Joe Pack
12-24-2014, 11:37 PM
I have a Grizzly G503 17" bandsaw that I have used from time to time for about 8 years with no problem. About 2 months ago a guy working with me used it to cut (yes, he did) a piece of Durock cement board, obviously ruining the 1/2" blade instantly...dull is not the word.
Having no replacement blade readily at hand, I went ahead and used this dull blade for some rough cutting (burning), using a lot of pressure on the blade. I was able to burn my way through a few pieces of pine and 1/4" plywood until...oops - the blade popped off.
I opened up the saw to replace the blade and found that not only the blade had come off, but the top tire did too. I easily worked the tire back into the groove, put the blade back on and proceeded to make another 4" cut/burn and....the blade and both top and bottom tires came off again. So, I walked away and found another job to do.
I finally came up with a new blade and installed it tonight, popping the tires back into place, installing the new 1/4" blade, adjusting guides, etc., then spinning it up by hand. Everything looked and felt good, so I flipped on the saw and it ran fine...until the blade started flopping. When I turned the saw off and looked, I found both the blade and top and bottom tires had come off again. Thinking I did something wrong, I repeated the process and...poof....same result.
When I spin up the wheels by hand, everything looks good. No wobble, good tracking....nothing wrong that I can see, but...
I have done some research tonight and find that this is not a terribly uncommon problem. Assuming all adjustments are within reason, and I think they are, the solution seems to be replacing the tires with urethane. With what I know now, this seems a likely solution. The tires on my bandsaw simply slide back on with very little effort. Everything I have read says this should NOT be the case; urethane tires should take a fair degree of effort to put on, not just slip back like mine do.
17" tires are hard to find! Grizzly has urethane tires (their picture shows a gray color), and I have also been able to find them at PS Wood (orange), but the large difference in price has me wondering...Grizzly's gray urethane run about $23/pair, while the orange PS Wood run about $49/pair. The Suffolk/Timberwolf page lists the orange models also, but, for the ones that fit the Grizzly 17", they say to go through Grizzly (but remember, the Grizzly catalog now shows gray - maybe or maybe not the same quality).
So, my questions: (1) Am I on the right track re: the solution for tires coming off? (2) Am I on the right track thinking the orange urethane would be better than the gray? (I only found the gray material on Grizzly's web page. The other urethane tires, regardless of brand and/or size seem to be orange, and in the same price range as those on the PS Wood site.
Any advice or comments would be greatly welcomed.
Having no replacement blade readily at hand, I went ahead and used this dull blade for some rough cutting (burning), using a lot of pressure on the blade. I was able to burn my way through a few pieces of pine and 1/4" plywood until...oops - the blade popped off.
I opened up the saw to replace the blade and found that not only the blade had come off, but the top tire did too. I easily worked the tire back into the groove, put the blade back on and proceeded to make another 4" cut/burn and....the blade and both top and bottom tires came off again. So, I walked away and found another job to do.
I finally came up with a new blade and installed it tonight, popping the tires back into place, installing the new 1/4" blade, adjusting guides, etc., then spinning it up by hand. Everything looked and felt good, so I flipped on the saw and it ran fine...until the blade started flopping. When I turned the saw off and looked, I found both the blade and top and bottom tires had come off again. Thinking I did something wrong, I repeated the process and...poof....same result.
When I spin up the wheels by hand, everything looks good. No wobble, good tracking....nothing wrong that I can see, but...
I have done some research tonight and find that this is not a terribly uncommon problem. Assuming all adjustments are within reason, and I think they are, the solution seems to be replacing the tires with urethane. With what I know now, this seems a likely solution. The tires on my bandsaw simply slide back on with very little effort. Everything I have read says this should NOT be the case; urethane tires should take a fair degree of effort to put on, not just slip back like mine do.
17" tires are hard to find! Grizzly has urethane tires (their picture shows a gray color), and I have also been able to find them at PS Wood (orange), but the large difference in price has me wondering...Grizzly's gray urethane run about $23/pair, while the orange PS Wood run about $49/pair. The Suffolk/Timberwolf page lists the orange models also, but, for the ones that fit the Grizzly 17", they say to go through Grizzly (but remember, the Grizzly catalog now shows gray - maybe or maybe not the same quality).
So, my questions: (1) Am I on the right track re: the solution for tires coming off? (2) Am I on the right track thinking the orange urethane would be better than the gray? (I only found the gray material on Grizzly's web page. The other urethane tires, regardless of brand and/or size seem to be orange, and in the same price range as those on the PS Wood site.
Any advice or comments would be greatly welcomed.