On Feb 19, 6:30*pm, wrote:
I have a cheap 4x6 band saw which I bought on sale from Busy Bee and
which came with a Harbor-Freight manual. I have also downloaded a
Grizzly manual for their equivalent saw.

I am having a persistent problem with tracking of the blade on the
lower (driven) wheel: the blade runs about 2/3rds on the wheel. I have
re-done the tracking procedure on the top wheel where it is
satisfactory. I have tried different tensions. If I move the blade
manually *backwards* by rotating the pulleys the blade slots in fine,
right next to the shoulder. If I move it forward, manually or by the
motor, it goes back to its previous position.

The saw cuts OK and there has been no tendency for the blade to slip
off the wheels. I am inclined to accept it but I was wondering if
anyone else encountered this and what, if anything, they did about it.

The other issue is the quality of the chips: The Grizzly manual has an
interesting chart explaining what needs to be done depending on the
shape of the chips. Nothing I do seems to make a difference - they are
always powdery!

Michael Koblic,
Campbell River, BC

Are the wheels coplanar? I remember one guy had to turn up a spacer
for one of the wheels before they were in the same plane. Sounds like
that may be what it is, because if one was tilted, the blade would run
off. Get a straight edge and check it out.

Hopefully, you've found a source for better blades than the banding
iron ones that are packed with 4x6s. I like Lenox, there are
others(none Chinese). You need at least three pitches, one of the
variable pitch jobbies is handy if you chop irregular cross-section
stuff.

As far as tension, you can crank down all you want, it'll barely get
the blade into the recommended tension area. Just remember to back it
off when done or the frame may take a set.

Might be worth a look into the gearbox, on some of the 4x6s, there's
been core sand and swarf left. Doesn't do bearings any good. Mine
didn't have a lot of crap, but I changed the gear lube out for some
good name-brand hypoid stuff anyway. Stuck a magnetron magnet on the
lid for particle accumulation plus a wrench holder.

There are several sites out there with fixes and upgrades for the 4x6,
I've not done a lot with mine except to dump the cheapy chink soft
hardware and get some decent fasteners into it.

Stan