Replies

1. 
   PeteBradley | Feb 27, 2006 02:54am | #1

   Where the blade tracks should be independent of the guides. I almost hate to even mention it, but you are backing off the lower guide and readjusting when you put on the new blade, right?

   See where the blade wants to run with the guides totally backed out of the way. That should give you some idea of whether it's wheel alignment or if there's something funny going on when you engage the guides.

   Pete

1. 
   woodworker1 | Feb 28, 2006 01:43am | #2

   Peter:

   Thanks for your response.  The answer to your question is no.  I do back off the bearings and bushings when replacing the blade.  I forgot to say that I replaced the tires as well as the originals showed wear.  Thanks for telling me that the alignment of the blade on the wheel and the guides are independent of each other.  Can you answr my question of using a smaller diamenter blade that all goes well?

   Maybe I am totally out of balance with my wheels and need to use  a washer or bushing to straighten things up.  Whats your feed on this?

   Thanks-first-woodker

1. 
   PeteBradley | Feb 28, 2006 05:04pm | #4

   OK, that's a key detail.  It could be  that when you replaced the tires, the wheels went back on in a slightly different alignment from before.  I'd go through the normal checks for wheels being parallel and in plane.  The procedure should be in your owners manual, and it's written up in the popular bandsaw books too.  This doesn't have to be perfect to the thousandth, just close.  My machine wants different tracking settings for different bands, but once the top wheel tracks in the middle, the bottom does too. 

   Pete

1. 
   woodworker1 | Feb 28, 2006 08:16pm | #5

   Peter:

   Thanks again for the heads up.  I will check the wheel alignment to see where I am.  What kind of shim would you advise if one or the other or both wheels are out of alignment?  Can the bearing in the top wheel go crazy or the shaft the wheel is on go out of alignment?  If this does not help I will call Grizzly for some direction.  They probably want to sell me a new bandsaw?  This one is about 2 years old and I use it in all my projects.  I really enjoy the bandsaw and scrollsaw I have.  Just do not like irritating problems if you know what I mean.

   Louis-firstwoodworker

    

1. 
   PeteBradley | Mar 01, 2006 12:50am | #7

   At two years old, it should have plenty of good years ahead. The wheels could be out of parallel or out of line. Take a look at this article for more:http://www.owwm.com/files/PDF/FAQ/110124076.pdfAlignment methods differ by machine, and I'm not familiar with yours. I've heard Griz has all their manuals online so you might check there.Is the band that's giving you problems one that worked before, or is it new? I doubt there's anything seriously wrong with the machine. Most likely something got out of whack during the changes you made. It's just a matter of figuring out what. Try not to change anything that takes you farther from where you are now.If you had never used this band before or there are other changes that you made, it would be good to list them all as they may be clues.Pete

   Edited 2/28/2006 10:47 pm ET by PeteBradley

2. 
   forestgirl | Mar 01, 2006 07:21pm | #8

   "I forgot to say that I replaced the tires as well as the originals showed wear. "  Just to cover the obvious, make sure the nut that holds the lower tire on is tight.  I have an older Grizzly 14" and that nut worked loose, caused all kinds of tracking problems, without the wheel actually coming off, LOL.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   woodworker1 | Mar 01, 2006 08:13pm | #9

   Thanks - I will check this out asap.

   Louis-first-woodworker

    

2. 
   GilB | Feb 28, 2006 04:55am | #3

   How old is the saw? Are you over tensioning? The wider blades do require more tension but if the blade is dull you tend to tension more to compensate for drift from a dull blade. Check the upper and lower wheels with a straight edge. Maybe new bearings? Ugh!

   Just a "tip" but I always (lightly) lube my blade with Crisco and it helps to keep the blade smooth and stays sharper longer. I'll even brass brush the gunk off the blade once in a while.

1. 
   woodworker1 | Feb 28, 2006 08:26pm | #6

   GilB:  Thanks for the reply.  The bandsaw is a Grizzly 14 in. just about two years old.  I will check the alignment of the wheels with a straightedge and also check the wheel bearing. 

   As I told Peter, I also replaced the tires on both wheels and maybe I knocked something out of alignment.  I will check further.

   If you can think of anything else I could do please advise.  I appreciate all the help I can get with this bandsaw problem.  I presume the next step would be Grizzly Tech Support.

   Louis-first-woodworker