I had not done a total band saw tuneup in over a year, so I decided to
take on the task on my 14" Delta. So far, I've inspected parts,
cleaned a few parts with a rag dampened in a little kerosene,
corrected an out-of-plane wheel issue, sanded the tires, inspected the
blade for teeth missing, and now making adjustments to a brush
cleaning mount I installed 5 years ago. No thrust bearing damage. I
have much more to do as I read Mark Duginski's Band Saw Handbook which
is excellent. So far I've spent 2 hours. I'm thinking about making a
personal checklist to make this (dreaded) process easier. I was
curious how often you do a full band saw tuneup, and how long does it
take? If anyone has a bandsaw tuneup checklist, I'd like to see it
here or in A.B.P.W.

Phisherman wrote:
I was
curious how often you do a full band saw tuneup, and how long does it
take? If anyone has a bandsaw tuneup checklist, I'd like to see it
here or in A.B.P.W.

Sal MacCarone has checklists for many stationary tools in "Tune Up Your
Tools".

I do mini-tunes every time I change a blade. This includes tracking,
readjusting guides, checking blade to table angle, etc... It takes me
less than 5 minutes, including mounting the blade.

If the blade takes more than a minute or two to properly track and set
up, or I'm not happy with something else, I do a full check. I have
never spent more than about 30 minutes doing Duginske's tune. The inside
gets vacuumed each time the Shop Vac passes by while doing the floor.

Barry

Blade tension, guides correct, start cutting. 5 minutes of tuneup when
I need to use the tool. Nerd out once with a tuneup is enough unless
you spend hundreds of hours a year on the saw. OK, your bandsaw use
may be different than mine. Probably is. My purchase was just a $150
twenty year old 14" Delta with little previous use. I installed some
coolblocks and a fresh blade. It cuts. What more do I need?

Phisherman wrote:

I had not done a total band saw tuneup in over a year, so I decided to
take on the task on my 14" Delta. So far, I've inspected parts,
cleaned a few parts with a rag dampened in a little kerosene,
corrected an out-of-plane wheel issue, sanded the tires, inspected the
blade for teeth missing, and now making adjustments to a brush
cleaning mount I installed 5 years ago. No thrust bearing damage. I
have much more to do as I read Mark Duginski's Band Saw Handbook which
is excellent. So far I've spent 2 hours. I'm thinking about making a
personal checklist to make this (dreaded) process easier. I was
curious how often you do a full band saw tuneup, and how long does it
take? If anyone has a bandsaw tuneup checklist, I'd like to see it
here or in A.B.P.W.