bill ward
03-02-2016, 10:09 AM
I've been restoring an old Walker Turner bandsaw over the past few months and the last thing remaining is crowning the rubber tires. The bottom tire was easy because it's driven by the motor; however, the top wheel is a different matter, obviously you have to turn this wheel by hand. Well, there's a simple way with a jig to make this job really easy. (See pictures). The jig is simply a piece of 3/4" plywood with two holes drilled to match the mounting holes for the upper wheel cover and a hole cut to allow the raising and lowering mechanism to move freely with another piece of plywood mounted to it at 90 degrees. This piece has a slot cut in it large enough to let the wheel pass through when raised. STEP BY STEP:
1) remove the upper wheel. 2) mount jig to bandsaw frame using the bolts for the upper cover. Replace the wheel. 3) mount a hand plain to the jig with a clamp. Be sure the blade is extremely sharp and placed at the apex and at 90 degrees to the wheel. 4) make sure the wheel is at 90 degrees to the jig. 5) raise the wheel until it just touches the blade of the plain. 6) turn wheel by hand shaving off irregular portions of the tire. Be sure to make very slight adjustments when raising the wheel to remove more material. 7) when the tire is perfectly flat you're ready to crown the tire. This is simply done by using the wheel tilt mechanism on the saw and repeating the same process used in flattening the tire. (If you don't feel comfortable using a hand plain for trimming the tire, glue a piece of 50 grit sandpaper to a piece of wood and clamp it over the slot of the jig). This method has been modified for use on old Walker Turner bandsaws
1) remove the upper wheel. 2) mount jig to bandsaw frame using the bolts for the upper cover. Replace the wheel. 3) mount a hand plain to the jig with a clamp. Be sure the blade is extremely sharp and placed at the apex and at 90 degrees to the wheel. 4) make sure the wheel is at 90 degrees to the jig. 5) raise the wheel until it just touches the blade of the plain. 6) turn wheel by hand shaving off irregular portions of the tire. Be sure to make very slight adjustments when raising the wheel to remove more material. 7) when the tire is perfectly flat you're ready to crown the tire. This is simply done by using the wheel tilt mechanism on the saw and repeating the same process used in flattening the tire. (If you don't feel comfortable using a hand plain for trimming the tire, glue a piece of 50 grit sandpaper to a piece of wood and clamp it over the slot of the jig). This method has been modified for use on old Walker Turner bandsaws