Bandsaw tuning question

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I’m the ¿happy? owner of a bandsaw since March this year, so my experience in tuning it up is null, I’ve researched and bought a couple of books related with the subject and got some good tips from them.

So in order to get acquainted with it I performed several self training routines such as changing the blade, adjusting the guides, resawing stock etc. but now I’m experiencing a problem that I don’t know how to tackle.

When cutting thick stuff (about 3 inches) the saw makes a high pitch noise really disturbing that didn’t make before, this noise dissapears if I push harder. Some times makes it sometimes doesn’t. May it be blade wear? I do not think to have cut so much in order to have worn out the blade already.

I’ve checked everything and the only thing I’ve been able to find is that the lower wheel is not on the same plane as the top one, they are parallel but while the blade runs on the center of the top wheel it is runing near the outer rim of the lower one.

As I hadn’t touched the position of the lower wheel at all I wonder why this sound is appearing now, and not from the very beginning the saw was surprisingly quite noiseless even when cutting thick stock.

Any hint?

Thanks in advance
 
Toni, you didn't say what kind of bandsaw or size and pitch blade you are using so I can only guess where the sound is coming from. If you have the Euro style blade guides, could it be coming from one of the Thrust Bearings? Also it could be coming from the blade itself, so you might try spraying one of the non stick cooking sprays on the blade while it is cutting and see if the sound goes away, (some here, including me, use a product called "PAM" cooking spray for this and it will not affect finishing products). Does your saw have flat or crowned tires? On flat tire saws, the narrow blades don't always run at the same place on the upper and lower wheels.

To pin down the area the sound is coming from, get a length of rubber or plastic tubing and get someone to hold one end to your ear (while you are cutting), and then move the other end of the tubing around to different places around the blade and guides and elsewhere that the sound seems to be coming from to locate the origin of the noise. Without more information, this is all I can think of right now. Let us know what you find.
 
Thanks Norman.

I knew that the information I was providing was rather short, I'll gather all the info and get some pictures as well so it helps.

The trick for finding where the noise comes is great! It would have never occurred to me.

My saw has crowned tyres, it is a Metabo 505-G but this may not make any sense to you as it is a German brand that may not be sold in US.


Best regards
 
Nice saw, Toni. I have noticed an occasional high pitched sound on my bandsaw that seemed to only happen with certain wood species. Are you hearing the sound on all thick wood, regardless of species, or just one type of wood?
 
toni,
if the noise you`re hearing isn`t a metal on metal or bearing noise i`d just ignore it....depending on the blade and wood sometimes a bandsaw will make some awfull noises:eek:........especially if you do like me and keep pushing a dull blade `cause you`re either too lazy or too cheap to change it:rolleyes:
lookin` at the pic vaughn linked to i`d say you`ve got a good saw that`ll push a dull blade with no problem....for thinner stuff (less than 6-8") just keep using it untill the cut quality suffers or it breaks....bandsaw blades are like drill bits and router bits, they can be sharpened, but why? new ones are usually less money than sharpening if you figure traveling to the sharpener to drop `em off and then pick `em up.....blades for my 16" saw are 11 bucks u.s.delivered to my door.
tod
 
Is this the saw Toni?

505-g.jpg

Looks very much like the Rikon 14" saw.

I have to say, that I was going to say what Tod said, but he beat me to it, so not much more to say :rolleyes: :D

If it is a metal on metal noise, check, to see if the teeth of the blade are hitting the edge of the lower wheel, if they are, you are going to need to get the two wheels in better alignment, this can often be done by putting a washer on the shaft of a wheel between the wheel and the bearing.

Good luck, when you get that saw tuned up and running nice, you will enjoy using it even more!

Oh yeah.............. where are the pics...... :huh: :dunno: ;) :wave:
 
Vaughn: Thanks for your input, yes the saw is the one that from your link.(How I didn't think about it:doh:) So far the two kinds of wood that I've sawn are cheap pine wood salvaged from packaging and maple, (here they do not differentiate between hard and soft maple, at least to my limited knowledge of lumber suppliers). As I can't recall cutting thick pine recently I can't tell. I'll cut a scrap and come back to you.

Tod: You're a a well of knowledge, thanks for your input, I was afraid of having messed it up playing around with the saw. I'll recheck the sound to realy find out if it is metal against metal or not.

Stu: Yes, this is the saw, for an amateur like me I think is enough ( as a start;)) of course it is not like your Phonenix:thumb: but it is proving to be a real aid, it is really rewarding to see that one can cut stock and getting the pieces almost to exact size so fast, and start doing fine work without so much hard work before.
Wait for the pics tomorrow.
 
Toni, I had the smaller brother to yours (the 315) and it made some dreadful noises at different times but always cut just fine. Most times getting a bit of lube on the blade or guides made d ifference. If the tone changes with lubrication then you just have an unfortunate resonance with the blade/timber/machine combination. Get some good ear defenders and keep cutting.

I'm delighted to learn that my attitude to bandsaw blades is the same as tods - push it till it breaks or refuses to cut. I always assumed that I was being a bit reckless but now....:thumb:
 
Most times getting a bit of lube on the blade or guides made d ifference.

Hi Ian.

Lube on the blade?? :huh:Wouldn't it make it to slip as well on the wheels?? I've put lube on my hand saw when cutting certain types of wood to ease the job but I'm afraid of loosing power due to slipage of the blade on the wheels.
Is it a common practice? As you can see I'm an absolute beginner as far as bandsaws are concerned.
 
Hi Ian.

Lube on the blade?? :huh:Wouldn't it make it to slip as well on the wheels?? ...
I suppose it is technically possible but I have never had it happen. Taking the model number I would guess that your saw uses 50cm (19") wheels or thereabouts. That means that the blade has approx 150cm (60") of contact surface with the wheels and about 75cm of friction surface with the driven wheel. You would need to get quite a lot of lube on the blade to make that slip.

I use a PTFE spray which does the same job as the non-stick spray that Norman talks about in his first post. In your case the main reason is that if a quick squirt of lube on the blade changes the sound then the only thing that you have changed is the friction between the blade, its guides and the wood. If that is the case then your noise occurs because of the resonance between those elements. If the noise doesn't change then you may have something else to find. I am pretty sure that the noise will change. It won't go away but it will change its pitch.
 
Thanks Ian.

In fact I do have a PTFE spray, I used it on the bed of my thicknesser and it worked wonders to help the lumber go through.
I'll give it a try and let you know.
 
Like Norm, my first thought was thrust bearing. I would also be a bit concerned about the two wheels not being in perfect alignment. If the thrust bearings are dry, that could/might cause the squeal. A bit of high quality lube (I use a Teflon based gun lube) could help.
 
Hi Toni,
Not much to add to what the others have already said.

One thing though, if you don't already do it, when you saw rough lumber or recycled lumber from packing crates, give it a good cleaning with a stiff brush to get off the dirt, grit, etc. That junk can really dull blades on jointers, planers, etc.
 
Set up seems to be the answer and perhaps inexperience with the sounds and noises that BSs make. First begin with the set up. To properly set up your saw, you need to go all the way back to basics. Move the guides totally out of the picture. Start with the tracking, you need a new blade because previous mis alignment may have damaged or stretched the blade. Make sure the wheels are coplaner and in line with each other. Now set on the blade, set the tension and start to set the tracking (all this with the power off and turning the wheels by hand) Adjust the tracking untill the blade remains centered on the crown of your tires (both top and bottom wheels, If you can't reach this point, then look to alignment of the wheels. Once the tracking is done, then you can add the guides to the scheme. (remember the guides stop the blade from being pushed off course, they do not hold it on course) Bring in the lower thrust bearing (going to take some money here) slide a dollar bill behind the blade and between the bearing. this is how close you need to set the bearing (In Canada you don't have a one dollar so you'll have to use a fiver (see it is more expensive in CA) Adjust the upper thrust bearing in the same manner. Spin the wheels by hand and see that the blade should just pass by w/o spinning the bearing... If it does not (to an accepable limit) then change blades and start again. Next bring in the lower guides (be it cool blocks or factory guides or rollers) they too DO NOT touch the blade. Especially the set of the teeth. Position them so that the guides are behind the set when the blade is pushed against the rear rollers. (Some set the rear roller too far back and whe the blade is pushed back by the cut, it wipes out the set if the guides are too far forward) then move in the gudes equally so that they again DO NOT touch the blade, whip out that dollar and set the clearance. Again to the upper guides in the same fashion. All the while you should be checking by spinning the wheels by hand.

If you follow these step EACH time you change blades (Most guys forget about the bottom guides as they are out of sight and out of mind) you will have great success with your new saw. The noises they make will become common place to you and you will be able to adentify problems by the cutting sounds, in the future.

Not too long ago, Wood Magazine had a great article on setting up Cheap saws to act like expensive saws. Cheap or expensive, the setup is the same and you should follow the same procedures. Do I do these steps each time I change blades, You Betcha! Only takes a few minutes after you do it a couple of times.
 
bill, i`m thinkin` toni`s saw might have flat tires? otherwise good advice!


Le' Oops.... :eek: Aside from the tire location on the wheels, the guide set up and procedure is the same. Not too accustomed to flat tires (other than on my boat trailer) does the blade not hang the teeth of larger set blades, over the edge but the rest still ride down the middle?
 
i run all my blades except for 1/4" with the teeth hangin` off the wheel.

Funny, one shop I worked for had a big Italian saw that they set up that way, never could figure out why. Flat tires is it? It also had the hardened Euro-style guides that spin in bronze bushings. I really liked the guide system, but the boss bought a Carter system when he got tired of buying the hardened guides (they do tend to wear).
 
Hi Bill.
Thanks for your advice, but I use a 5 Euro note, dollar notes are difficult to find here :D.

I'll follow your guide lines as well as all the other suggestions I had from other members, and post the results.

Tod: No, the wheels have crowned tyres.

I'm posting a few pics to better show it.

This is the axe of the lower wheel seen from behind, I do not know if this adjustment bolts are a common fixture on bandsaws but I feel that it is a rather crude and flimsy system, having in mind the amount of tension that the wheel has and being held only in one side, although it seems to work. Adjusting it is going to be a nightmare, or so I think
bansaw001.jpg

This is the upper wheel showing the position of the blade.

bansaw002.jpg bansaw004.jpg bansaw005.jpg
This is the lower wheel showing the position of the blade, notice the difference.

bansaw006.jpg
The adjusting and locking nuts have this HDP handles that are so soft that I’ve broken one already, this broken one is from the locking nut under the table to fix the table angle.
bansaw007.jpg bansaw008.jpg
The upper blade guides
bansaw009.jpg

And the lower ones

bandsaw002.jpg

Thanks for looking
 
Hey Toni, that looks good, sure the handles are disappointing, but they are not expensive to replace.

About the bottom shaft, that does not look all that bad, at least it IS adjustable.

If you want to see a really robust bottom shaft, look at this Post

VERY robust! :thumb:

Good luck!:wave:
 
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