Bandsaw tires on my Minimax MM24

[dirk martin]

My Minimax 24" bandsaw has rubber tires that go around my cast iron wheels.
There is a groove in the cast iron wheels, and a ridge on the underside of the rubber tires. That ridge in the tire, snaps into that groove in the cast iron wheels.
Hopefully this makes sense to anyone reading this.


Yesterday, I had one of my rubber tires (it's actually like a big 'ol rubber band, then a tire) wear out (the tire starts to come out of that groove, indicating that ridge is starting to break down), so I called Minimax to order a new one. Their computers were down, and couldn't help me.

So, I called my local wood working store, Woodwerks. They said they could order me one, and have them here by the next day....so I did.

I got the new tire from Woodwerks, and a paper was enclosed saying that I need to rough up the underside of the tire with sand paper before gluing it to my cast iron wheels. I've never had to glue tires to my bandsaw in the past. These new tires are a thicker rubber also, and are wider than the standard Minimax tires, also.

So, since these tires fit onto the wheels VERY snugly, I figured I'd put it on, and see how it fits.
So, I pryed and streatched the rubber tires, and finally got it over the cast iron wheel. The first thing I noticed is that the rubber tire is widder than my wheels. Thus, I have about 1/4" of rubber hanging off the front edge of my wheels. Regardless, I then mounted my bandsaw blade, and spun it by hand, to view tracking. Typically I run my blades such that the teeth just barely hang off the front edge of my wheels. But, because my tire is already hanging off the front of my wheels by about 1/4"....I couldn't really do that. Under tension, the blade would track to the front edge of the tire, and then it would bend the rubber lip, and slide off.

So, I'm kinda stumped. These are obviously not Minimax tires, since they don't have that ridge on the udnerside, to snap into the wheel groove. However, they seem to be a very high grade of rubber. Since the problem seems to be that the rubber tires are wider than my wheels, my neighbor suggested I put the tire on the wheel, and then take a razor blade, and cut along the edge, thus making the the exact width of my wheel.

I think that idea should work. What do you folks think?
Also, do I have to glue these tires on? In the past when I've used the standard Minimax tires, Minimax just told me to snap the tire into the groove...no glue required. However these new tires (I'm not sure whom the supplier is for Woodwerks) don't have that ridge.....

Also, the wheels on the Minimax MM24 are flat, not crowned.

[David Kumm]

I would confirm with MM. Many glue on tires need to be trimmed flush with the wheels so that is normal. The tires you have may be intended to be crowned. Don't know if that means they must be crowned or not but you are correct in that they should be flat on the MM. I would use until the MM one comes and keep yours for an emergency. They were probably meant to be glued. Dave

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I would wait for Mini-Max replacement tires.


Mini-Max like a lot of European bandsaws uses flat tires .....not crowned.....and they have a rib on the bottom to keep them centered. They do not require glueing. Call Mini-Max for expert advice.

[Jim Becker]

What Ken said. It sounds like you have the wrong type of tires from the other supplier.

[Frank Drew]

Typically I run my blades such that the teeth just barely hang off the front edge of my wheels.

Is that how Minimax advises placing the blade? I've always tracked the blade more or less in the center of the wheel, but I've only used crowned tire wheels.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Frank.....yes....that's how Mini-Max advises running the blades.....and shows it on the videos about setting up their bandsaws.

[Phil Thien]

I had an Inca bandsaw with tires just like your MM.

I observed that, when under power, the tires would lift from the wheels, and sometimes even come off.

So I just glued them on and it worked fine.

So if your original tires aren't broken, I'd just glue them on.

Get some automotive weatherstrip glue (affectionately known as "elephant snot" in the industry).

There is an article on doing this by Bob Vaughn (sp?) on the Internet.