like my older Burgess three wheeler then it won't have or need rubber tyres at all.
If the fuse is ok your next step would be to check for voltage at the motor terminals, but only if you know what you are doing working on mains electricity.
It probably only had a light duty switch. They can fail in various ways including the plastic inside going weak over the years. I had to replace the switch on mine.
Setup routine is as for any bandsaw, if you can get it running.

 

[Orraloon]

My first bandsaw was one of those small 3 wheelers. Think it was a Ryobi but looked just like that. To be quite honest I would not waste any effort on it. Even working as it should its only good for very small scale work and is never going to be a substitute for a table saw. If you want to cut shapes in thin wood then keep going but if you want to rip anything more than 1/2'' then get an old rip handsaw. Reckon the guy sold it to me is still has a smile 20 plus years on .
Regards
John