Tools and Tool Buying

[jbarker496]

Hi fellas-

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

I bought a Rikon 14 inch bandsaw about 6 months ago, and it worked real nice.  No problems at all.  Then I got sidetracked from my woodworking by the nice weather and my kids, and I didn't touch the bandsaw for 3 or 4 months.  I forgot to release the tension on it all that time.

Now when I use it, the blade actually oscillates front to back.  This makes for a very jarring cutting action.  If I hold a piece of wood so that it just touches the blade teeth while the saw is running, the blade only contacts the piece of wood for a moment out of each revolution of the wheels. 

 It has ball bearing guides and they are set up properly.  Although if you are still following me here, you could guess that the bearing behind the blade is tough to set right, as the blade is rhythmically moving towards and then away from the bearing.  Total distance of oscillation is probably about 1/8".  This is a 1" wide resaw blade that is almost brand new.  The problem goes away when I put a different blade on.

     So.......   1.  Did I ruin this blade?

                   2.  Do you think this was related to the bonehead move of not releasing the tension during a prolonged period?

Thank you for any insight.

-Jay 

[gruhe]

I doubt that you ruined either the blade or the bandsaw by not releasing the tension unless you way overtensioned the blade by trying to get it to work on your saw.  I have a Delta 14" bandsaw that is over 20 years old and the only time I have ever released the tension is to change blades.

I do think that you are trying to run a blade that is totally unsuited for a 14" BS, as those size saws cannot tension the blade properly.  The blade will also not track properly on the tires as not enough surface can ride properly on the crown of the tire.   The widest blade that you should be running on your saw is 1/2" which will resaw fine with the proper tooth configuration like a 3 TPI hook tooth.  

HTH,

Greg

[jbarker496]

Thanks Greg for your input, but I misinformed you by mistake. 

The blade is 3/4" in size, which the owner's manual says is acceptable. 

 I did use this same blade a few months ago with no problems. 

-Jay

[ronaldseto]

Have you checked the bands on the wheels. You may have an uneven flat spot that is causing the blade to oscillate. My thought is the band may have developed a flat spot, not all the way across, but more on one edge than the other.

[JL North GA]

Second what Ron says.  You may have developed a flat spot on the tire in a particular area.  Remove the blade and inspect the tire to make sure.

I have never tried to rehabiliate a tire, though I have replaced a shredded one.  So I don't know if it can be done.

[UtahJ]

I had a similar problem with a blade. When I laid the blade on a flat surface (teeth up), I noticed the blade was bent slightly, making that section higher than the surrounding ones. When on the saw, it would lurch forward as it rotated. Over-tighteneing should not cause the blade to bend that way, unless the steel at that point was inferior, causing it to stretch non-uniformly. 

[jbarker496]

Thanks for the info guys.  I cannot visibly see any problems with the tires, and the 5/8" blade I have on now is working well, so I don't think there is a problem with the tires.  Jeff-  What you say makes perfect sense.  I put the problem blade on a flat surface, and it does appear to be slightly bent.  I don't know how it got that way, but I think you have found the problem.  Guess it's better to have a bad blade than to have a problem with the machine. 

  BTW-Although I haven't been around here in a while, I used to lurk here a lot and found this to be a very knowledgable and friendly group of woodworkers.  Thanks again guys.

-Jay

[Old Woodie]

Well, we welcome you back and want you to join in with us on a regular basis. We need your input. I agree that this is a great forum!