Bandsaw noise, little power

deiwei1971 | Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on January 4, 2022 04:00pm

I have a 10 year old Rikon 10-325 14″ bandsaw that has worked great under sporadic usage. The other day it started making a loud noise (a sort of metallic clanging noise). Best I can tell it is coming form the motor (turning the wheels by hand makes no unusual noise btw). In addition to the loud noise it struggles to come up to speed and even then trying to cut a 3/4″ piece of hardwood will essentially bring the blade to stop. I imagine it is a dead motor but not sure how to know for sure that is the only problem.
Also not sure what one does in this situation. Easy/economical to replace? Or maybe it is time to just get a new saw. Thanks for any advice, David

Replies

_mj_ | Jan 04, 2022 04:30pm | #1
My first look would be for a slipped key stock on one of the pulleys or wheels. I'd be curious to see if the drive shaft is still spinning as the cut slows the blade down.

Running it without a blade will eliminate everything north of the drive wheel, then removing the belt will eliminate that. Work your way down to the motor and see if the noise stops before you get there.
gulfstar | Jan 04, 2022 04:33pm | #2
Metallic noise coming from the motor could be the cooling fan hitting the casing when spinning, could be as simple as tightening the retaining nut.
deiwei1971 | Jan 04, 2022 05:36pm | #3
I checked the fan and it was fine. While briefly poking around in the pulley area I noticed the belt was not as tight as I imagine it should be (the belt was replaced 6 months ago fwiw). I tightened it a little and the metallic sound is less and it actually could cut some 4/4 oak. I'll be thrilled if it is as simple as that. Strange sound that I never would have imagined came from a loose belt. I'll do a more thorough investigation tomorrow. Thanks for the advice to look there.
jharveyb | Jan 04, 2022 11:53pm | #4
My latest new metallic sound was a motor pulley moving sideways on the shaft and touching the guard. I've had the same pulley-walking-over phenomenon with my drill press. Doesn't hurt to check the pulley alignment as well as the tension.
deiwei1971 | Jan 11, 2022 09:30am | #5
The initial comment was the key, so to speak. I found the key stock lying in the dust and reinserting it fixed the problem. Thanks for all the comments.