Hello everyone. I started a couple of threads but I did not get a lot of response so I figured I would put Norms name in the title that way a lot of people would read it. Anyways I just got a smaller band saw 12″ from my grandfather. Its an old craftsman circa 1976. Everything works but I was wondering what some of you very astute craftsman would do if you bought an older machine. An example: use it as is til something goes wrong or the other end of the spectrum: take it apart clean everything and tune it completely. Should I replace the bearings?How would I know if the bearings need replacing? Are they difficult to replace. I bought some tires for the wheels as the old ones are worn at it seems pretty east to do it so I figured what the h@!&. Does anyone have experience with resawing on this size machine and was it good or bad? I tried it on a short piece and it worked good. When tuning a band saw is there anything that I should definetly do or not do? Any comments are appreciated.
Kenney
Replies
You can probably see if bearings need replacing by taking the blade off, grabbing a wheel and shaking it. If there is no wobble or movement then the bearings are probably fine.
Hell If I got a bandsaw for free, I'd clean it up. Disassemble what I could, remove dust, grease or graphite friction points.
Replace the belt...
There's not much else to do provided it's cutting ok
(FYI My dad's bandsaw is about 50 years old. Still works great. Original bearings. so 1976 is a puppy in comparison - and back then Craftsman was a better tool)
Mark
Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.
thanks Mark, i got some new tires yesterday, bearing seem ok, the wheels may not be aligned so i am going to check that out today, have a great weekend
Wow what a great tool to add to your shop. A band saw can only add to your wood working ability. Here is a link for tune ups.
http://www.woodcraft.com/articleprint.aspx?ArticleID=223
Now to answer your question on resawing. You will need the widest bade rated for that 12" bandsaw. Check the manufactures reconeddations. On my 14" JET I use a 3/4", 4 TPI (teeth per inch) hooh tooth blade. Once you have your widest blade on your saw, the next step is to adust for the "drift" of the blade. All band saw blades don't cut straight when using a fence such as in resawing. Here is another link for you to read.
http://www.rd.com/americanwoodworker/articles/200008/main/page4.html
Hope you enjoy that "free" saw.
Joe
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