Glen Blanchard
05-20-2009, 10:46 AM
I have a JET 14" bandsaw that I purchased new approx. 10 years ago - it is the older blue-green JET color. It has served me quite well, but over the last couple of years or so I have had a problem with the upper wheel. When the upper wheel was properly adjusted so that the blade would track on the crown, the saw would make a "thump thump thump" sound. I isolated the problem to the part of the saw which tilts the upper wheel as it is adjusted for proper tracking. The part in question is the part that holds the "axle" for the upper wheel. As I would adjust the tilt of the upper wheel this part would begin to rub against the wheel itself, causing the noise. Assuming that I had done something wrong (over-tensioned, not de-tensioned at the end of a day, etc etc) I tried to work with it by removing this part and grinding it down to eliminate the interference. This worked, but the problem eventually returned.
The other day I was in Woodcraft buying a router bit and I described my problem to one of the salesman there. His only thought was that it might be bad bearings on the upper wheel. I was about to buy a new set of bearings when the asst manager caught wind of the conversation. Boy am I glad he did. His exact words - "I know exactly what the problem is". It seems this particular part was built with a bad alloy that would deform over time. This in turn would require the user to crank down on it more which would deform the part even further. He told us that it was very common on JET bandsaws of this era - in fact there was a time when the store was almost flooded with folks complaining of this phenomenon. JET apparently denied that there was an issue of any kind. Interestingly, about this time, new JET 14" bandsaws became scarce due to a "backorder problem". I ordered a replacement part and it solved the issue immediately. What was amazing is how much the original part had deformed without me even realizing it. Little did I know that that piece was supposed to be flat rather than the mild "C" shape that mine had become.
So if you have a JET bandsaw that is approx 10 years old and are having a similar problem, this is your solution.
The other day I was in Woodcraft buying a router bit and I described my problem to one of the salesman there. His only thought was that it might be bad bearings on the upper wheel. I was about to buy a new set of bearings when the asst manager caught wind of the conversation. Boy am I glad he did. His exact words - "I know exactly what the problem is". It seems this particular part was built with a bad alloy that would deform over time. This in turn would require the user to crank down on it more which would deform the part even further. He told us that it was very common on JET bandsaws of this era - in fact there was a time when the store was almost flooded with folks complaining of this phenomenon. JET apparently denied that there was an issue of any kind. Interestingly, about this time, new JET 14" bandsaws became scarce due to a "backorder problem". I ordered a replacement part and it solved the issue immediately. What was amazing is how much the original part had deformed without me even realizing it. Little did I know that that piece was supposed to be flat rather than the mild "C" shape that mine had become.
So if you have a JET bandsaw that is approx 10 years old and are having a similar problem, this is your solution.