ridgid bandsaw help

[joshua shumaker]

I need some help. My Ridgid bandsaw is not right. i needs some directions to shim the wheels and get them coplaner. when i set the wheels coplaner, i am using a 3/4 blade, with riser block and carter guides. , it hits the blade guard and walks off. if i adjust it the other way it tightens the wheel up and hits the back of the housing. i noticed as i watched the blade that it moves back and forth quite a bit and i had to move the bottom carter guides all the way to front for it to fit in the blade track. Should i just try and sell this stupid saw and get a jet? or Delta? I have 500.00 and i work at rockler so i can get a discount. what should i do buy a new one and if so which one or should i try fixing this stuppid ridgid POS?

[Jeff Willard]

What happens if you put a narrower band on it?

[Chris Harry]

Are the wheels flat?

Can you pull them off and place them on a flat surface and see if the wheel looks "bent"?

[Byron Trantham]

General wisdom says that 1/2" is the largest blade that can be practically used on a 14" band saw. You might try one and see what happens. I have an old (blue) jet band saw and spent a bit time and money getting it to run true and reliable. Now I don't hesitate to use it for re sawing. :rolleyes:

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Joshua,

Go to Amazon and buy Mark Duginke's latest book. It is a wealth of information and tells how to do what you have asked about.


The New Complete Guide to the Band Saw: Everything You Need to Know About the Most Important Saw in the Shop (http://www.amazon.com/New-Complete-Guide-Band-Saw/dp/1565233182/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264690034&sr=1-1) by Mark Duginske (Paperback - Jul 1, 2007)
Buy new (http://www.amazon.com/New-Complete-Guide-Band-Saw/dp/1565233182/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264690034&sr=1-1): $19.95 $13.57

[John Shaffner]

Josh, although i don't own a Ridgid, I don't exactly regard them as a POS. They can be quirlky, but head over to the Ridgid forums and ask them there. Just off hand, I would remove the 3/4" blade and try a smaller one and see what that does. I could also be a tension problem or blade tracking adjustment.
Just my 2 cents
John

[Adam Strong]

I own the Ridgid BS and have no problems with it at all. It took a bit of tuning, but once dialed in it can match any other 14" saw out there. Take a little time to tune it up, and put the right blade on (3/4" is too wide).

[joshua shumaker]

ok so i will buy a 1/2" blade. does any one know how or where to put the shims on the wheels? i bought some fender washers, will this work? will an olsen pro blade work or should i go to my competitor and buy the timberwolf?

Thanks for the great info guys! i just want this thing to run right.

[Rich Enders]

I own the Ridgid 14 inch band saw, and it was virtually ready to go out of the box. When the first (included) blade broke I installed a Wood Slicer, and hundreds of hours later it is still resawing. I take the tension up to the top setting when resawing wide boards (8 inch wide with the upper blade guides removed), but otherwise I have changed nothing.

I don't know about using a 3/4 inch blade, but the trueness of the wheels should be detectable by spinning them in place without a blade.

Ridgid comes with a lifetime parts warranty, so they will replace any faulty parts.

[roman fedyk]

Once you change the blade to 1/2" you won't have to do anything to the wheels. There is not enough tension adjustment available on the machine to tighten the 3/4" adequately and that is the cause of the slippage. The wheels should be fine without any further adjustment.

[James Carmichael]

There's not necessarily anything wrong with the saw. By tracking the blade so that the wheels are co-planer, the blade is riding outside of the tire crown. Track it to the center of the upper wheel.

I did the same thing with the same saw and blade 6 years ago, before getting familiar with bandsaws. I read Duginskes first book and tried to do the co-planer tracking thing with a 3/4 blade and found, as you did, that it hits the guard. Track to the center of the upper wheel.

I have not found co-planer blade tracking necessary, the saw runs smoothly without it. I suspect when I sanded the tires, I did not get them square to everything, because with a 1/2" blade tracked center-top, the teeth are almost at the front edge of the lower wheel. If I ever put new tires on, I'll try to correct that, but for now, it runs quite smoothly with the wheels anything but co-planer.

BTW, the 1/2" blade suggestion is good. The only reason I tried the 3/4" is it was a freebie from Amazon.

[Bill White]

You're tryin' to fire a 357 mag. in a 38 special revolver. No more than a 1/2" blade on that saw......
I use a 1/2" Woodslicer on my l'il Magna BS without probs. Ya got too much blade for the saw/job at hand.
Bill

[James Carmichael]

I think the impact of the 3/4" blade is being severly overstated in some of these replies. There's nothing wrong with it, it may not tension as well as a 1/2", but once he gets it tracked properly, it should work just fine.

[glenn bradley]

I saw an article where a bandsaw guru took a euro saw and the Ridgid, worked his voodoo on each one. End result was you couldn't tell the difference in the cut (or cutting) results. As to whether you want to spend more time and money trying to bring the saw into line, only you can answer that.

I would buy the book suggested. It sounds like you may be confusing co-planer with the blade alignment feature (where the top wheel tilts a bit to position the blade[?]). Co-planer positioning is the equal center-line of the upper and lower wheels. This is separate from blade alignment angling and involves the wheel's horizontal position on the shaft . . . . . I'm sorry, that sounded confusing. I didn't say it very well. Mark Duginski says it a lot better.