Rick Potter
03-29-2016, 7:45 PM
I have been looking at getting a nicer bandsaw for a while, to replace my older Rockwell/Delta 14" with the 1/2HP motor. I found a Delta 14" X5 on CL for a good price and decided to get it. This is the one that has the slightly larger table, the 1 1/2HP motor, steel pulleys, and still US made.
It was in nice shape, but when I got it home I went through everything, finding the lower blade guide wouldn't move. A little file work, a lot of clean up, lubrication, and adjusting and it looked like new. I treated it to a nice new 3/8" blade and got everything adjusted perfect.
It was getting late, but I wanted to try the new blade, so I tried a quick resaw cut on a scrap of 3/4 X 2" X 5 1/4" oak. The blade insert was out in my truck somewhere, but I didn't intend to cut more than an inch deep on the wood, so I didn't bother to get it. No fence on the saw.
I started resawing the 2" high scrap, and just got 1/8" into the cut when the blade grabbed the top edge of the wood, pivoted it down right into the hole for the insert, and tried to pull it in. The guides were above the wood about an inch and stopped the wood. The torque flexed the blade enough to pull it out of the guides, and twist it to the outside of both upper and lower guides, where it locked up tight, stalled the 1 1/2HP motor, and kinked the blade.
The moral of this story? Don't turn an old fool loose with a new power toy.
After another afternoon of adjusting everything, and installing another new blade, the saw is just fine, I even found a fence for it in the shed.
Go ahead and blast me, I deserve it.
It was in nice shape, but when I got it home I went through everything, finding the lower blade guide wouldn't move. A little file work, a lot of clean up, lubrication, and adjusting and it looked like new. I treated it to a nice new 3/8" blade and got everything adjusted perfect.
It was getting late, but I wanted to try the new blade, so I tried a quick resaw cut on a scrap of 3/4 X 2" X 5 1/4" oak. The blade insert was out in my truck somewhere, but I didn't intend to cut more than an inch deep on the wood, so I didn't bother to get it. No fence on the saw.
I started resawing the 2" high scrap, and just got 1/8" into the cut when the blade grabbed the top edge of the wood, pivoted it down right into the hole for the insert, and tried to pull it in. The guides were above the wood about an inch and stopped the wood. The torque flexed the blade enough to pull it out of the guides, and twist it to the outside of both upper and lower guides, where it locked up tight, stalled the 1 1/2HP motor, and kinked the blade.
The moral of this story? Don't turn an old fool loose with a new power toy.
After another afternoon of adjusting everything, and installing another new blade, the saw is just fine, I even found a fence for it in the shed.
Go ahead and blast me, I deserve it.