clean up tips for my new/used Bsaw

matt fonner

Member
Messages
24
Location
Cols, OH
I just brought home my first Bsaw and the previous owner was cutting metal with it. There is some cutting oil in the usual places, and I am wondering what would be the best way to clean it up. Thanks for your help.
 
well matt welcome to the forum and as for your bsaw,,first thing would be to blow it out well with some compressed air,, thena some mineral spirits to clean your table from the left over oil and shavings.. but as for the tires they are probally embedded with some metal shavings as well and that i am not sure of the best solution for the fix,, there are others on her more vewrsed in rehabing used equipment than me..:):wave:
 
Can you give us some specifics? Brand, size, age???

Larry's got a good approach. If the tires have metal chips imbedded in them (i'd be surprised if they don't) you'll probably want to think about new ones. The holes from the metal chips soak up the oil, and you'll never really get rid of it.

You might wind up taking some parts off of the machine for more careful cleaning - namely the guides.

One other thing to be aware of is that metal cutting machines spin slower than wood cutting machines. If it's "geared" for wood cutting, you can still use it for non ferrous softer metals like brass or aluminum just by swapping out the blade. Steel or iron, on the other hand, need the blade to move slower. If it was a dedicated metal machine, you may need to swap out some pulleys so that it's more efficient for working wood.

You may also want to check any bearings you might have in the guides. Metal chips can wreak havvoc on bearing seals.

Other general issues to look at would be the upper and lower wheel bearings. You'll also want to spend a bit of time tuning it up - making sure the blade runs perpendicular to the table, that the wheels are coplanar, and that the tires are in good enough shape to keep the blade tracking well. Check the motor bearings and the condition of the drive belt.

Have fun with your "new" toy. I first brought home a band saw from an auction about 8 years ago only because no one was bidding on it and it went down to $5. It needed a complete tear down, paint, rebuild, etc., but i had no idea how much i'd wind up using it.

They're pretty versatile tools.

Paul Hubbman
 
Thanks for some great advise on such little information. Since I brought it home yesterday and just got a chance to look it over some more and get some pictures to share. :type:
Saw is a rigid bs14002, 3/4 hp. Everyone is probably somewhat familiar with it. It was probably aimed more at woodworking instead of metal.
When I initially talked to the seller, it sounded as if he mostly cut wood, and had only cut a little metal with it. When I got to his shop, it was pretty clear he intended to cut metal. There was a 1" wide metal cutting blade in it, and was kind of bent up. He was trying to cut 1/4" plate steel on it. After I got a closer look today :huh: I got the blade out and saw the problem, he had the guides all wrong. Check it out - the backer guide was cranked all the way out and being used as a side guide (instead of the blocks), and the outer block was all the way in. The blade was being pinched in the back too. :doh:

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The bottom guides faired better, just kinda grungy.

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I am just learning about how these saws are set up, but that aint right. I think I may get some new guide blocks.



The tires did have some shavings on them, as you guys both said.

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They didn't look too bad, so I grabbd a clean rag and wipped them off. They came pretty clean.

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Bottom wheel has some saw dust caked on it. Metal grit and saw dust in the bottom. I'm happy to report the wheels line up with a strait edge.

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I read some reveiws on this saw that reported some vibration issues. Beefing up the base, link belts, and balancing the wheels seem to be the cure.Top wheel has a heavy spot I'll address as I bring it back to life.

Belt cover removed showed some dust lying around. Also, the belt has been loose; evidence is in the motor pulley, wheel side looks good. I measured the pulleys at 2 1/2" & 6" . I'm guessing they are what came with it - if anyone could confirm :dunno:

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Overall this saw looks like it's been used only a couple hours, and I got it for a song :guitar: I've wanted one for a long time, and can't wait to get it set up ! :headbang:
 
2½ & 6" pullies, with a 1725 rpm motor gives about 2635 feet per minute blade speed. Just a tad slow - you might consider bumping the motor pulley up to a 3" one. That'll give you a blade speed of about 3160 fpm. 3000~3300 is the usually recommended speed for cutting wood.
 
Matt, one suggestion if I might, you might see if you can find a "Segmented Belt" that same size and it will actually run with better grip on the pulleys/shivs and won't have that whirring noise the link belts make and it will run just as smooth as link belts, (probably less expensive too). Close attention to Really getting both wheels balanced will really be worth the time spent, (and do that Before you add the weight below and check it for vibration) then when you add the weight below it will really settle it down. When you get all that done, be sure to add wheel brushes to keep the tires clean. One other note, if there are still some specs of metal showing in the tires, spin the wheels and hold a small brass bristle brush against the tires and that should get the remaining metal flakes off.

Glad you found it (especially since it's previous owner obviously had no idea how to use it),:rolleyes: so have fun with it.:thumb:
 
as a another help in the tire cleaning use some mineral spirts at the same time the brass brush,, the mienral spirts will softten the rubber a touch to help release the left over metal shavings and then when it drys off the rubber will tighten back up again..
 
Norman suggested a segmented belt - I've always called these link belts, and buy the red kind from Woodcraft.

Once the saw is cleaned up, would it be at all helpful to rip a bunch of cheap dimensional lumber to get some saw dust all through the machine, let it sit, hopefully absorb any missed oil and reclean before using?

Part of the reason I bought the HF 14" bandsaw was that it has a 4 speed pulley setup and I thought that I'd like to occasionally cut metal. Your saw I think only has the one speed and 2.6K fpm is way too fast for even soft metals, much less 1/4" plate. Poor saw. Poor plate steel. Glad the saw is in a better home now. :thumb:

For ferrous metals, would it help to manually spin the wheels while holding a big rare earth magnet near the tires?
 
Wow, you guys are all over it. You all have given me some much needed advice :thumb:
I will take a much closer look at the motor pulley to verify that size. I may change it as suggested.
I want to add the riser block eventually - maybe next year. I've got 4 new blades, and no money to get bigger ones. The money I saved went to get one of those Incra miter guides (v27). I figure it will go between my table saw, Bsaw, and router table. Should get a lot of use.
On another note, I was considering buying one of the $100 tabletop Bsaws because I couldn't afford a nice 14" job. That's when I stumbled across this one. Pays off to be patient and have some cash on hand.
 
Norman suggested a segmented belt - I've always called these link belts, and buy the red kind from Woodcraft.

Mark, a "Segmented Belt" is NOT a Link Belt. A "Segmented Belt", (or at least that is what I think they are called), looks just like a normal "V" belt except that the inside of the belt has V shaped notches cut across the width of the belt every 3/8" to 1/2" or so, which allows the belt to flex more easily yet give more Contact to the pulleys than a Link Belt would. It runs much smoother that a regular "V" belt and will not take a "set" that causes vibration, like the regular "V" belts will, AND runs quiet without the whish/whistle sound that most "Link" belts make.

Admittedly, the Whishing sound is not as noticeable when running at 1750 RPM as when it is going at 3450 RPM.:D (Don't know why, but that sound really annoys me):dunno::D

Matt, "IF" you should decide to change the pulley to get a different size/diameter, I would check the Grizzly catalog (Page 247) (or other Vendors) and see if one of their solid cast iron "Machined Pulleys" will fit your shaft diameter. They show (3" available for 5/8", 3/4" or 7/8" shafts = $7.95, or the 4" pulleys show $9.95), + shipping of course. Unlike the Pot metal type pulleys, like I believe is on your saw now, they will run smoother and further reduce vibration AND the belt will last longer too when there is no wobble or out of roundness in the pulley.

Hope this helps.
 
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Yeah, a little belt name word-play there. I prefer link belts but I do have one on my smaller BS and so take note of Norman's mention of segmented belts. I think he is referring to notched belts:

notched-side-v-belt-11723.jpg

these do still have the monofiliment issue so if you are trying to get away from a "vibration" problem, link belts are the usual fix. I would like to try a notched belt though as my small BS is low on vibration (although that may be from the current link belt) but runs a long belt. The little guy is a definite candidate for that wishing sound. Oh yeah, no belt cover on the 1970's Delta either so its "wishing in the wind" for sure ;-)

Your machine looks as though it should clean up very nice and all parts are readily available. The 14" saws of that style also seem to dominate the after-market arena so you can really trick it out as you see fit.
 
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Thanks, Glenn,That's the One,,:thumb: (I said I have NO memory):D I have used those on a lot of different machines in the past, (When I could Find the correct size) and really had good results from them.

I really wish we could use the "Serpentine" belts like the cars use, and a "FEW" WW machines now use, but it's hard to find pulleys to make the change over, AND the Secret to the success of the Serpentine Belts is to KEEP the proper tension on them. The cars & trucks have a spring loaded belt tensioner to accomplish this and they will handle a large HP load, with no vibration, are quiet and last an exceptionally long time because they don't generate a lot of "Bending Heat" due to their "thin" design (and the materials used to make them). Up to now though, I have not seen any automatic tensioners available for use on things like our WW machines, and the tension becomes more important as the load they have to pull is increased.

As a final Observation, Most, "if not ALL" of the belts we get on the imported tools are frankly just not the same quality as the good "Old Gates belts" (made in USA) and just using one of those would (if you could still find one AND it hadn't been hanging on a hook in a store for several years), smooth a machine right out, (No link belt or other type needed). Such is "Progress" I guess.:rolleyes:
 
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Now that looks like you got a fine deal!
The tires look good, as do the guides. The pulley configuration is likely stock, and certainly close enough to the 3000 fpm range to work well. I doubt you need to spend another dime on this saw to get it humming, though i am a fan of the link belts to help kill vibration. Rockler and Woodcraft both have them, but you can also probably get them from any large tool supplier.
Someone else mentioned balancing the wheels - this is the only way you'll ever get a smooth running saw. The typical means are to add weight or drill out / grind off some metal to get things right. I once bought a saw with solder wire wrapped around one or two of the spokes near the rim to get things balanced. It's a bit crude, but works well and won't come off. I suppose it's an easy way to mechanically fasten the weight without altering the wheel.

The saw looks new enough that even the abuse it suffered didn't last long enough to really screw things up. I can only imagine the person you bought it from has sworn off bandsaws as crude medievil machines best used for ruining stock while heating blades to a fine redish orange. If you're not used to using a band saw, i recommend picking up any of the band saw books you'll find at a woodworking store, the library, or your local good book store.

Congrats on a good find.

paulh
 
I can only imagine the person you bought it from has sworn off bandsaws as crude medievil machines best used for ruining stock while heating blades to a fine redish orange.

paulh

You made me laugh :rofl:

I have a link belt for the TS, so I may try it out. I thought it was kind of expensive. (my shop budget is usually associated with the color RED ) Most likely I will get the notched belt.
 
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