My Rockwell/Beaver band saw needs attention

[Roger Tulk]

I was cutting a straight line in some 3/4" ply with my bandsaw yesterday, when it began to make some thumping noises from inside. I finished the cut I was making, but came back to the saw later and made another small cut, when the machine thumped a couple more times, then jammed, and the fuse blew. SO, I quit for the night, and came back to it today. I took the covers off, looked around for anything that could have caused the saw to jam without finding anything.

Next, I tried to move the wheels by hand and found them very stiff. I was able to rotate them backwards, however and in a while that freed up the wheels to where I could run the saw without any thumping. As I have taken off the table and the covers, I didn't try to cut anything. The thumping stopped after I removed the lower blade guide, and one of the guide blocks looked pretty beat up.I've turned the blocks around, but I haven't reinstalled the guide, for reasons I will go into below.I vacuumed out any sawdust and crap that was lying around in the saw case, and ran the saw for a few secods to make sure it is running like a new saw at the moment. There is no apparent damage to either of my blades, BTW, in spite of the condition of the block. I am pretty sure I reset the blocks, and certain that I adjusted the lower guide when I installed the 3/8" blade. I was using a 3/16" yesterday and I don't think I moved it when I put the 3/16" blade in.

So, I am wondering if any part of that could have caused the thumping that I heard, or been related to the reason the saw jammed.

Some more details. The lower guide block, when I set up the 3/8" blade a year ago, only just reached the back of the blade and it was as far forward as it would go. I adjusted the blade on the upper wheel and came up with a compromise between having the blade run between the blocks, and cutting at a 45º angle because of the blade drift. The upper guide is OK for position and gap. When I installed the 3/16" blade, the blade actually sat forward of the lower guide, and I couldn't move it, so I left it alone. It has done a fair bit of cutting with this blade since I put it in so I didn't worry much.

Next, if you look at the photos below, you will see that the blade runs about the centre of the upper wheel, but within ¼" of the front of the lower wheel. With the 3/8" blade in place, the blade was almost on the edge of the lower wheel. This will be an issue if I try to put a ½" blade on it, and I want to do some resawing. So, what do I need to adjust, and how, to get the blade in the right position on the lower wheel?

Thank you in advance for your experience, perspicacity and erudition.

[Jim DeLaney]

Since you've noticed the lower guide is 'beat up,' you should check your blade. It sounds like your blade may have a bad weld, or one that's not completely ground flush. There might also be a kink in the blade itself.

Other than that, it might be a bearing problem, but my bet is on the blade, and the guide adjustment.

Regarding the blade not tracking in the middle of the lower wheel: Are there any washers/shims behind the upper wheel? There sometimes are, and if you have them, remove them until you get centered tracking. The other alternative is to put washers/shims behind the lower wheel to bring it out. Truthfully though, unless you're gonna be using wide blades a lot, I wouldn't mess with it. If it's running well (once you locate and fix the 'thump') then I'd leave it alone. Having the teeth of a wide blade protrude slightly shouldn't cause any problem.

[Roger Tulk]

Since you've noticed the lower guide is 'beat up,' you should check your blade. It sounds like your blade may have a bad weld, or one that's not completely ground flush. There might also be a kink in the blade itself.

Other than that, it might be a bearing problem, but my bet is on the blade, and the guide adjustment.

Regarding the blade not tracking in the middle of the lower wheel: Are there any washers/shims behind the upper wheel? There sometimes are, and if you have them, remove them until you get centered tracking. The other alternative is to put washers/shims behind the lower wheel to bring it out. Truthfully though, unless you're gonna be using wide blades a lot, I wouldn't mess with it. If it's running well (once you locate and fix the 'thump') then I'd leave it alone. Having the teeth of a wide blade protrude slightly shouldn't cause any problem.

OK, I examined the blade microscopically, and there are no kinks or other malformations, and the weld is nice and smooth. I have been using this blade for about a month without issues.

I took the top wheel off, and there are no shims behind it. The sleeve bearing appears in perfect condition, and the wheel spins freely when I put it back on.

The lower wheel was more difficult to examine. It is attached differently, and when I took the nut and washer off, I was unable to get the wheel to budge. I didn't want to apply a lot of force, as it's made of plastic, but a reasonable amount of force wouldn't move it. I'll need some instruction on how to remove it to put shims behind it. I am going to regrind the ends of the guide blocks for the bottom guide, and am considering making wooden ones, considering my ability to mess things up. If I put everything back together at this point, and as long as the thumping I heard had something to do with the lower guide (it stopped when I removed the lower guide ) Then I should be no worse off than I was.

When I have it all back together, can I use my 3/16", 10 tpi regular tooth blade to cut aluminum channel?

TIA

[Jim DeLaney]

...When I have it all back together, can I use my 3/16", 10 tpi regular tooth blade to cut aluminum channel?

Yeah, you can, but the aluminum will probably clog the teeth. I've cut a small amount like that from time to time, and never really had a problem. Just remember that those aluminum chips are HOT when they come off the saw. Also, eye protection is more important than ever when doing this!