The drive tire on my 14 inch Delta bandsaw flew off the rim and the blade was damaged, Fortunately, I was not. I thought that I had thoroughly checked alignment, bearings etc. I put on a new blade, aligned it, turned it over quite a number of times by hand. I turned on the saw and bang – off comes the tire and blade. Repeat with same result, This is not a new bandsaw, I have used it for years with no problem and not enough that it should be worn out.
Can anyone suggest the probable cause. I have a new tire on order, but don’t want to ruin the new tire by overlooking something. The clerk at the tool store suggests gluing the tire on and I guess I will do that but could there be more?
Seaview Handyman
Replies
This is a big wild guess and I just got up and have not had my coffee but . . .
could there be a bearing problem on the lower axle ? For example if the bearing was a bit loose but running true enough power off then when the motor yanks at the axle it shifts the alignment and bango.
Power unplugged yank up and down on the lower wheel and back and forth along the axis of the shaft.
Wouldn't think that would unship the tire. Could be a secondary issue. Or the tire folds up under the torque of the motor and ramps the blade off.
huummm scary
PS: stupid question but I got to ask: was the blade tensioned for sure for sure ?
roc
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
Edited 8/16/2009 1:24 pm by roc
"off comes the tire and blade."
I'm most surprised that the tire comes off, as tires should be a very tight fit and a struggle to get on. They should not come off without difficulty. As to the blade coming off, I can only think of improper tracking.
and www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Sounds like the blade tension adjustment and tracking are not in sync .
Start over ,un plugged .
Was the tire glued on ? if yes re glue before trying .
regards dusty
Thank you for taking time to help me. After reading your suggestions I checked everything again. The bearings are good. The alignment must be good as it will track all day if I turn it by hand. The tension was also OK (at least it was the first time it came off) because it had been operating with that tension for weeks.The tire is quite tight because it is a bit of a struggle to stretch it on. It was not glued. I am wondering if the rubber could lose tone enough that centrifugal force could throw it off and of course it takes the blade with it. Seems a stretch but I cannot think of other reasons. Perhaps this note will provide more clues.
Seaview Handyman.
Hi Seaview..... I've had the same problem. You've answered the question when you said "This is not a new bandsaw, I have used it for years......" I'll bet it is the old black rubber tire. The tire is well worn out, and it is time to invest in a SET of new tires for the saw. Getting the tire onto the saw should be a bit of a struggle, sort of like trying to get a live octopus into a gym bag. Get a set of the new 'poly' tires. Soak them in fairly hot (not boiling) water for about ten minutes and QUICKLY mount the tire onto the previously cleaned wheel. You will most likely need an extra pair of hands when doing this, so have a friend ready to help with this job. Don't waste time doing only one tire, as the other one will be 'going south' in a short time.
SawdustSteve Long Island, NY (E of NYC)
Yes Sawdust it is an old black tire and yes I have a new set on order. Thanks for your advice, I will do that. One more question - should the new tire be glued. The guy in the store suggested doing so using the adhesive they sell for sticking sandpaper to discs. Seems like it might be good, but real hard to do and inpossible (I think) if I heat the tire first. I suppose I could glue the rim and still stretch the tire over it. I may need six hands for that.
Seaview
Hi Seaview.... NO glue. The tire is going to be VERY TIGHT. Make sure the tire seat is completely clean, no glue, gum, bits of old tire, etc. You may need to re-tension the blade after a few minutes as the tire seats itself and the pressure of the blade evens out the seating of the tire. Check it after 5, 10, 15 and 30 minutes of run time. After that, it's back to making sawdust as usual.The only thing you MAY want to do is take some emery cloth and GENTLY round off the outer edge of the METAL rim, just to make sure that when the blade came off, it did not leave any burs that would possibly cut or nick the new tire. DO NOT use a file, as it will tend to remove too much material. Just a GENTLE breaking of the OUTER edge is all you need.
SawdustSteve
Thanks to all who replied. I will post results later, but be patient. I live in a small town and the tires may take several weeks to arrive.
Seaview
I think you will find installing a new poly tire fairly easy even without help.The hot water treatment causes the tire to expand a bit. On my old Delta/Rockwell 14" bandsaw, I used a clamp to hold the starting point of the tire in place and worked around the wheel as far as I could go by hand. Then I used a phillips screwdriver between the wheel and tire to sort of pry the tire on, rolling the round shaft of the screwdriver as I went and letting the hilt of the handle press the edge of the tire toward the center-line of the wheel. It went on quite easily that way.BruceT
Actually, watching people not in the know struggling with things like tyres going onto motor vehicle rims can be hilarious.
In this case I would love to see someone trying to install one of those tight poly tyres PLUS glue.....
Sorry , couldn't resist that .Philip Marcou
Even more humorous might be a scene in which the neophyte applies lubrication to get the tires in place. "I got the tire on OK, but now the blade won't move, and I'm getting lots of smoke off the wheels!" ;-)
Hey Mook, Well, it has been a long time since I have felt the need to go counter to your advice. My big band-saw is one of the industrial high-speed versions. Even with new tires, which were all that I could manage to stretch, there was still enough centrifugal force to require glue. My supplier sent 3M Scotch-Grip 1300. Rather than applying it before stretching, once the tire is on, you slip something with a round shaft under the tire, then roll it along, while squeezing the cement into the gap behind the roller bar.Their suggestion for stretching the tire, was to clamp it to the top of the rim. Then pull straight down and clamp the bottom. Then you draw each side out like drawing an archery bow. I was sure glad to get this information. The night before I had wrestled the giant anaconda to the point of exhaustion, and the anaconda won.
One other tip to the OP. When you stretch the tire, before you put the blade on. If you start the saw, if the wheel spins fast enough to stretch the tire away from the wheel, it surely needs to be glued. If you glue it, the glue needs to set for a day before use. Rubber against the metal wheel is virtually like being in a sealed bottle. It will dry slowly.
+1 for a bad tire. Keith's got the procedure and the adhesive right for installing and gluing a rubber tire. On a 14" saw you won't need to glue though. The small wheel doesn't set up enough centrifugal force to lift the tire.Pete
Edited 8/17/2009 9:12 pm ET by PeteBradley
Keith,
My contribution was more of a joke than advice and you are right enough , especially on big bandsaw wheels which rev up a mean peripheral speed and corresponding centrifugal force.
Philip Marcou
This begs the question:
If you glue it on, how do remove it again when the time comes?
Better life through Zoodles and poutine...
A heat gun will reactivate most rubber base glue, as well as several solvents.
Thanks.
Better life through Zoodles and poutine...
Please let us know how the new tires work out ( if it solves the problem yes or no )
roc
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
I had the same problem a couple years ago. I tried glueing it it did not work.
The new poly tires are great, as mentioned hard to put on but once on there stuck for good.
Now Philip get that vision out of your head or I will ask you to wall paper my ceilings, with one arm in a sling and a shaky old ladder, with a big young dog running about.
Thank you all for so much good advice. I am beginning to feel confident that the problem is indeed the tires. I was uneasy about the advice from the Tool Store about gluing the tires on. Glad I asked about that on this forum. I will simply instal two new tires without glue and hope for the best, meaning that it was the old tires causing the problem.I do not anticipate any problem putting the tires on. I do Handyman type jobs every day and also a bit of gun smithing. The puzzle was diagnosing the the cause of the problem..
Seaviewhandyman
Before installing the new tires, you might also want to double-check the surfaces of the pulleys to make sure the surfaces are clean and true.
Yes! Thanks Ralph
Seaview Handyman
I have never seen this caused by anything but the rubber in the tires losing its resilience from old age, new tires, no glue, will solve the problem.
John White
Shop Manager for FWW Magazine, 1998-2007
Your bandsaw is telling you to replace the tires. Tires lose their elasticity. The drive tire is the first to go but both should be replaced.
All of the advice was spot on. One hint that will help,if you need it. After soaking the new tires in very hot water, then stretching them over the wheels,if they cool off and you still can't get them on,a heatgun or hairdryer will make the rubber more elastic. Use the heat gun on low, not necessary to get it too hot. I put new rubber on a 16" bandsaw on saturday and had to do this.
mike
Bought a 60's vintage delta 14" bandsaw a couple of years ago for the shop at our summer cottage. Did some clean-up, alignment, new blade & new guide blocks. Used it a few times that spring & it worked great. Fired it up during a blistering hot spell & after a bit of sawing it threw a tire. Replaced with a spare I had for a long-gone 14" import saw. Shortly after that (same extended hot spell), it threw the remaining original tire. Replaced that one also & have had no more problems. Tires have to have the bejabbers stretched out of them to install (as per an old article by my hero Robert Vaughn), tension equalized around the wheel, & need no glue. No sanding, grinding, crowning required on a Delta 14" saw even with the el cheapo tires I used. Installed the orange urethane tires on a General 15" saw I refurbished & no crowning required there either. Bed of wheels has a slight crown & tires conform to it.
Thanks for the tip. The weather here had been very hot when this happened. I checked the wheel carefully, noticed the crown and also found no flaws, nicks or build up of any kind. I use an aftermarket accessory brush attached to the frame which runs against the wheel and keeps it clean and free of sawdust.
Seaview
tires flying off
Glueing tires on a 14" bs is a bad idea as it should not be necesary. If you buy a Ridgid bs then order 2 new urethane tires at the same time from supplier...not the Red Devil (Home Depot)
Band saw tires
I have a 1919 Oliv er 20" bandsaw and when i installed new tires 30 years ago (still working great) the "old boy" I ordered from explained how to mount the tires. Do a super duper job of scrubbing the rims spanky clean. Use a heavy cut shellac and apply about three coats. The next day slip the tire in place and then heat the rim gently until you see some tiny bubbles along the edge of the tire. Slowly rotate the rim while heating to continue the little line of bubbles. The advantage of this method of gluing is it allows the belt to releive tension spots and give you a uniform tension on the tire. The shellac will allow you to reheat to remove the tires easily. It sounds more complicated than it is and once installed there was no more problem. I guess the old boys had old timey ways to solve problems. Good luck.
Tool Guy Dave
Band saw tires
I have a 1919 Oliv er 20" bandsaw and when i installed new tires 30 years ago (still working great) the "old boy" I ordered from explained how to mount the tires. Do a super duper job of scrubbing the rims spanky clean. Use a heavy cut shellac and apply about three coats. The next day slip the tire in place and then heat the rim gently until you see some tiny bubbles along the edge of the tire. Slowly rotate the rim while heating to continue the little line of bubbles. The advantage of this method of gluing is it allows the belt to releive tension spots and give you a uniform tension on the tire. The shellac will allow you to reheat to remove the tires easily. It sounds more complicated than it is and once installed there was no more problem. I guess the old boys had old timey ways to solve problems. Good luck.
Tool Guy Dave
Need facts
Just how old is the tire ? Is it old rubber and dry rotted and cracked ? Is the tire streatched out ?
If the tire flies off, it's telling you that it has lost its elasticity and wants to be replaced. Buy a pair of new tire, install them and be happy. According to Delta, no glue should be used.
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