I recently purchase a 14″ Ridgid bandsaw based on the FWW recommendation (best value). It’s definately proven to be a great purchase, but being it’s my first bandsaw, I’m feeling my way thru tuning it correctly.
My question is about a god awful noise that happens when the blade makes contact with the top thrust bearing. It’s definately not a noise you want a power tool to make (think of a very loud high pitched screach). It has happened since the first cut I made, and although it cuts well, i’m very sure this is not supposed to happen.
For reference, The set up is a sideways thrust bearing where the blade rubs on the side of the bearing. The bearing does spin smoothly and freely.
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
Bob
Replies
I had a problem like you describe, not with a new bandsaw, but one that I had used for 4 or 5 years. I cleaned the bearing and sprayed a lubricant (Boeshield T-9 probably) and the screech went away. Now the bearings are kept cleaner.
Rod
I would shoot the bearing with WD-40 or carb cleaner, Bob. If you can see rust in them, I would saturate them in a rust penetrate over-night before I cleaned them with the above. Let them dry, then lubricate them to see if they free up. If they don't, replace the bearings.
Good luck...
SARGE..
Perhaps you have the thrust bearing too far forward, so there's a lot of pressure being applied to the interface between the blade and the bearing. The usual advice is that when there is no wood being fed through the saw, the blade just misses the thrust bearing.
I wouldn't shoot any solvent through the bearing as that will eat the grease that keeps it lubricated. Since the bearing is new and spins freely, the sound is almost certainly coming from the blade rubbing on the hardened bearing surface.
One thing to check is that your guide blocks are properly adjusted. You want to have the blocks just behind the teeth with no more than a thin piece of paper worth of gap between the band and the blocks. If there's too much space, the band can vibrate when cutting which can cause the screech you describe. Make sure you don't overtighten the blocks. You should be able to spin the wheel freely by hand.
Along the same lines, if you're a little under tension, the band may be fluttering (vibrating) in the cut. This can be exacerbated by certain types of tooth set and pitch. Don't go nuts on tension, but try upping it a little and see if that helps.
Last attempt, you could try a hard lubricant like wax rubbed against the back of the blade.
Pete
Hi Pete,
I think I once read about someone recommending using a sharpening stone on the back of the blade (while the saw is running) to remove hard edges and slightly round the back of the blade. Can't remember the exact reason for doing this - perhaps easier turns? Might this help if the noise is coming from contact between the blade and bearing?Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral. Frank Lloyd Wright
I've seen this too. Couldn't hurt, just be careful of sparks and fingers.
Pete
"exact reason for doing this - perhaps easier turns?" Yes.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
"I wouldn't shoot any solvent through the bearing as that will eat the grease that keeps it lubricated." Excellent point. Question: Would it be effective and OK to soak it in kerosene??forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I think soaking in kerosine would be same as shooting in solvent. Bad idea. If it is a sealed bearing and it spins freely, that is an indication that the grease inside is already gone. I would replace the bearing with a new one and get an extra for future use. If you pick up a new sealed bearing and spin it you will notice that it will not spin, thats because it is packed inside with grease, which with use, getting hot, being cleaned with solvent etc. can dissapate. It might be possible to carefully pry off the seal and clean and re grease and replace seal, but for peace of mind I would install a new bearing.
Given that it's a new machine, my first thought is that the problem is not the bearing itself. It could be a dud though and replacement should be cheap. I have gotten horrendous noises from bands that flutter when cutting. Besides the noise, another symptom is a series of deep ridges in the cut surface and/or a kerf much wider than the band is thick.
Pete
Hi Pete: I do a lot of resawing. It is basically my bread and butter at my shop. There are many things that have to be right on with bandsaw adjustment for the work to go smoothly. For me it is always a process of elimination to locate and fix whatever is not going right with the saw. I recommend getting a good bandsaw book such as Mark Dugenski's through taunton or amazon. Whatever is not right with your saw is probably an easy fix once you have isolated the problem. Your kerf should definately not be wider than your blade including tooth set. Try backing off ALL the guides, then tension and track the blade so that it is running in the middle of both wheels. After that, adjust the upper and lower thrust bearings to just not quite touch the blade when spun by hand. Turn on saw and verify that the blade is running true and not hard up against either thrust bearing. Now you can adjust the side bearings as recommended by manufacturer. I find that the feed rate is critical to a good cut. You can't rush the wood through the blade. If you're sensitive to the cutting action, you may find as I do that the saw will dictate the feed rate. Hope I don't come off like a know it all. Some days I am just stumpted by the saw and just have to come back to it later with a refreshed attitude. For me it is a constant struggle to keep the saw performing at its best. Good luck, and maybe someone else can put their finger on the screeching problem.
All good advice, though I'm not the original poster.
Pete
Thanks for all of your great advice.I have a feeling the blade is vibrating a little. Here's a question... How smooth should the cut be? I'm using a 3/8 blade and I'm getting little diagonal ridges throughout the cut. They sand out easily and are not a problem, but if the blade is vibrating, maybe this is a simptom?I'm going to try increasing the tension as someone suggested to see if that helps.Thanks again.
Bob
If they sand out easily, they're probably normal. Try a little more tension and good guide adjustments and let us know if that helps.
Pete
Bob,
New saw with the factory supplied blade? If you are using the blade that came with the saw, throw it away and get a good quality blade sized for the work you are doing. Factory supplied band saw blades that come with the saws are notorious for being very low quality, virtually useless.
Go to Suffolk Machinery, or Highland Hardware, or Iturra Design, or a similar specialty supplier, for good quality blades. Buy a half dozen blades, they often don't last that long and the first thing to try when a band saw isn't cutting properly is to throw on a fresh blade.
The replacement blades you will find at Home Depot, where you bought the saw, are probably not much better than the blade that came with the machine.
John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine
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