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Hello everyone i seem to be chasing my tail on this one
ive been at this for 2 days just tryin to set it up

When i got it first
the wheels seemed to be coplanar ..but the blade was riding
on the inside of both tyres, and the teeth was cutting into the camber

The lower guide bracket needed to be moved back to the MAXIMUM amount
(had to remove a bolt temporarly)
which still was not enough because when i raised the toolpost the teeth
were hitting the guides

Today i managed to get the blade centred on the wheels
and moved the guides forward but other problems have arose

Now their is a big distince when i move the toolpost up and down (is this normal ?)

Also my lower thrust block is misaligned (is this normal/ok ?)

Finally i want to ask you about the lower wheel adjustment screws
if i level / even these grub screws the lower wheel is really stiff
What should i do ?
thanks in advance everyone
tomas

Tomas -

What size bandsaw is this? Is the blade the right size for this saw? Purely by sight, looks like a very shallow blade given the size of the guides in the picture.

Hi corky the saw is an 18 closer to 20" startrite 502e and the 3/8" blade came with the saw
I know that i should change the blade, but id like to set it up
at least first plus ......im broke

Im making a bench and was going to use this blade for light work
cutting the 1/2 lips off on door parts
I did use it (for 30 sec cut) when the blade was riding on the inside of the wheels
and it DID cut perfectly .
Ive looked for info on this for at least a solid week and all i keep getting is ..
bandsaw guide setup /blade tension /tracking

Tomorrow im going to make a coplanar jig have my saw 100% dead level
back off the top wheel adjustment screw /guides

Could someone please tell me what to do about the lower wheel
How stiff should the lower wheel turn and what to do about alignment of the
bolts on PIC 2 ?
Did any of you guys experience something like this, i cant find its in the archives
would some other pics be helpful ?
Sorry for the newb questions
Thanks again
Tomas

I have experienced a couple of things that may be relevant.

First, I was surprised on my bandsaw how important it is to apply the full tension for the particular width of blade. If it is not tensioned correctly, the blade wanders or flies off the wheels.

Second, many of the guide bearings are on cams to rotate them into postion. They should be rotated up from the bottom, so that if they slip, they will fall away from the blade. If the cams are rotated down from the top into position, when they slip, they will pinch the blade and force it forward severely.

I'm a little confused about the lower wheel issue. Are the bolts to align the lower wheel shaft? And when you get it straight or aligned, it's difficult to turn? Is this when there is no blade on the saw?

When you move the upper guide post up & down, the guides move away from or into the blade as it moves? If this is the case, the guide post is out of alignment. I think most guide posts are not perfectly aligned & will not move perfectly parallel to the blade.

Is the frame of the saw out of alignment - somewhat twisted. Was it dropped or damaged?

Can you back off the guides so they are making no contact with the blade, get the blade centered on the wheels, then run the saw for a minute but don't cut anything. Does the blade stay centered and not drift around? If it stays centered, then move the guides in.

Good luck,

Kevin Looker

_________________
I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

Hi again
Could someone tell me how stiff the lower wheel should be
without a blade on it
or how centered should the shaft should be

Isn't that wheel attached to the motor shaft? Why are you fooling with that? Is it a used saw?
It won't spin like the top wheel but should rotate freely.

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