Replies

1. 
   JohnWW | Apr 18, 2006 07:02pm | #1

   First I want to be sure I understand what the problem is.  Is the blade centered on the upper wheel and 3/16" off center on the lower wheel?  Also what size blade are you using and have you tried cutting with the saw?

   John White

1. 
   mysawdust | Apr 18, 2006 08:35pm | #2

   1/2 in blade. Yes it is centered on the upper wheel and off too the left of the lowere wheel. I did make some test cuts and the blade did not seem to drift. I am basically trying to figure out if this is something I need to be concerned with i.e. will thing wear prematurely or blades break etc. Thank you for your help.

1. 
   JohnWW | Apr 20, 2006 06:32pm | #3

   It is more than likely that you can use the saw, as is, without any performance problems.  99 times out of 100 a poorly cutting band saw is suffering from either a dull blade or the wrong type of blade for the cut being attempted.  So I would suggest that you keep a good assortment of fresh blades on hand and just go ahead and use the saw. 

   Track the blade more or less equally offset on the wheels, the blade a little to the right on the upper wheel and a little to the left on the lower wheel.  Set the tracking with the guides completely pulled back so the blade can move freely with the tracking adjustments.  Once the tracking is adjusted, set the thrust bearings and then the side bearings.

   On this saw, if it is a typical Asian made machine, the bottom wheel can be adjusted to move it further to the left by installing shim washers behind the wheel.  This is a fairly straight forward adjustment, Powermatic should be able to tell you if it possible on this model. 

   Maybe I don't have all the facts, but removing the pins from the riser block to correct the problem would normally be bad advice.

   John White 

    

1. 
   mysawdust | Apr 21, 2006 12:08am | #4

   John,

   Thank you very much for your time and advice.  That makes a lot of since to me. 

   Terry