Powermatic 141 Help

[Curt Coucill]

Hello, I'm new to this forum and looking for some HELP! I've just purchased a mid '90"s PM 141 bandsaw in fairly good condition. I want to set this saw up accurately so I've been reading what I can on the web and in print. I have not been able to find out if I should use crowned tires on this saw? (the wheel rims are flat and have no recess) and if so can the newer urathane tires be crowned? I'm planning on using a 1/4" blade most of the time but will be using 1/8" & 1/2" infrequently. I've also read a little about coplanar set ups. If crowning tires "pulls" the blade toward the crown, what happens when you have to tilt the top wheel. The upper and lower wheel crowns will no longer be in line. Won't they now be trying to fight each other? Any help would be appreciated. Also, any recommended sources for tires and blades would be helpful. Thanks

[Dave Cav]

Curt,
Welcome to SMC and congratulations on your "new" bandsaw. The PM 141 is often considered to be the absolute best 14" bandsaw around due to the massive amounts of cast iron used in it's construction and it's general simplicity. The only potential drawback is it's lack of resaw capacity, but for a general purpose bandsaw they are impossible to beat. I have two of them at my high school wood shop. They both date to the '70s and they still work fine.

I am not a fan of urethane tires, at least for smaller blades. I had urethand tires installed on my saws about five years ago. I normally run 1/4" blades all of the time, occasionally 3/8. The narrow blades have wrecked the urethane tires, and I will be installing rubber tires some time in the future.

As far as specific answers regarding crowning, running the wheels coplanar, rebuilding your saw and other technical questions, I strongly recommend your going over to OWWM dot ORG. After your first post you will be allowed to post pictures, and a number of the members have posted detailed discussions regarding their saws which may answer your questions. A little poking around in the archives may tell you everything you need to know, and the members are very friendly and willing to help.

[Rich Riddle]

Don't be fooled by the flat wheels on the Powermatic 141; they need to be crowned.The urethane tires can be crowned on a Powermatic 141. Look at the following photographs of the orange urethane crowned tires on my Powermatic 141. Just did it last week. You can see how I crowned the tires in the picture of the jig used for rubber tires. There is less room for error since urethane tires are slimmer. 255808255809255810255811255812255813

[Rich Riddle]

I just looked at the posted pictures, the black rubber tires show the crown much better in the photographs than the urethane tires, but they all have the same 7 degree crowns done on the grinder and jig.

[Curt Coucill]

Thanks for the help guys. I'm going to use rubber tires. Any difference in rubber quality? Any suggestions on where to purchase? I noticed you crowned at 7 degrees. That sure seems like a lot of angle on a tire not more than 1 inch wide, no?

[Rich Riddle]

Thanks for the help guys. I'm going to use rubber tires. Any difference in rubber quality? Any suggestions on where to purchase? I noticed you crowned at 7 degrees. That sure seems like a lot of angle on a tire not more than 1 inch wide, no?
You must glue rubber tires, and it's a mess. Saying that, I prefer them. I got the crown angle from members at OWWM where I see you are also posting as a new member. As they advised you, go to the following website for rubber tires:

http://www.woodworkerstoolworks.com/

If you tell him you are a member of OWWM, he will send you a free bottle of glue. Bob also will send you a long list of possible ways to crown tires if you post. Most will prove impossible for the average woodworker though. Some of the tools those members use to crown tires are about the size of most of our entire shops.

[Curt Coucill]

Thanks for the info Rich