Bandsaw lesson

[Ralph Lindberg]

I have a largish bandsaw, that I use almost exclusively for slicing up wet/green wood.
Recently I noticed a bit more "noise", but nothing that I thought was a show-stopper.
When I started slicing up this winters Madrone Burl it almost immediately started acting difficult. I messed with it a bit and went on cutting.
I thought I had finished, and switched it off. Then I decided I wasn't and switched it back on.
Only, no joy, the blade didn't move.

So I started tearing the bandsaw down to trouble shoot.
Didn't take long to find that the entire lower bearing assembly was frozen solid. All five bearings were gummed up and stuck.

Now the upper bearing assembly is just fine, I had been checking it and assuming the the lower assembly was in similar condition. Since inspecting the lower involves removing the table, removing the.... I never checked.

The lower bearings were completely gummed up from the "gunk" from the wet wood.

I pulled the bearings and checked the prices at one of my favorite (usually pricy) wood-workers supply place.
The larger bearing was $9 and the four smaller were $8/each, for a total of $45, plus shipping, plus waiting for the bearings.

So I checked for local outlets and found that Fastenal should stock replacements, only they aren't open on weekends.
Since the closest location is "on the way to the gym", I figured I was stop on the way. To discover that Fastenal closed the location two months ago, but they haven't bother to update the web-site to reflect that
After leaving the gym I swung by the next "closest" place, they had replacement bearings in stock

The total... $5.16 with tax.

Well, the bandsaw is all back together and cuts nice and quiet, again.

[Reed Gray]

Wet madrone is exceptionally sticky. If I don't clean the gunk off the wheels before leaving the shop, it can actually freeze up the bandsaw. I use a putty knife on my big saw, and a screw driver on my little one. I have tried WD-40, Pam, and other lubricants. Nothing seems to keep it off. Maybe I need to find a teflon spray... It gums up my tools, CBN wheels, lathe bed, banjo, and headstock. I have been trying some of the Bio shield stuff, and it does work, but well, madrone is worth it.

Can't wait to get up there and make a mess for you turners.

robo hippy

[Ralph Lindberg]

I'll show you the bearings when you get here

[Russell Neyman]

Ralph, in the past I made the mistake of treating my Bandsaw the same as a table saw. It isn't. Not only can the borings freeze, rust, and wobble, but the wheels and tires are subject to abuse from the inevitable dust and debris. For me, installing a dust collector below the lower wheel did wonders. My Grizzly also has a brush that rides on the tires, which helps.

On a related subject, lately I.have been turning some figured Oregon walnut, fairly wet. That darn stuff must be very acidic because it tarnished/gummed up everything -- lathe ways, tools, faceplate's! Never had that happen with walnut before.

[Paul Gilbert]

Have you guys tried Turpentine? Turpentine is distilled from pine tree stumps and is a good solvent for most tree residue.

[Reed Gray]

I think wet walnut is worse that wet oak for making things turn black. It also, for some reason seems to really dull up my tools.

Turpentine is a solvent, and can clean up some gunk, like pitch if it builds up on blades. Oven cleaner is another type of solvent, and most saw shops will use it to clean up that black stuff that gets on blades. I don't think the gunk from madrone compares to either of those things. Interesting stuff. I do keep a wire wheel on one grinder to help clean up my tools when I am running a bunch of madrone.

On some of the older bandsaws, the bottom guides were not bearings, but square blocks (originally made from lignum vitae) set at a 45 degree angle, with a 45 degree bevel on them to meet the blade flush. They were supposed to maybe scrape some of the gunk off the blades. I have ceramic guides on my blades, and like them better than bearings, if for no other reason, they don't make as much noise. None of them keep the blades totally clean. You just can't keep the guides that close on the blades or things heat up, or bind up. I think all of the bandsaws on the market are designed for dry wood. That is part of why wet wood seems to cause a lot of maintenance problems for us.

robo hippy

[Russell Neyman]

Thanks, Teed. See you tomorrow night in Chico.