Bandsaw Wheel Cleanning Brush

[Tom Ruflin]

About a month ago I was changing the blade in my Delta 14" bandsaw and as usual I had to clean the wheel surface. I was using an old toothbrush which was working quite well. I rememberd seeing pictures of ways to mount a brush to constantly clean the tire but had trouble finding a brush small enough and a good way to mount it. Then lightning struck and the result is shown below. I just cut the handle off the toothbrush and mounted it to the top inside of the bottom door with a 1/2" #6 panhead screw. I was careful to make sure the screw would not come in contact with the tire but still have contact between the brush and tire. It works great!

I just saw that Carter now makes a brush for the 14" bandsaws that does the same thing but costs $5 to $7, which is not bad but old toothbrushes are free and easily replaced.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Tom,
You should also mount one for the lower wheel, as sawdust builds up there first. Do you have dust extraction hooked up to that machine too?

[Jamie Buxton]

You know what else works well for cleaning the wheels of a bandsaw? A cabinet scraper. It is much faster than a toothbrush. Spin the wheel by hand, holding the scraper lightly on the tire. You're done in a few seconds.

[Doug Shepard]

Pretty cool modification, but it would be better if you flossed afterwards.:D

[Tom Ruflin]

The brush is mounted on the cover of the lower wheel and it's working all the time .vs. using a scraper when changing blades. Unless ther is a way to mount a scraper so it would not ruin the tire.

[Brian Hale]

Good idea Tom! I need to rig up something like that on my recently aquired Atlas bandsaw.

Thanks for posting!
Brian :)

[Ben Martin]

Tom,

Just wanted to thank you for this helpful post, I have the same bandsaw and was looking at a place to mount a toothbrush. I think I am going to try using some heavy duty double sided tape instead of using a screw though.

Ben

(Yes, this thread is 5 years old!)