trouble tracking narrow blades on g0555

[Zach England]

I have a fairly new g0555 that I have never used much until now. I removed the 3/8 blade (which has always worked fine) and put on a 1/8 blade to do some fine scroll work. I was not able to keep the blade running on the center of the tires. I'd adjust the tracking angle in very fine increments about 1/10 of a turn, and when it began to approach the center of the top tire it would suddenly slide to the other side, regardless of the tension on the blade. At this point I took the blade off and checked the saw for coplanar alignment, as I had never done that. It was off about 1/16 inch, so I added a small washer to the top wheel and it was then coplanar according to two straightedges. I cleaned the tires with mineral spirits and made sure everything was tight and running smoothly, put the blade back on and had the same result. I put two different 3/8 blades on and had no problem with either. Unfortunately I don't have another 1/8 blade on hand immediately. Is it likely that it is the blade, or is there something wrong with the saw?

Thanks.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Zach,

I'd call Grizzley and get the opinion of one of their technicians. I'm sure they have dealth with and answered this more than once.

[Prashun Patel]

Check the weld on your blade. If it's proud even a smidge, it can throw you off. I have this problem on my 3/4" blade on the G0555. Mine doesn't slide off; it moves back and forth. I suspect there's enough width on my blade that it corrects itself over a rotation which results in back and forth movement.

On your narrow blade, it might only take a tiny bit of imbalance to push the entire mass of the blade to one side of the crown after which point it's all proverbially downhill...

Just a thought.

[Jeff Willard]

Common problem with narrow blades. I had that style saw once, and had the same difficulties. All I could do was play with it, and get as close as possible.

[Zach England]

Common problem with narrow blades. I had that style saw once, and had the same difficulties. All I could do was play with it, and get as close as possible.


So if I get it as close as possible, is it preferrable to have it left or right of the center? I may have to have it left of the center, as I am not sure how much play the bearings have, but it has been a few days since I have played with it so I don't remember for sure. Is there anything dangerous about having an off-centered blade?

[Howard Acheson]

As said, its not an uncommon problem with narrow blades on crowned tires. I just make sure my blade is stable where ever it wants to ride. It's not a big issue and really makes no difference.

[Thomas S Stockton]

If your saw has crowned wheels, which are very common it will probably never want to track on the center. It really isn't a big deal if it doesn't what is most important is that when you get it to track were it is happy that it stays there. Bandsaw guides have a lot of room for adjustment so that should not be a problem.
Bandsaws are not like a tablesaw where you can just put a different blade on it and start cutting, you will almost always have to make a few adjustments when changing blades especially if you change widths.
Tom

[Zach England]

Thanks, everyone One more question:

Is this saw likely to benefit from aftermarket tires?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Zach,

If the saw is fairly new, the tires should be okay. I will caution you about cleaning tires with solvents.

If the tires are rubber, I'd just use a mild soap and water mixture to clean them. From a lot of experience on 1/2" computer tape drives ....don't clean rubber with alcohol and be cautious using other solvents....alcohol hardens rubber rather quickly.....other solvents can soften it.