On 10/19/2011 8:01 AM, mcp6453 wrote:
My father left me a Rockwell 14 band saw. It's pretty old. The blade is having
trouble staying in alignment. I was told that the drive wheel or some other part
involved in the movement of the blade has probably dried up and is not
replaceable because of the age of the saw.

Can anyone shed any light on this poorly described problem? Are parts available,
or do I just junk the saw?

There are rubber "tires" on the wheels. They _may_ (or may not) be the
problem; it may simply be out of alignment.

After-market tires are available as well as from Delta if they do turn
out to be the problem. One first step to check is to use a straightedge
and ensure the two wheels are coplanar--if they're not for some reason,
it's very difficult to get a blade to track even if the tires are still ok.

Definitely it is not at all likely there's anything fundamentally wrong
w/ the saw; I'd wonder if the person who told you it was likely
irrepairable wasn't fishing to "take it off your hands for you".

I'd suggest you go to the

rec.woodworking

group instead of a.h.r for more specifics...

Actually, I'll post this followup there as well.

--

On 10/19/2011 8:24 AM, dpb wrote:
On 10/19/2011 8:01 AM, mcp6453 wrote:
My father left me a Rockwell 14 band saw. It's pretty old. The blade
is having
trouble staying in alignment. I was told that the drive wheel or some
other part
involved in the movement of the blade has probably dried up and is not
replaceable because of the age of the saw.


That is very likely and most likely needs to be replaced anyway.
Replacement should not be a problem as many of the tires are long strips
of rubber and glued with a tapered over lap of the ends. A good repair
facility should be able to to the repair. IIRC Laguna tools does this
repair.


Can anyone shed any light on this poorly described problem? Are parts
available,
or do I just junk the saw?

See above, I would certainly not junk the saw just yet.

On 10/19/2011 8:45 AM, Leon wrote:
On 10/19/2011 8:24 AM, dpb wrote:
On 10/19/2011 8:01 AM, mcp6453 wrote:
My father left me a Rockwell 14 band saw. It's pretty old. The
blade is having trouble staying in alignment. I was told that the
drive wheel or some other part involved in the movement of the
blade has probably dried up and is not replaceable because of the
age of the saw.


That is very likely and most likely needs to be replaced anyway.
Replacement should not be a problem as many of the tires are long
strips of rubber and glued with a tapered over lap of the ends. A
good repair facility should be able to to the repair. IIRC Laguna
tools does this repair.
....

Possible, but Delta and replacement tires for these smaller wheels
are single piece for the most part. Simply, warm them up by soaking in
warm water for a while to aid in pliability and slide them on. The
traditional rubber tires do need an adhesive whereas the Carter
urethanes can get by w/o the mess satisfactorily.

The Carter urethanes--

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2004896/7284/CARTER-Urethane-Tire-For-14-Band-Saw-78-Wide.aspx

OEM replacements

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/delta14bandsawreplacementtiresingle.aspx

The other difference is the Carter is 7/8" wide instead of the full 1"
of the Delta, but the saw won't take but a 3/4" blade effectively, any
way, so it's not a problem.

Undoubtedly searching would uncover many imports on Amazon, etc., as well.

--

dpb wrote:
On 10/19/2011 8:01 AM, mcp6453 wrote:
My father left me a Rockwell 14 band saw. It's pretty old. The blade
is having
trouble staying in alignment. I was told that the drive wheel or some
other part
involved in the movement of the blade has probably dried up and is not
replaceable because of the age of the saw.

Can anyone shed any light on this poorly described problem? Are parts
available,
or do I just junk the saw?

There are rubber "tires" on the wheels. They _may_ (or may not) be the
problem; it may simply be out of alignment.

After-market tires are available as well as from Delta if they do turn
out to be the problem. One first step to check is to use a straightedge
and ensure the two wheels are coplanar--if they're not for some reason,
it's very difficult to get a blade to track even if the tires are still ok.

Definitely it is not at all likely there's anything fundamentally wrong
w/ the saw; I'd wonder if the person who told you it was likely
irrepairable wasn't fishing to "take it off your hands for you".

I'd suggest you go to the

rec.woodworking

group instead of a.h.r for more specifics...

Actually, I'll post this followup there as well.

--

you may want to take a look here and see if there is any information
that will help you out:
http://vintagemachinery.org/
or
http://oldtoolheaven.com/links/links.htm

I wouldn't think there should be a problem finding replacement tires.

I have a 15 yr old Delta 14" bandsaw, model 62-070, possibly similar
to the Rockwell. I replaced the tries about 2 yrs ago. The original
ties were more inner tube type rubber, whereas the new tires were
firmer rubber and seems to hold their tracking much better than the
old ones. The new tires weren't expensive. Invest in new tires and
save the old, if in reasonable shape, as back-ups.

If a bushing of one or more of the wheels is/are worn, there may
likely be replacements available (standard size?) or a nearby
machinist (trade/tech school?) can turn some, possibly/probably
inexpensively, for you.

Sonny

On 10/19/2011 10:24 AM, dpb wrote:
On 10/19/2011 8:45 AM, Leon wrote:
On 10/19/2011 8:24 AM, dpb wrote:
On 10/19/2011 8:01 AM, mcp6453 wrote:

My father left me a Rockwell 14 band saw. It's pretty old.

Mine was built in the early 50's, my guess is 1954.

The blade is having trouble staying in alignment.

When I bought mine, used in 1975, it gave me some trouble tracking as
well. I bought replacement rubber, and turned out I just wasn't hep on
getting it to track. Still have the same tires on it 36 years later and
it tracks perfect. Haven't touched the tracking in years. It is a
GREAT saw.

I was told that the
drive wheel or some other part involved in the movement of the
blade has probably dried up and is not replaceable because of the
age of the saw.

My original tire had lots of cracks like you would get in an old car
tire. The only real important thing is there is a crown in the middle
so the blade will track. You might think a crown would do the opposite,
but it doesn't. Get the blade tracking in the middle of the tire, where
the crown is. When I first was at this, I used to fanatically clean the
tires, trying to keep sawdust from glomping up under the blade. Haven't
changed the blade in years, haven't even looked at the tire... just
sayin. Yeah, it is my most used, and loved tool.

The
traditional rubber tires do need an adhesive whereas the Carter
urethanes can get by w/o the mess satisfactorily.

My original tires from 1954 and the OEM replacements I bought in 1975
needed no adhesive. Not arguing with you, just sayin. I have no clue
what they are made of, seems like rubber, but not sure anything is made
of rubber anymore, including "rubber" tires:-)

--
Jack
Add Life to your Days not Days to your Life.
http://jbstein.com

On 10/19/2011 3:47 PM, Jack wrote:
....

My original tires from 1954 and the OEM replacements I bought in 1975
needed no adhesive. Not arguing with you, just sayin. I have no clue
what they are made of, seems like rubber, but not sure anything is made
of rubber anymore, including "rubber" tires:-)

They're a synthetic rubber, of course, not natural.

Look at the first link above for the Delta OEM replacement tires and
note the comments associated. Unfortunately, the new P-C website is so
pitiful one can't find anything useful any more but there used to be an
instruction sheet for the tire replacement process. Perhaps one could
find it at the OWWM site I don't know; I haven't looked.

While Delta _does_ recommend adhesive but on these small machines unless
you're really straining the resaw capacity one can generally get by w/o
it satisfactorily, granted.

--

On 10/19/2011 3:47 PM, Jack wrote:
On 10/19/2011 10:24 AM, dpb wrote:
On 10/19/2011 8:45 AM, Leon wrote:
On 10/19/2011 8:24 AM, dpb wrote:
On 10/19/2011 8:01 AM, mcp6453 wrote:

My father left me a Rockwell 14 band saw. It's pretty old.

Mine was built in the early 50's, my guess is 1954.

The blade is having trouble staying in alignment.

When I bought mine, used in 1975, it gave me some trouble tracking as
well. I bought replacement rubber, and turned out I just wasn't hep on
getting it to track. Still have the same tires on it 36 years later and
it tracks perfect. Haven't touched the tracking in years. It is a GREAT
saw.

I was told that the
drive wheel or some other part involved in the movement of the
blade has probably dried up and is not replaceable because of the
age of the saw.

My original tire had lots of cracks like you would get in an old car
tire. The only real important thing is there is a crown in the middle so
the blade will track. You might think a crown would do the opposite, but
it doesn't. Get the blade tracking in the middle of the tire, where the
crown is. When I first was at this, I used to fanatically clean the
tires, trying to keep sawdust from glomping up under the blade. Haven't
changed the blade in years, haven't even looked at the tire... just
sayin. Yeah, it is my most used, and loved tool.

The
traditional rubber tires do need an adhesive whereas the Carter
urethanes can get by w/o the mess satisfactorily.

My original tires from 1954 and the OEM replacements I bought in 1975
needed no adhesive. Not arguing with you, just sayin. I have no clue
what they are made of, seems like rubber, but not sure anything is made
of rubber anymore, including "rubber" tires:-)


Actually the white letters and or white wall on a tire is rubber. The
rest of the tire has not been since before the at least the 70's.

On 10/19/2011 5:17 PM, dpb wrote:
On 10/19/2011 3:47 PM, Jack wrote:

My original tires from 1954 and the OEM replacements I bought in 1975
needed no adhesive. Not arguing with you, just sayin. I have no clue
what they are made of, seems like rubber, but not sure anything is made
of rubber anymore, including "rubber" tires:-)

They're a synthetic rubber, of course, not natural.

Look at the first link above for the Delta OEM replacement tires and
note the comments associated. Unfortunately, the new P-C website is so
pitiful one can't find anything useful any more but there used to be an
instruction sheet for the tire replacement process. Perhaps one could
find it at the OWWM site I don't know; I haven't looked.

While Delta _does_ recommend adhesive but on these small machines unless
you're really straining the resaw capacity one can generally get by w/o
it satisfactorily, granted.

On my saw, which I have the original book, no adhesive is mentioned.
Actually, I don't think anything is mentioned. It stretches over the
rim like a rubber band would, not much instruction was needed. Still not
disagreeing with you, just talking about my model of old Rockwell Delta
14" BS. The rubber on mine I'd say (from memory and guessing) is about
3/16th - 1/4" thick. I don't have a riser on it so don't re-saw more
than 6 inches. I doubt it could slip, but I could be wrong.

--
Jack
Add Life to your Days not Days to your Life.
http://jbstein.com