problems adjusting lower guide system/BS
Hello,
Seems I have run into another problem with my Band saw. (17″ GI) which has bearings instead of steel blocks. It’s less than a yr old. Luckily it is still under warranty.
According to what I’ve read with regards to adjusting bearings …The bearings should never touch the blade when the saw is not running. But the bearings should be positioned as close to the blade as possible to offer max. support for the saw blade. When the saw is up and running and you begin actually cutting the wood the blade will make contact with side bearings and the trust bearings. The bearings will turn.
Now my problem.. I went to adjust the lower guide system after changing from a 1/2″ blade to a 3/8″ blade for the first time only to discover that I cannot position the side bearings behind the teeth/ just behind the gullet. The guide system can’t be pushed back any further. I’ve had no problem adjusting the upper guide system. So forget using a 1/4″ blade. If I go ahead and use the Band saw I’ll only end up ruining the bearings and the blade. So I will be stuck using my jigsaw till I get this problem straightened out.
I’ve also noticed a not so normal noise which seems to be coming from both the lower and upper wheels. I’m thinking it could be a wheel bearing. Unusual for a saw that hasn’t been in operation that long. But I suppose it could be possible. It sounds like metal grinding/grating on metal. Definitely not the sound of a healthy band saw. The tracking seems to be ok and the saw is cutting ok.
I phoned the service department this morning and they’re going to send someone out to have a look at it. Not sure whether the warranty covers labour. That was one thing they were supposed to check out for me but I am still waiting to hear back from the service guy.
Wanda
Replies
This is not exactly what you want to hear but may be of interest. I have an old UK startrite 14S bandsaw which came to me with very complicated after-market guides. I could never get the bottom guide right, and after a long time asked the advice of a retailer of old machines.
He said take it off altogether, the older machines did not have bottom guides, and because the drive (pull) is from below, it will not matter. The other advice was to use metal cutting blades.
I follow the advice on both counts and could not imagine a better saw. The metal blades take higher tension and the top guide easily keeps everything on track. Common sense really, the jigsaw does not have a bottom guide and relies on the pull of the power stroke to keep a vertical cut.
You could give it a try.
I would be tempted to check the wheels to see if they are co-planing. In other words take the table off and hold a straight edge that is long enough to touch the top of the upper wheel and the bottom of the lower wheel to make sure the wheels are in proper alignment(the straight edge should touch both wheels at four points). Ask the serviceman to check that if your not comfortable doing it.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Hi Bruce,
I've read the manual and I've watched the Woodwhisper's video on tuning the band saw. Yup, it is possible that the wheels are not in alignment. But that's the last thing you want to have to check. Considering it requires having to remove the table.
Not to worry I'll have the service man check over the saw and see what he thinks. I'll ask him to check the wheels just in case.
Wanda
I have a Grizzly 14" saw and the wheels are not coplanar by ~3/16", but it doesn't matter, to me at least, as long as you can get the blade to track well and in the center of the upper wheel. This was also the case on my previous craftsman saw. I've found dust collection to be the biggest problem for me on the 14" saw. I think all that saw dust gets jammed through the lower guides and causes noise and lots of heat which is not good. I added a dust port right under the table before the lower guides and have not had any noise, vibration or tracking problems since.
Damien.
Hi,
As I mentioned in my earlier posts on Dust collection machines. I was seriously thinking about purchasing the the Delta 1.5hp system and connecting it upto my GI 17" band saw. Until my uncle came over to help me change the blade on my band saw and told me in his opinion buying a big DC would be a waste of money. He suggested hooking up a shopvac. He said he finds the dust collection ports on most band saws totally useless. Yup, The majority of the dust collects around the lower guide system. The blade draws the dust downwards and what a mess it leaves in its wake. He suggests just wearing a good quality dust mask when operating the band saw. The miter/router and Band saw are the worst culprits when it comes to creating fine dust particles.
I usually suck up the dust with my 2hp shopvac after I'm finished using the saw for the day. But surely a DC 1.5Hp with 1250cfm must make some difference... Unless it's the placement of the dust collection ports on the machine that makes DC difficult if not all together useless. The GI saw I have comes with (2) 4" dust ports. One just below and in front of the table and the other port on the right hand side on the bottom just behind the motor. He says that port is useless.
Maybe I should for the hell of it hook up the shop vac and see how much dust it actually sucks up. But first I have to find a reducer so I can connect up my shopvac (1 1/4 " shopvac hose) Would I be better off using a 2"/ 2 1/2" hose? For all I know the shop vac I have is only good for cleaning up dust on the floor. What size shop vac should I be using? Right now I'm using my 2hp shop vac with the 1 1/4" hose to connect up to the router table and Miter saw. I don't find it that great for the miter saw considering most of dust is kicked up by the blade and tossed behind the machine. Only a portion of it might actually be sucked up by the shopvac... or perhaps it's just the low horsepower shop vac that's to blame.
So at the moment I have no proper dust collection hooked up. Next time I'm at my local tool shop I must ask them about the dust collection on the GI 17" band saw. Whether or not I'm better off connecting it up to a shopvac.
After working with the band saw for the past couple of months I've come to realize just how important proper DC really is. My poor lungs! Problem with wearing a mask.. the dust particles linger in the air for hours afterwards even after dusting off all the tools. The shop may look clean but you end up breathing in all those harmful fine dust particles.
Wanda
Wanda,
Yes, I've seen many of the bigger saws have a lower DC port, but it's usually below the guides. That doesn't make sense to me. I'm just a hobbist working out of my 2 car garage. I bought a delta 1.5hp 1250cfm machine for around $200. I think it's almost a must have tool. I also have a ridgid 6hp shop vac that I use with my planer, routers and miter saw. For some reason, the shop vac does a better job with these. The delta DC has ~5 feet of 5" metal pipe connected to ~15' of flexible 4", which hooks onto table saw, jointer, beltsander and bandsaw. Try opening the gap between the lower guides and blade, then cut some wood and see if the noise decreases. If it does, then some improved DC might help. The gap on the lower guides, from my "very limited" experience, doesn't need to be very tight. Good luck. damien
Hi Dgonsman,
Just wondering.. Did you rewire your DC to run on 220Volts? Or do you have it plugged into an "ordinary" receptacle. (120volt) / 15amp
I take it the hose on your shopvac is over 1 1/4" in diameter. Although I have the shopvac connected to the 12" miter saw it still kicks up a lot of dust behind the blade. You almost need somekind of barrier/box placed around the back of the saw to prevent the dust from flying all over the place.
At least I have the router table dust under control. :) Shopvac does a pretty decent job of sucking up all that fine dust.
Wanda
Wanda,
I didn't have enough unused circuits in electric panel to run more than 1 dedicated 220V outlet and a couple of dedicated 110 outlets. So, only the saws run on 220 everything else (including DC) is 110. Shopvac is 2" hose.
Damien.
I have found that my shop vacuum does a better job at collecting dust from my band saw (Delta 14") than my dust collector, although it is not perfect. The same seems to be true with my ROS. I am sure there is an engineering explanation for it, but I will go with the empirical results.
Evening Wanda...
I think I got the dust thing covered. Just kidding ya as you will see from the picture. Hope your dilemna with the bearing gets resolved by the reps and all is well!
Regards...
Sarge.. john thompson
Hi Sarge,
OMG!!!!!!!!!! That's one beast of a machine and look at all those hoses! Wow. :)
Are those big Green machines in the background General or Grizzily machines?
Is it really necessary to have a dust chute above the table adjacent to the blade. Doesn't most of the dust collect on the lower bearings due to the blade drawing the dust downward as it cuts?
Right now I just have to sit and wait for the service tech to come in. They said they will have someone available after the Labour Day weekend. So I have to sit tight. Hopefully they'll have a solution to the bearing problem.
Wanda
Evening Wanda..
Bridgewood MS 12 industrial floor mortiser to the right and Hitachi 12" SCMS with extensions on mobile cabinet to the left. No General or Grizzly... yet anyway. :>)
The Steel City 18" does an excellent job of dust collecting with just the 4 port. But.. when you have 6" from a cyclone available, you might as well use it. And yes... the top hose is the least critical. It just keeps any escaped fine dust off the top of the table basically.
But.. I will add that any escaped fine dust is fine dust that you can breathe and that's not good. So... ya take what ya got and make the most of it that it can deliver was "my call".
Again.. good luck on your BS problem and the fix...
Sarge.. john thompson
Wanda,
Sorry to be late to your post but I have just spent 2 weeks with Michaeal Fortune at Marc Adams School. The question BS guides came up - "They are not necessary! You do not need them."
As for the dust problem - my Laguna 14" has a 1/4" piece of plywood, kerfed by the BS blade, directly below the saw table. It is slanted at a 45 degree angle to the DC port, exiting at the front of the machine. (inline with the wheels) The dust is "gone" before it escapes.
As to fitting odd size hoses - go to the hardware store and ask for a "plumbers's boot". Works great.
Frosty
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Hi Jfrostjr,
Would you be able to post a picture of your dust collection"jig". I was thinking of building somekind of an enclosure around the bottom blade guide assembly. Just wondering how I'd hold it in place. Sure would love to see how you have that thingy hooked up.
Why any manufacturer would position a dust chute well below the blade guide assembly baffles me....
Wanda
WandaHope these pics give you some ideas on dust control. The little door in the side view slides up to totally block any opening except the blade insert.Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
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