Delta 14" bandsaw blade alignment madness
 

I have a Delta 14" bandsaw (with riser block) that I use for resawing.
I have not touched it in about a year :(, but recently bought some new
3/4" Timberwolf blades. Prior to putting the first one on, I checked
the wheels for coplanar alignment, all looked fine. I installed the
first blade, all looked good. I ran perhaps 1 hour total (5 mins at a
time) resawing some hard maple. Perfect.

However, I picked up a fresh board to resaw today, and as the wood
touched the blade, the blade ran "forward" (towards the wood) and
climbed up onto the side of the lower wheel (the lip of the wheel),
causing the blade to cut into the metal guide (ruining the blade, of
course).

I have removed the blade, checked for coplanar alignment, and
installed a fre$h blade. When I spin the wheel by hand in the REVERSE
direction, all appears to be well. However, when I spin the wheel in
the FORWARD direction, the blade seems to creep forward
on_the_lower_wheel_only until it has climbed up on the lower wheel's
aluminum lip.

I have no clue as to why this seems to be occurring in a single
direction of rotation, and why it would begin happening "all of a
sudden". There is no obvious changes to the saw, and I do de-tension
(a specific count of turns) each night.

Any thoughts? Help!

Mike

Delta 14" bandsaw blade alignment madness
 

In article ,
Mike Schoonmaker wrote:
I have a Delta 14" bandsaw (with riser block) that I use for resawing.
I have not touched it in about a year :(, but recently bought some new
3/4" Timberwolf blades. Prior to putting the first one on, I checked
the wheels for coplanar alignment, all looked fine. I installed the
first blade, all looked good. I ran perhaps 1 hour total (5 mins at a
time) resawing some hard maple. Perfect.

However, I picked up a fresh board to resaw today, and as the wood
touched the blade, the blade ran "forward" (towards the wood) and
climbed up onto the side of the lower wheel (the lip of the wheel),
causing the blade to cut into the metal guide (ruining the blade, of
course).

I know at one time Suffolk Machinery was recommending 3/4" bands for
these little saws (maybe they still are) but you really shouldn't use a
band that's over 1/2" wide. The Delta doesn't have the horsepower
or wheel width for such a wide band. I've used a 3/4" band a couple
times and it really bogs the motor. I prefer the 1/2" Woodslicer
from Highland Hardware, but you'll want to get the tracking problem
sorted before you try one because they're twice the price of the
Timberwolf.

Do you have a narrower band you can try to see if that solves it?

Another thing I'd try is to make sure there's nothing embedded in either of
the wheels that's messing up the tracking. The blade tracks on a crown,
so debris can throw it off.

Good luck.

--
Scott Post http://home.insightbb.com/~sepost/

Delta 14" bandsaw blade alignment madness
 

Thanks Scott.

Strange enough that it was cutting perfectly (very happy with it, no
bogging). Then, _something_ apparently has gone wrong. Just can't put
my finger on it. Very frustrating!

Mike

Delta 14" bandsaw blade alignment madness
 

Mike Schoonmaker said:

I have a Delta 14" bandsaw (with riser block) that I use for resawing.
I have not touched it in about a year :(, but recently bought some new
3/4" Timberwolf blades. Prior to putting the first one on, I checked
the wheels for coplanar alignment, all looked fine. I installed the
first blade, all looked good. I ran perhaps 1 hour total (5 mins at a
time) resawing some hard maple. Perfect.

Probably wore the tires out. Have you checked for crown and wear?
Are the wheel bearings still good? Although they advertise that you
can use 3/4" inch blades on the Delta saws, most, if not all, 14"
bandsaws are not equipped for 3/4" blades. 1/2" is about the max
practical width. Try the WoodSlicer from Highland Hardware. A nice,
quiet, thin kerf resaw blade and it works fine on my 14" Delta.
FWIW,


Greg G.

Delta 14" bandsaw blade alignment madness
 

Probably wore the tires out. Have you checked for crown and wear?
Are the wheel bearings still good? Although they advertise that you
can use 3/4" inch blades on the Delta saws, most, if not all, 14"
bandsaws are not equipped for 3/4" blades. 1/2" is about the max
practical width. Try the WoodSlicer from Highland Hardware. A nice,
quiet, thin kerf resaw blade and it works fine on my 14" Delta.
FWIW,


Greg G.

Tires look excellent (replaced about a year ago, virtually no wear on
them. I also tried inverting the tires just_in_case it made a
difference - it did not.

The Suffolk blade is considered a "low tension" blade, so it
_shouldn't_ be a problem on this saw. And, like I said, it WAS
operating very well for about one hour's cutting time across 2-3 days
(de-tensioned between uses).

I'm just beside myself as there's nothing that appears to have
changed!

Mike

Delta 14" bandsaw blade alignment madness