I was setting up my new Jet 14" bandsaw, and aligning the pulleys was
a PITA! The Duginski book says this only takes a few minutes. I'd like
to know how. The entire motor mount was angled when I got the saw,
and the pulleys were not parallel, let alone aligned.

I placed the belt over the two pulleys, and the weight of the motor
pulled the far end down, changing the parallelism. I have to (a) hold
the motor mount level with 2 hands, (b) use the third hand to apply
tension to the motor, (c) assure the pulleys were parallel with my
fourth hand, and (d) tighten the 4 bolts with my free hand.
Not really, but that's why I was cussing.

Anyhow - I finally figured out how to do it. But am I missing
something? I there an easier way? This is what I did.

1) Loosen the motor mounts (and remove the belt if necessary).
2) Lower the motor to the bottom of the adjustment slots.
3) Make sure the pulleys are parallel using the bottom position of the
slot as reference.
4) Raise the motor up and place the belt around the motor pulley and
lower wheel pulley. This changed the parallelism, as I mentioned.
5) I placed a hydraulic bottle jack under the motor, under the far side -
away from the pulley.
6) I inserted a 3-foot-long 2x2 above the motor, to the far side of
the cabinet.
7) I pulled the board down, levering the motor into a level position
without bending anything fragile on the motor.
8) With my other hand, I used a square along the motor mount to make
sure the motor was level (perpendicular to the frame).
9) I held the board in place with my first hand, and tightened the
bolts with my free hand.
10) After letting go, I checked the parallelism and belt tension. If
wrong, I repeated until it was right.


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Some of us just hang it on the pulleys and tap 'em into line before
tightening, but otherwise, it's still a goat rope with one individual.

"Bruce Barnett" wrote in message
...


I was setting up my new Jet 14" bandsaw, and aligning the pulleys was
a PITA! The Duginski book says this only takes a few minutes. I'd like
to know how. The entire motor mount was angled when I got the saw,
and the pulleys were not parallel, let alone aligned.

I placed the belt over the two pulleys, and the weight of the motor
pulled the far end down, changing the parallelism. I have to (a) hold
the motor mount level with 2 hands, (b) use the third hand to apply
tension to the motor, (c) assure the pulleys were parallel with my
fourth hand, and (d) tighten the 4 bolts with my free hand.
Not really, but that's why I was cussing.

Anyhow - I finally figured out how to do it. But am I missing
something? I there an easier way? This is what I did.

Bruce
I saw a guy at Rockler do it (after I struggled the same way you did)
and here is what he did. The motor is basically placed correctly when
shipped. Tilt the top half of the saw down, attach the belt, and lift
back into position, then bolt the top half in place. Make your
adjustments using the wheel alignment knob on the back, check for
coplaner, and go. Watched him do it, smacked my hand to my head, and
said "Duh!" My experience was similar to yours since I was doing it
alone. I used a stick balanced on my should to leverage the tension
while supporting the motor with a block of wood whilst trying to fit
my big hands in the TINY space to manuver the bolts . . . you get the
idea. Sure know how I will do it next time! However, I am terribly
pleased with the bandsaw, and acheived perfect coplaner wheels easily
after the belt was mounted.
Robert

(omit numerals to reach me)

Bruce Barnett wrote in message ...

Anyhow - I finally figured out how to do it. But am I missing
something? I there an easier way? This is what I did.

I doubt that I can explain it correctly, but here goes:

I got from my Dad a "Pulley Alignment tool" which worked out great for my
bandsaw.
he made it from metal in the factory he worked at back in the 60's for use
on metal working machines.

Imagine the following.
1. two pieces of wood, shaped like small versions of the top of a crutch but
can fit the groove of your pulley but not long enough to touch the belts.
Curved and then shaped with a round over router bit. Bottom (the part away
from pulley) could be flat.
2. Now to the two pulley crutch tops, fix a 1/4 inch water pipe cap. For
those with Fostner bits or Brad Point bits, make a recess for the pipe cap
which needs to be flat bottom hole big enough for the copper pipe cap.
Otherwise, drill a hole and use a round head screw.
3. use a thick wall 1/4 inch copper pipe. cut in two. Make it easy on your
self and cut it so it will be easy to get a wrench to the nuts in step 6.
Aside: length of pipe to fit your needs. may have to cut pipe two or three
times.
4. use a threaded rod with nuts and washers between the nuts and copper
pipe.
5. threaded rod goes between the two copper pieces of pipe.
6. Use wrench on nuts and threaded rod to force the pulleys apart.
7. Don't over torque the nuts.
8. Align motor, and tighten the bolts. and then remove the pulley
stretcher.

Sorry if I am not clear.

Graybeard Phil

"Bruce Barnett" wrote in message
...


I was setting up my new Jet 14" bandsaw, and aligning the pulleys was
a PITA! The Duginski book says this only takes a few minutes. I'd like
to know how. The entire motor mount was angled when I got the saw,
and the pulleys were not parallel, let alone aligned.

I placed the belt over the two pulleys, and the weight of the motor
pulled the far end down, changing the parallelism. I have to (a) hold
the motor mount level with 2 hands, (b) use the third hand to apply
tension to the motor, (c) assure the pulleys were parallel with my
fourth hand, and (d) tighten the 4 bolts with my free hand.
Not really, but that's why I was cussing.

Anyhow - I finally figured out how to do it. But am I missing
something? I there an easier way? This is what I did.

1) Loosen the motor mounts (and remove the belt if necessary).
2) Lower the motor to the bottom of the adjustment slots.
3) Make sure the pulleys are parallel using the bottom position of the
slot as reference.
4) Raise the motor up and place the belt around the motor pulley and
lower wheel pulley. This changed the parallelism, as I mentioned.
5) I placed a hydraulic bottle jack under the motor, under the far side -
away from the pulley.
6) I inserted a 3-foot-long 2x2 above the motor, to the far side of
the cabinet.
7) I pulled the board down, levering the motor into a level position
without bending anything fragile on the motor.
8) With my other hand, I used a square along the motor mount to make
sure the motor was level (perpendicular to the frame).
9) I held the board in place with my first hand, and tightened the
bolts with my free hand.
10) After letting go, I checked the parallelism and belt tension. If
wrong, I repeated until it was right.


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(Robert) writes:

Bruce
I saw a guy at Rockler do it (after I struggled the same way you did)
and here is what he did. The motor is basically placed correctly when
shipped.

My motor was cocked at a 15 degree angle. And of course I had to loosen it
to place the belt on. So the angle of the motor mount changed when the
belt was put on. And the weight of the motor made the belt mis-align again.


Tilt the top half of the saw down,

I don't follow.

attach the belt, and lift
back into position, then bolt the top half in place. Make your
adjustments using the wheel alignment knob on the back, check for
coplaner, and go.

??? The lower wheel doesn't have an alignment knob.
I haven't even gotten to the blade and upper wheel yet.
The only adjustment I see is the 4 bolts for the motor, and the
set screws in the two pulleys (one on motor, one on lower wheel).


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"George" george@least writes:

Some of us just hang it on the pulleys and tap 'em into line before
tightening, but otherwise, it's still a goat rope with one individual.

It took me a 3 foot lever and a lot of weight to get the motor in
line. I tried a tap where the motor mount hits the frame, and it
didn't budge. (Certainly didn't want to tap the motor shaft). I'm not
sure how you were able to tension the belt (1/2 inch deflection) with
a simple tap. It might be because I have a new belt, and a heavier
motor (1 1/2HP) in my JWBS-14DX.

Now if I could only find a motor with the pulley in the motor's center
of gravity, it would have been much easier. :-)


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Ah-h
sorry typo

that should have been 1/2 inch water pipe

Graybeard Phil
"phil" wrote in message
...
I doubt that I can explain it correctly, but here goes:

I got from my Dad a "Pulley Alignment tool" which worked out great for my
bandsaw.
he made it from metal in the factory he worked at back in the 60's for use
on metal working machines.

Imagine the following.
1. two pieces of wood, shaped like small versions of the top of a crutch
but
can fit the groove of your pulley but not long enough to touch the belts.
Curved and then shaped with a round over router bit. Bottom (the part
away
from pulley) could be flat.
2. Now to the two pulley crutch tops, fix a 1/4 inch water pipe cap. For
those with Fostner bits or Brad Point bits, make a recess for the pipe cap
which needs to be flat bottom hole big enough for the copper pipe cap.
Otherwise, drill a hole and use a round head screw.
3. use a thick wall 1/4 inch copper pipe. cut in two. Make it easy on
your
self and cut it so it will be easy to get a wrench to the nuts in step 6.
Aside: length of pipe to fit your needs. may have to cut pipe two or
three
times.
4. use a threaded rod with nuts and washers between the nuts and copper
pipe.
5. threaded rod goes between the two copper pieces of pipe.
6. Use wrench on nuts and threaded rod to force the pulleys apart.
7. Don't over torque the nuts.
8. Align motor, and tighten the bolts. and then remove the pulley
stretcher.

Sorry if I am not clear.

Graybeard Phil

"Bruce Barnett" wrote in message
...


I was setting up my new Jet 14" bandsaw, and aligning the pulleys was
a PITA! The Duginski book says this only takes a few minutes. I'd like
to know how. The entire motor mount was angled when I got the saw,
and the pulleys were not parallel, let alone aligned.

I placed the belt over the two pulleys, and the weight of the motor
pulled the far end down, changing the parallelism. I have to (a) hold
the motor mount level with 2 hands, (b) use the third hand to apply
tension to the motor, (c) assure the pulleys were parallel with my
fourth hand, and (d) tighten the 4 bolts with my free hand.
Not really, but that's why I was cussing.

Anyhow - I finally figured out how to do it. But am I missing
something? I there an easier way? This is what I did.

1) Loosen the motor mounts (and remove the belt if necessary).
2) Lower the motor to the bottom of the adjustment slots.
3) Make sure the pulleys are parallel using the bottom position of the
slot as reference.
4) Raise the motor up and place the belt around the motor pulley and
lower wheel pulley. This changed the parallelism, as I mentioned.
5) I placed a hydraulic bottle jack under the motor, under the far
side -
away from the pulley.
6) I inserted a 3-foot-long 2x2 above the motor, to the far side of
the cabinet.
7) I pulled the board down, levering the motor into a level position
without bending anything fragile on the motor.
8) With my other hand, I used a square along the motor mount to make
sure the motor was level (perpendicular to the frame).
9) I held the board in place with my first hand, and tightened the
bolts with my free hand.
10) After letting go, I checked the parallelism and belt tension. If
wrong, I repeated until it was right.


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$500 per message, and acknowledges the legality of this contract.

"phil" writes:

Thanks! This is a keeper...

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$500 per message, and acknowledges the legality of this contract.

"phil" wrote in message
...
I doubt that I can explain it correctly, but here goes:

I got from my Dad a "Pulley Alignment tool" which worked out great for my
bandsaw.
he made it from metal in the factory he worked at back in the 60's for use
on metal working machines.

Imagine the following.
1. two pieces of wood, shaped like small versions of the top of a crutch
but
can fit the groove of your pulley but not long enough to touch the belts.
Curved and then shaped with a round over router bit. Bottom (the part
away
from pulley) could be flat.
2. Now to the two pulley crutch tops, fix a 1/4 inch water pipe cap. For
those with Fostner bits or Brad Point bits, make a recess for the pipe cap
which needs to be flat bottom hole big enough for the copper pipe cap.
Otherwise, drill a hole and use a round head screw.
3. use a thick wall 1/4 inch copper pipe. cut in two. Make it easy on
your
self and cut it so it will be easy to get a wrench to the nuts in step 6.
Aside: length of pipe to fit your needs. may have to cut pipe two or
three
times.
4. use a threaded rod with nuts and washers between the nuts and copper
pipe.
5. threaded rod goes between the two copper pieces of pipe.
6. Use wrench on nuts and threaded rod to force the pulleys apart.
7. Don't over torque the nuts.
8. Align motor, and tighten the bolts. and then remove the pulley
stretcher.

Sorry if I am not clear.

Graybeard Phil
=======================
Like a reverse turn buckle.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX

Hi Bruce

I got the same band saw in a 4 speed model, I wanted the 4 speed for the
metal sawing setup that I made

The way the motor was bolted on the saw is not to handy for aligning etc.

So I have changed the setup on my band saw in a simple way so that there
is no problem to change speeds or tightening the v belts anymore

Bolted a 3/4" piece of plywood to the frame and bolted a old door hinge
to the motor and to 2 slots in the plywood and 2 bolds and a wedge under
the other side to adjust for belt tightness

I needed the slots for belt tightening between the jack shaft and saw
motor for the metal sawing setup, the band saw motor is just a shaft
with a pulley when sawing metal and the other motor does the metal
sawing, they (the slots in the plywood) are not needed for the normal
band saw setup

I made 3 pictures and put them on my web side if you or anyone else
wants to make an easy change to their band saw have a look

http://homepage.mac.com/l.vanderloo/PhotoAlbum22.html

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

Leo Van Der Loo writes:

I got the same band saw in a 4 speed model, I wanted the 4 speed for
the metal sawing setup that I made

Thanks, Leo. If I add the 4-speed option at a later date, I'll
consider your idea!

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Anyway you can post or send a pic? I'm having a hard time imagining some of this....

H.

"phil" wrote in message ...
Ah-h
sorry typo

that should have been 1/2 inch water pipe

Graybeard Phil
"phil" wrote in message
...
I doubt that I can explain it correctly, but here goes:

I got from my Dad a "Pulley Alignment tool" which worked out great for my
bandsaw.
he made it from metal in the factory he worked at back in the 60's for use
on metal working machines.

Imagine the following.
1. two pieces of wood, shaped like small versions of the top of a crutch
but
can fit the groove of your pulley but not long enough to touch the belts.
Curved and then shaped with a round over router bit. Bottom (the part
away
from pulley) could be flat.
2. Now to the two pulley crutch tops, fix a 1/4 inch water pipe cap. For
those with Fostner bits or Brad Point bits, make a recess for the pipe cap
which needs to be flat bottom hole big enough for the copper pipe cap.
Otherwise, drill a hole and use a round head screw.
3. use a thick wall 1/4 inch copper pipe. cut in two. Make it easy on
your
self and cut it so it will be easy to get a wrench to the nuts in step 6.
Aside: length of pipe to fit your needs. may have to cut pipe two or
three
times.
4. use a threaded rod with nuts and washers between the nuts and copper
pipe.
5. threaded rod goes between the two copper pieces of pipe.
6. Use wrench on nuts and threaded rod to force the pulleys apart.
7. Don't over torque the nuts.
8. Align motor, and tighten the bolts. and then remove the pulley
stretcher.

Sorry if I am not clear.

Graybeard Phil

"Bruce Barnett" wrote in message
...


I was setting up my new Jet 14" bandsaw, and aligning the pulleys was
a PITA! The Duginski book says this only takes a few minutes. I'd like
to know how. The entire motor mount was angled when I got the saw,
and the pulleys were not parallel, let alone aligned.

I placed the belt over the two pulleys, and the weight of the motor
pulled the far end down, changing the parallelism. I have to (a) hold
the motor mount level with 2 hands, (b) use the third hand to apply
tension to the motor, (c) assure the pulleys were parallel with my
fourth hand, and (d) tighten the 4 bolts with my free hand.
Not really, but that's why I was cussing.

Anyhow - I finally figured out how to do it. But am I missing
something? I there an easier way? This is what I did.

1) Loosen the motor mounts (and remove the belt if necessary).
2) Lower the motor to the bottom of the adjustment slots.
3) Make sure the pulleys are parallel using the bottom position of the
slot as reference.
4) Raise the motor up and place the belt around the motor pulley and
lower wheel pulley. This changed the parallelism, as I mentioned.
5) I placed a hydraulic bottle jack under the motor, under the far
side -
away from the pulley.
6) I inserted a 3-foot-long 2x2 above the motor, to the far side of
the cabinet.
7) I pulled the board down, levering the motor into a level position
without bending anything fragile on the motor.
8) With my other hand, I used a square along the motor mount to make
sure the motor was level (perpendicular to the frame).
9) I held the board in place with my first hand, and tightened the
bolts with my free hand.
10) After letting go, I checked the parallelism and belt tension. If
wrong, I repeated until it was right.


--
Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail to this account incurs a fee of
$500 per message, and acknowledges the legality of this contract.