Hi John,
I’m experiencing blade movement with my Rikon 10-325 14″ bandsaw.
Tried a new blade but same thing although it’s a little bit better.
I tried the tip you mentioned with paoloi. When I rotate the wheel it seems that I end up in the same spot when the blade touches the upper thrust bearing.
Rikon recommended for me to move the upper thrust bearing back to avoid hitting the blade. He also mentioned adjusting the tension. It’s already slightly above the 1/2″ tension mark. I don’t have a blade tension meter and am worried of putting too much tension on this blade. I’ve reduced the tension as well. When I’m watching the blade track in the window it seems that the blade sways anywhere from 1/16″ to 1/8″ in the center of the wheel. You can really see the movement as the blade comes to a stop. The weird thing is the saw cuts well. I’m just not happy with all this wobbling, front to back movement of the blade which to me might damage the set on the blade teeth.
Secondly, could you please elaborate on fixing a wheel out of flat.
I was thinking of using my magnetic base with a dial indicator on it to check for wobble of the uppper wheel. The outer portion of the wheel seems smooth enough to have the tip of the indicator ride on.
You were assisting swing42 to troubleshoot his possible wheel problem and you had mentioned to make
sure the blade is tensioned while doing this check. I’m just curious.
Thanks for your help.
Replies
John,
I decided to upload a video of the blade movement on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX7MMhAfQRE
I couldn't email this big file to you or post on the forum so I thought this would be a better medium.
Thanks again.
That isn't a lot of blade movement and could easily be due to minor flaws in the blade. Personally I wouldn't worry about it especially since the saw cuts well. If anything bring the thrust bearings forward so that they help to limit the movement and to prevent the teeth from catching on the side bearings.
You could hardly over tension the blade and tension would have little effect on the wobble in any case.
When you say that you end up in the same spot when the blade touches the thrust bearing do you mean that it is the same spot on the blade or that the wheel is in the same position each time the blade is hitting the bearing?
If the outer rim of the wheel has been machined you could run an indicator against it to check for a wobble. A bad bottom wheel can cause exactly the same problem but it is fairly rare that a wheel is bad unless the machine has been damaged.
John White
John,If I move the thrust bearing closer to limit the movement would that contribute to premature bearing and blade failure?To answer your question, the wheel is roughly in the same position each time the blade is hitting the bearing.I am still interested on your ideas on fixing wheels out of flat. I haven't read anything about that in books or the web. What is your past experience with them?Thanks.
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