Question for Scheppach Basa 3 users

[I.Q.]

Hi,

The Scheppach Basa 3 that I ordered has arrived. I have put it together and am in the process of "fine tuning" it. (I have to say, the instruction manual is really not very clear). (Therefor,) I have a couple of questions:

1) In the manual, the counter pressure bearings (which are no real bearings) that absorb the feed pressure of the work piece are shown like this (the number 1 on the image):

The feed pressure "bearing" underneath the table indeed is situated like that. However, the one that is above the table is on the other side, like this:

AND...you cannot push this circular black "bearing" against the back of the saw, because it the black disc is not big enough...it actually sits to the side of the saw...I can take it out completely (it is just a metal black disc on a metal stick...no spring or anything...I'm not sure how it works, even if the back of the saw was pushing against is).

Now, looking at a couple of youtube video concerning the Scheppach basa 3, they all seem to have -at least the upper - feed pressure "bearing" (the one above the table) on the right side, just as shown in the picture above. So, I'm not sure what to do. Should I position it the way it is positioned under the work table? Or is anything else going on..?

I'd really appreciate your advice on this.

Question 2) Then I have a question about the tension of the saw. The Basa 3 - as you know - comes fitted with a saw. This is a 1 cm broad saw. The tension coming from the factory/distributor was set to "1/2". It seems that on the small image (see underneath) the tension setting should be the same as "x", which is the broadness of the saw. That would mean that I would have to set it to "1" instead of "1/2". So, I think I'm misinterpreting things here.

What tension setting should be used for this 1cm broad saw? Is setting "1/2" indeed the right setting? (I'm also asking, because the saw cuts very wobbly, and does not cut in a straight line. And I did put the guiding rollers [#2 in the manual image, above] quite a bit closer to the saw than is shown in the first photograph that I attached).

Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[Spectric]

The blade guides are the same as many others, the Record BS400 being one. The issue with the top rear guide not being big enough is down to setup, you need to back off the two side guides and then adjust the complete guide carrier to get the rear guide behind the blade, it does sit close to the edge though. You then adjust the side guides but make sure they sit behind the teeth otherwise you will damage the blade. As for tension, I was told to ignore the machines indicator as they are next to useless and actually feel the blade run at the back where it runs top to bottom, non cutting side.

The Snodgrass setup is worth watching, / but there are many other suggestions and ideas out there.

 

[Farm Labourer]

Mine was the same - just needed a bit of adjusting but now works well. Dont know why the thread on the bottom door handle is so long, though!

 

[I.Q.]

Thanks a lot for the replies.

@Spectric - I can move it back and forward, but not side to side, as far as I can tell.

@Farm Labourer - I would really like to know how you did the adjusting. The "bearing"/disc is in a cylindrical piece of copper, and that I can adjust forward and backwards, by loosening the socket head screw using one of the hex keys. But I do not see an option to adjust it to the side.

A couple of additional photos:

The silver coloured metal thing that houses the counter pressure bearing and the guiding "rollers" (all the copper/gold coloured parts) is connected to the saw band guide with the (M8?) hexagon head screw bolt that you (just!) see on the right of the saw band guide on the picture above. I suppose I could loosen it, and then probably turn the whole of that silver coloured metal thing (that houses the counter pressure bearing..etc..), but then the whole thing is at an angle, including the "bearing" discs. (If the "bearings" were actual bearings, that wouldn't be a problem, but since they are discs with the flat side against the blade, instead of the round side...).

Some more pictures:

In this one here you can see that I can slide out the "bearing" and it does not hit the back of the saw, I can actually place it next to the saw...

Or slide it out all the way (is that all that should be in there? No spring or anything..?):

Final image from the situation underneath the table, which seems to be in working order:

I would much appreciate your advice!

(b.t.w. is it normal that the bandsaw did not come with an electricity cord..?)

Cheers!

 

[Ollie78]

I have the older basato 3 various but the guides look identical.
The rear bearing disk does sit quite far off centre and the blade only contacts it on the raised part. Yours only looks a mm or 2 out. You can pivot it a bit on the alan key to the rear.
There are two one moves the entire assembly back and forth, the other just moves the back bearing. I leave it about 1mm behind the blade once tensioned so it only contacts it under forwards pressure.

For the tension I find the scale is more of a rough guide for a 10mm blade 1/2 inch will be OK.
I just tension it till its tight, you can get a feel for it after a while.

Dont know why the thread on the bottom door handle is so long, though!

I can confirm this as a definite design flaw, so annoying everytime you need to change a blade or adjust the bottom guide.

Ollie

 

[Ttrees]

Hello there
Have I got this right that there is misalignment with upper thrust guide/disc and the blade?

It appears that these bolts can scoot the guide post over to the correct position, or at least able it to be trued to the side roller guides,
provided the post or guard won't foul anything.



If that is the case, then is there adjustment of the carriage of the upper wheel?
You may wish to check if the blade runs parallel with the column.

If it is the case that you can't get a reference of the blade and column, then you might wish to use a plumline or laser if you don't want to take the table off.

 

[Ollie78]

I will have a look at mine tomorrow when I get in the workshop and maybe take a photo to see what it should look like.
My upper guide is basically an upside down version of the way your lower is set up.
My power lead is a separate lead with a german shuko on the machine end and a UK plug on the other. Make sure its not lost in the packaging.

That rear bearing is just how they are, its not the best and I would prefer a vertical ball bearing there instead but in practice they work fine.


Ollie

 

[Farm Labourer]

IQ - I will be in my workshop after lunch and will have a look to remind myself.

 

[Jones]

The block that holds the guides has two holes at the rear one used to hold the thrust bearing the other for mounting they can be swapped if that helps. The blade should run near the edge of the bearing so it can rotate in theory.

 

[Farm Labourer]

For obvious reasons, now that it is all setup, I am relectant to take it all apart to determine exactly what I did. I've just been out and looked at it and recall removing the entire unit (the top guide mounting bit) from the aluminium extrusion and adjusting it and refitting. As for the power cord, mine is hard wired into the unit.

As Jones sys the blade runs about 1mm to the right of the 9 o'clock position on the rear bearing. Mine is set about .75mm behind the rear of the blade and only when stock is being pushed against the blade does it contact the bearing. A sub-optimal design, I fear.

 

[paul-c]

sorry but can i ask has anyone upgraded the blade guides on this machine as mine vibrate loose quite often no matter how tight i seem to tighten the locking rings , admitedly i suffer from rheumatoid arthrites so probably cant tighten as tight as others may be able to. however i would much prefer a cam and allen key type of setup.
cheers paul

 

[Fitzroy]

your question regards blade tension, i scanned but couldn't see anyone had answered. The scale is in inches rather than cm, so a 10mm blade and 1/2" (12.7mm) is fine.

 

[I.Q.]

Thanks a lot for all the replies, really appreciated.

Here is what I did: I loosened the screw for the mounting of the block. Against my better judgement I tried to put it at an angle, but that did not work (for obvious reasons, which I described earlier, above). Then I fastened the crew again, and all of a sudden, the thrust bearing was positioned as it should (and as decribed by you, @Farm Labourer ). Weird...

So, it seems to be solved!
(If that would not have worked, then I would have tried the swapping you suggested, @Jones !).

Also thank you very much for the extra information on the tension setting. (Kind of strange that it was put in inches, since this is a German product which I bought in Europe).

Since you all got your power cord included with the band saw (in some cases even hardwired into the unit), I'm going to contact the seller, and ask for it.

I still have to do a bit of fine tuning, because right now, it still does not cut straight (both a bit wobbly and it runs away quite a bit), but I assume that is something that can be solved with the setting of the bearings.

Thanks again!

 

[Farm Labourer]

I'm Scottish - I just hapen to live in England-shire. W O Bentley, designed all of his cars in the early 19th Century in millimetres. Cutting straight with a new blade is more a function of fence alignment. It needs to be aligned to what the blade cuts rather than parallel to the table centre-line.

Hope the last sentence helps!

 

[Ollie78]

sorry but can i ask has anyone upgraded the blade guides on this machine as mine vibrate loose quite often no matter how tight i seem to tighten the locking rings , admitedly i suffer from rheumatoid arthrites so probably cant tighten as tight as others may be able to. however i would much prefer a cam and allen key type of setup.
cheers paul

Locite is your friend ( the blue one not the red one).


Glad you got it sorted out.
A tip about the fact its not cutting straight, get a nice quality blade the ones supplied are not the best. A nice blade really improves everything, a lot.
If the set is more one side than the other it will pull and drift about. Another thing that helps is to smooth the back side of the blade with a stone or diamond file just touch it on the back when its running (carefully of course) and aim to just round off the sharp edges.

Ollie

 

[Smike]

I have the same bandsaw and had problems with it not cutting straight etc. But discovered the Snodgrass video and followed the advice on setup (particularly about adjusting the setup so that the valley of the teeth are central in the top wheel) and all fine now. Must admit the guides are a strange design. Would have thought rollers would be better.
Also had to adjust the table angle stop a tad to get the blade exactly cutting at right angles. When setting up, slack off the guides and move them away from the blade and get the blade running true first. Then move them in as per Snodgrass video. I use different blades (usually for wood) but also have bi metal blades for occasionally cutting mild steel. Works surprisingly well. Cheers.

 

[paul-c]

Locite is your friend ( the blue one not the red one).

thanks Ollie

 

[I.Q.]

Thanks for the advice on the fence alignment, @Farm Labourer ! I'm going to pay more attention to that, when fine tuning.

@Ollie78 - Thank you for the additional information on the saws. I was looking to purchase a couple from the UK supplier (Ian, I believe his name is) that was recommended by many of you in another thread in this forum, but he told me he does not take orders from outside of the UK because of Brexit-difficulties and extra costs, etc... Too bad. Now I have yet to find a trusty dealer on Europe mainland. (Anyone have any suggestions?).

(Thanks for helping out @paul-c , @Ollie78 . I do not have enough experience with a band saw, yet, to be able to give suggestions).

@Smike - I'm going to check out the video in more detail, thanks for the suggestion, and also thank you for the additional information on how you managed to set it up right. It is good to know that it is possible to get it to work proberly, indeed!

 

[Ollie78]

Tuffsaws is the place you are after ( Ian ).
I have one of the premium cobalt steel ones in 6mm or 1/4 inch in mine 6tpi. Brilliant blades. A great shame he cannot post to the EU at the moment, perhaps a way around it can be found.

Brexit is just one huge difficulty that I still can't believe actually happened, madness.

Ollie

 

[I.Q.]

Yes, it was Tuffsaws, thanks; @Ollie78 . I was a bit disappointed, as well, to learn that he did not ship to the EU, since he is deemed very trustworthy on delivering good quality goods by many on this forum. And I have no idea how to spot a good quality saw from a bad quality one.

E.g. When it is made out of a bi-metal, it is better? Most saws I've seen advertised somewhere else do not mention whether or not they are made out of bi-metal, so I assume they are not. Also, 2360 does not seem to be a standard size/length. Scheppach themselves sell them, of course, but again, no idea what the quality is of those. It would not make sense to buy more of the one that was already on the band saw, if its quality is poor.

(I don't really see a way around to be able to buy them from Tuffsaws, anyway, especially with the more limited traveling options for those coming out of the UK because of the new Covid-variety).

If anyone knows a trusty EU-based source, please let me know.