How much vibration is normal--LT18-3000 Bandsaw

[Andre Cormier]

Hi, just setting up my new bandsaw and I find there is a fair bit of vibration. How much vibration is normal? It's hard to describe vibration in words but as I am looking at one of the far corners of the table, you can see it going back and forth. Hard to tell how much, maybe an 1/8th. When I shut off the saw there is even a much greater wobble at a certain speed, you can see the top of the machine swaying a bit as it's winding down. I think the wheel(s) might be out of balance.

I'm holding off reviewing the saw until I have used it a bit more.

Thanks

[glenn bradley]

Something going on there and hopefully an owner will respond. My Grizzly G0513X is spooky smooth even standing on the questionable Shop Fox mobile base. Your saw should be too.

Try it without the blade, check the belt for any anomaly, spin the wheels by hand, etc. would be my first shot at troubleshooting.

[keith denbesten]

Than's not normal. All the feet are on the ground and the machine is level? Can you check for runout?

I would call Laguna asap. They will talk you through it.

Good luck. You'll love it when you get the bugs worked out.

[Frank Drew]

Andre,

Definitely not normal, or correct. Check the items Glenn mentioned, also see if the motor mount is secure; if one or both of your wheels are out of balance, they'll need professional attention (you'll often see bandsaw wheels with a number of holes drilled in their perimeters, which is one corrective measure.)

[Paul Murphy]

Do a little troubleshooting. Keep adding driven parts until you identify the problem:

Remove the drive belt...does the motor run smoothly by itself?

Add the belt but leave the blade off...still ok? Does the bottom wheel have visable radial runout, or wobble side to side?

Add the blade. How is the top wheel visable radial runout, or side to side wobble?

Sometimes a good machine will vibrate if the drive belt is bad, or the belt sits for a long time and developes a "set" to the curve of the pulley. Good belts will loose the "set" if you run them for a while, others will have to be replaced.

[Pete Bradley]

That's not normal.

Most likely causes (most to least likely):
Incorrect belt tension
Incorrect belt tension
Incorrect belt tension
Pulleys are not aligned
Belt is poor quality or damaged
Pulley is improperly mounted (you didn't forget a key did you?), poor quality, or damaged
Motor improperly mounted
Improperly mounted wheel
Damaged wheel

Take a look at the belt first (carefully, while it's running). If it's a blur, try tightening or loosening (with the machine off of course) until it looks solid when it runs.

Pete

[Greg Roberts]

I've got a vibration with my brand new LT18HD also. A nickel remains standing, but will turn around just a bit with the vibration.

Good info here for checking things.

It just doesn't seem possible to buy ANY tool without having some kind of an issue. I haven't posted here yet about my brand new Grizzly G0564 sander and the crookedness of it. Currently talking to Grizzly techs about that one. Of course as usual I'm the only person this has ever happened to.

Greg

[Josh Bowman]

I have the LT14SUV and it's very smooth. You might have to stay on them, their customer service seems to have issues. They will eventually fix the problem, they are just bad to promise to send repair parts and then forget.

[Brett Clark]

Of course as usual I'm the only person this has ever happened to.

Greg

That's right, you are. You were elected by a secret select woodworker's committee to take the hit for all of us. When you die, your family will receive a commemorative plague for your sacrifice.:D

[Andre Cormier]

That's right, you are. You were elected by a secret select woodworker's committee to take the hit for all of us. When you die, your family will receive a commemorative plague for your sacrifice.:D

That's a good one Brett!! But I think I'm also part of that secret club.


Anyway I am continuing the troubleshooting this morning. So far the motor running by itself is the only smoothness the saw gets. I played with belt tension a bit but still no joy. I didn't check the pulley alignment very carefully though I might take a second look at that. I will get the dial indicator out and check as much as I can on both wheels.

Anyway I'm in touch with Laguna and making progress. I'm sure I'll figure it out.

[Dan Hintz]

Run it next with the lower wheel removed but the belt connecting the motor and pulley. Make sure the pulleys are parallel and in line with each other.

After that, add on the lower wheel (but no blade). Make sure the wheel is level.

Try a new blade... if that corrects it, check the old blade for a bad weld or a crack.

[Andre Cormier]

Well I don't really care about the vibration anymore because they are sending me a new saw (For an unrelated problem not because of vibes)

So far Laguna CS has been good.

Thanks for all the tips, they will be great for future vibration troubleshooting as well.

[Robert Malone]

Check all the nuts, bolts, and screws. Don't assume they were done at the factory.

[John Coloccia]

Check all the nuts, bolts, and screws. Don't assume they were done at the factory.



It just doesn't seem possible to buy ANY tool without having some kind of an issue.

Both very true and very sad. I bough a Hitachi miter saw some time ago. Previously, my experience with Hitachi had been good. I'd used their SCMS and absolutely LOVED it. I also really liked a cordless drill I bought from them. I opened the saw, and the first thing I noticed is the fence was broken...not cracked, but actually broken off. Shoot. I'll have to call and get a new fence. Let's see how the rest of it works. I pull the trigger and lots of noise followed by smoke and something hitting me. I look around and found a washer and a nut laying on the ground (it came out of the vents), plus lots of rattling in the saw itself. I don't know how something like that even leaves the factory.

The only power stationary tools I own that have given me zero problems are my Clearvue, and my Grizzly bandsaw. Everything else, including my Sawstop, had issues.

edit: I take it back. My Clearvue showed up with a cracked cyclone (UPS demolishes these things in shipping). Not Ed's fault and he took care of it quickly, but I can't say it was zero issues.

[Greg Roberts]

Both very true and very sad. I bough a Hitachi miter saw some time ago. Previously, my experience with Hitachi had been good. I'd used their SCMS and absolutely LOVED it. I also really liked a cordless drill I bought from them. I opened the saw, and the first thing I noticed is the fence was broken...not cracked, but actually broken off. Shoot. I'll have to call and get a new fence. Let's see how the rest of it works. I pull the trigger and lots of noise followed by smoke and something hitting me. I look around and found a washer and a nut laying on the ground (it came out of the vents), plus lots of rattling in the saw itself. I don't know how something like that even leaves the factory.

The only power stationary tools I own that have given me zero problems are my Clearvue, and my Grizzly bandsaw. Everything else, including my Sawstop, had issues.

edit: I take it back. My Clearvue showed up with a cracked cyclone (UPS demolishes these things in shipping). Not Ed's fault and he took care of it quickly, but I can't say it was zero issues.

It IS sad. Right now I've got a problem with my Felder K700S where the remote switch will not work consistently, my Laguna bandsaw is vibrating, and the belt on my oscillating sander is crooked to the platen.

Each day there is some time out of my work day spent calling these companies to get these things fixed. Or at least it's on my list to do each day. Some days I just don't have time to call and follow up, I've got work to do.

PIA.

Greg

[Mike Shields]

How much vibration is normal?

The amount of vibration considered "normal" could be subjective.

However, I feel your pain, as my 18" Jet vibrates so much that I cannot use the saw to achieve anything near a decent cut. Or less subjectivly: I cannot set a cup of coffee on the saw without it spilling and the cup walking across the table. Now anyone should admit that isn't right!

Along with all the other suggestions, I'll offer this (from my limited experience):

with the blade removed, and the saw running, there is still excessive vibration. Being that this is direct drive (no belt) and the motor is mounted tight, I can rule out:

1. the belt
2. the blade

Jet (appeared) to have used a small piece of coat hanger (or bailing wire) to balance the wheels.

Once I get a dial indicator, I'll verify both wheels are balanced (as best they can be) using this procedure:

http://wiki.owwm.com/BandsawBladeBalancing.ashx

Good luck,

Mike

[Ruhi Arslan]

Well I don't really care about the vibration anymore because they are sending me a new saw (For an unrelated problem not because of vibes)
Care to elaborate? Glad that it's been taken care of curious to know what may have happened to warrant a replacement.