Getting a Band Saw to track correctly

[GregLaROCHE]

Would someone tell me how the rubber tire is put on the wheel? Does it have to be in a circle and be stretched to put on or is it a band that is held on with something like contact cement?
Thanks

[Wayne Smith]

Mine was a circle that was sized for my wheel and needed to be stretched. I don't believe you have stated the make of this bandsaw. There are multiple designs and multiple makers of each design. There are some commonalities, but I doubt there are many between, for example, a two wheel and a three wheel bandsaw.

[Reg]

They are sized according to the diameter of the wheel and are very tight. Generally they require no adhesive. You can find them on Amazon and they generally come with instructions.

[sailcaptain]

Do you have a “Tension Adjusting Knob” to turn which sets the tension to the blade diameter? Could be they both do not match.
Is the “blade guide”, just above the table, set to far forward or back? That will push or pull your blade and ultimately kick it off the wheel.
Above or below the “Blade Guide” adjuster there should be a “Thrust Bearing Adjuster Knob”. That puts pressure on the back of the blade edge to keep it centered in the Blade Guide.
And also check that the “Lower Wheel” has its “Key” in the Key Way Slot. If not the wheel will catch and spin but slip on the shaft and throw the blade.
All these knobs I mentioned are prone to collecting saw dust and clogging. Which doesn’t allow the blade to run smooth against the wheel bearings. And throw the blade.
Use a dry lubricant on the bearings to avoid any build up.
Bandsaws can and are temperamental from time to time. But run forever with limited maintenance needed.
Hope this helps you identify trouble spots to check and solve the issue

[GregLaROCHE]

Am I correct in assuming that the blade should stay on without the blade guide in place?

[sailcaptain]

The blade should stay in place to hand turning of the wheels. Just to check alignment. THEN, quick off and on bursts of power. But not sustained running. It becomes dangerous to run without the guides and shields in place, as the blade will want to slide.
The important thing to have is the proper tension knob setting, set to the size (width) of the blade.


These are photos of my bandsaw and the items I mentioned. Blade tension and knob, blade placement in the guides and bottom Key in place with the saw dust accumulation.
Note that the blade tension is slightly off the size to the width of my blade. This happens over time and adjustments need to be made prior to cutting and if you see or hear the blade rubbing in the guides.
Blade movement happens do to the sharp corners you can make with the saw. So it is a constant check. But given the time you really use a bandsaw its not a nuisance and ensures a smooth, plane chatterless cut in tight corners.

[Brokenbear]

If I missed it I apologize but there are two adjustments on the band saws pertaining to the performance ...
1. is the tension knob that that determines how tight the blade is held
2. is the knob with a lock device (like a wing nut) that the wing nut is loosened and then this knob is turned which in turn alters the "run out" of the top wheel ...so with the blade under tension and the machine unplugged and the access panels open grasp the lower wheel and slowly turn the blade in the direction it cuts in and watch the blade move left or right while watching the blade on the wheel and turn the knob and observe the blade's lateral movement on the wheel ..the goal is to get the blade to stabilize on the wheel and not move laterally on the wheel....

NOTE: above picture in prior post is perfect blade to wheel position
You will noticed the wheel ..actually the "tire" is domed and if yours is NOT replace it ..


What you describe of one turn and blade off is not a dull blade (a dull blade I agree when cutting can wander)
The top wheel is the FIRST place you set you blade to be positioned correctly then the lower stuff (guides etc) have to be brought into alignment to support the blade for cutting ..if you were not cutting anything you would not need the guides ...
Which means the blade if properly setup can run all day long without the guides even installed on the machine ..

So think in two parts ..get the blade running on the two wheels free of any contact from guides or any other items

Then introduce the top guide to the blade where there is no contact between the left and right guide blocks and the rear flex bearing ..we are talking dollar bill thicknesses clearance in each case

Then move to the bottom guide and set it up just like the top one

Blade tension ..turn on saw with tight blade and lessen tension until slight blade shake at the top of the table then slowly tighten until shake goes away then 1/8 to 1/4 knob turn (depends on blade width) additional tightening

Bear

[David2011]

Lots of good advice here. Once the tires are replaced and all of the other details above have been worked on, be sure that the gullets ride in the center of the wheels. That’s pretty important for good tracking. I had my small Delta tracking almost as well as a table saw one time and made the mistake of making one cut through 1/8” brass tubing. The blade never tracked straight after that. A sharp blade is “everything.”

There are tons of good videos on YouTube by the woodworking people that deal with making your bandsaw great again.

[beemer]

Am I correct in assuming that the blade should stay on without the blade guide in place?

The blade should stay in place while running without the blade guides in place. I move the guides out of the way when setting the tracking. The guides only keep the blade from pushing off the wheel and twisting while sawing. The blade should make only minimal contact and not bind the blade in any way.