Replies

1. 
   PeteBradley | Jan 30, 2006 06:55am | #1

   Grinding off the crown is a new one on me. Seems like most folks with the old flat wheel bandsaws are always trying to find a good way to grind the crown into their new tires.

   The crown is certainly not going to interfere in any meaningful way with the tracking of the biggest blade that machine can take. You may also find that your machine resaws better with a 1/2" band than a 3/4.

   You're going to get a zillion suggestions on ways to "turbocharge" your machine. Before you consider them, I recommend that you work the stuff that's really important, such as new tires, good bearings, and accurate setup. If you have one of the original late-40s ball-bearing motors, don't let anyone talk you into replacing it.

   Pete

2. 
   JohnWW | Jan 30, 2006 08:10pm | #2

   I would agree with the first poster: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  Many woodworkers spend far more time than is needed trying to make their machines perfect. 

   The saw should be maintained, and checked that it is basically tuned up properly, but after that just use it.  Nine times out of ten if a bandsaw isn't cutting well the problem can be solved by putting on a new sharp blade.

   Tires are usually shaped with a grinder or a high speed cutter.  It is a difficult operation to set up properly and the dust created is obnoxious, I would stay away from it if at all possible.

   John W.

3. 
   highfigh | Jan 30, 2006 08:17pm | #3

   I don't know if it's just my warped sense of how things work but if the crown is removed from the drive wheel, it seems that the blade could have more tracking issues unless the top and bottom wheels are extremely close to perfectly co-planar. Once a bearing or bushing starts to go south, the problems would be multiplied. Crowned tires are self-centering and reduce this problem, as I understand it. Obviously, if the mis-alignment is bad enough, the blade will still track badly.

   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
4. 
   BG | Jan 30, 2006 10:27pm | #4

   tony2,
   I remember reading that too and wondered why nothing in the marketplace meets those specs. Isn't there another issue with 14" machines, that is the PSI....and if the tire were flat and the blade was wider than 1/2" the PSI would be inadequate?

1. 
   PeteBradley | Jan 31, 2006 01:08am | #5

   The amount of blade tension that you can practically achieve is a function of the blade size, the tensioning device and the tension spring. Since a bigger blade generally has a larger cross-sectional area (square inches), larger bands need more load (pounds) to achieve the same PSI. Crown doesn't affect this equation. There's a lot of emphasis (in my opinion overemphasis) on wide bands on forums like Knots, but I suspect that most users who seriously use these saws a lot spend 90% of their time running a 3/8 band. That's what my 20" Delta industrial saw shipped with in the late 40s, and it's still a workhorse today. Even if you go to the max on your Delta (3/4 I think), the crown is what's keeping the blade on the wheel.Pete

   Edited 1/30/2006 6:41 pm ET by PeteBradley

5. 
   tangomike | Jan 31, 2006 05:30am | #6

   I'd be concerned about throwing the balance of the wheel out if you start grinding on it, aside from the general sentiment that it's not going to do much for you in the way of performance.

6. 
   gb93433 | Jan 31, 2006 07:01pm | #7

   The largest bandsaw I have worked on used a 4" blade to the smallest of a 14" Rockwell. Every bandsaw I have worked on has at least a crown on the botton wheel. If the crown is lost, it is reground. Several years ago I had the wheels redone on my 18" Oliver by a company that did printing press rollers and they ground the wheels. My understanding is that one wheel must be crowned or it will not track properly.

1. 
   tangomike | Feb 01, 2006 03:00am | #8

   the wheels on my Minimax are pretty darn flat, top and bottom wheel, and it tracks perfectly.

1. 
   Kenneth | Feb 02, 2006 12:25am | #9

   Do they make bandsaw tires with a crown built in to the tire?

1. 
   mike4244 | Feb 04, 2006 06:34pm | #10

   Good question, that would solve problems with wheels that are not crowned and have tracking problems related to a flat wheel.

   Ten years ago a friend received an inexpensive bandsaw, I believe it was in the trash. Needed a bit of work,tires ,guide system overhaul etc. This was a three wheeler too. Since he got the saw for nothing I figured it was worth a try to repair it.

   I had a piece of rubber, about a 1/4" thick, from Carlisle Roofing system,used this for the tires. Cut  over sized strips, glued the rubber to all three wheels. Then trimmed the rubber, sanded a crown on the rubber. We put a socket and adapter on an electric drill,placed on the wheel nut. Bob ran the drill, I sanded the wheels, worked good.

   Bob ,loves his free saw with hardwood dowel coolblocks and roofing system tires. These tires may last him 20 years. If I recall we used gasket cement,blue stuff for the adhesive.

   mike