A sigh of relief here. I was totally freaked out last week when I fired up the Grizzly 1019Z bandsaw and it vibrated so hard I could hardly follow a line with it. Put off looking at it, because “worst case scenarios” were in my dreams. Tackled it Wednesday, ready to pull the blade off, check the drive-belt, worry about the bearings, etc., etc.
Hah! Thought to check/tighten the bolts to the stand first. Whadya know? That’s all it was! Steady as a rock (well, almost) now.
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Another proud member of the “I Rocked With ToolDoc Club” …. :>)
Replies
:-)
John
Hey Jamie,
Glad to hear that things are running smoothly again.
I hate to be a pain but, you do know that you haven't eliminated the source of vibration yet, right? Tightening in the loose mounting raised the harmonic frequency of the vibrations to a point where they aren't objectionable, but the source remains, and can be a potential problem later (it probably loosened the mounting bolts in the first place.)
Next time you have the blade off, check your tires for embedded chips, or tears. Worn belts are also a source of vibration (link belts are an amazingly smooth option). I once replaced a worn belt on a drill press with a link belt, and I was astounded at how much quieter it ran.
Tom
This was a $275 band saw (on sale, from $325) -- I'm not expecting miracles! It's the old Grizzly 1019Z 14" saw. It always had just the faintest vibration (and I mean faint). Someday I'll replace the belt with a link belt, but beyond that, unless it increases to "noticeable" I'll probably not spend time on it.
No, you're not a pain! BTW, I got the miniature scrapers yesterday. They really are miniature! Haven't sharpened 'em yet though. Did try out the offset wheel guages, they're pretty cool. Got a bunch of little rare earth magnets too. Can never have too many magnets!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Re: LV offset wheel guagesThis is an example of what I love/hate about Lee Valley. In a catalog filled with excellent tools, and supported by even better customer service, they have scattered stuff like this -- ingenious little gismos (usually for less than $10), supported by copy that could only be described as seductive. I will probably buy the set (because it seems like a good idea), throw them on a shelf, and wait 10 years before I find a use for them. I must have a dozen such items I have purchased from LV over the years.
I bought them specifically to make router templates with. Don't anticipate them sitting unused for very long at all, and am pleased with the idea of how easy they will make this process!
I know what you mean though -- I used to be real bad about buying stuff that looked "handy."forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
GURL, been using washers to do the same thing for years.
(Beats using a compass and pencil to scribe to a crooked wall. You can buy the stuff by the foot /yard or mile,
(And add or remove a link or two as needed) They are especially handy when you need a belt of unknown size for a home built device such as you may build with your old washing machine motors.L O L ! ED.
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