MM16 - where should the blade ride on the tire

[Bob Cooper]

Saw is not here yet but I started wondering....given that the wheel is not crowned, where should I position the blade on the tire?

Sorry I’m sitting in LGA with only an iPhone and nothing better to do. Ready to get this saw in house!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bob,

On larger blades, 3/8" and larger, I put the gullets on the leading edge of the tire. On narrower blades, I center the blade on the tire.

BTW I have an MM-16 and it's been a great saw.

[Jim Becker]

Outside of "really narrow" blades, you'll be tracking them with the teeth just off the edge of the wheels...this is the normal method for bandsaws with flat tires. Really narrow blades are a compromise because you cannot support them enough, so you have to change the tracking to get them entirely on the tire. That unfortunately can affect the set. So having a small BS available for narrow blade work is common for many folks with bigger saws that have flat tires.

[Bob Cooper]

Ok so I’m guessing both of your suggestions result in the same...the blade tips extend just past the (metal) wheel.

Quite different than what I’m used to but that’s fine. I actually think the first blade I order will be something like a 3/4” non-carbide blade. I’d like to get the saw adjusted and get comfortable cutting reasonably well with it. Once I’ve mastered it ...well once I’m more proficient... and I need to do larger more difficult resawing I’ll look into carbide.

Second question. Does plywood really shorten the life of a steel blade? Many times I end up using the bandsaw to cut cabinet leftovers to make them easier to trash. But I’d rather not do this if it’s going to quickly dull a nice new blade

[Jim Becker]

The tires on band saws like the typical 14" Delta or similar are "crowned" and you track on the middle of the tire. Your new saw, like most larger saws, doesn't have the crowned tires, so that's why it's different for tracking.

Plywood will always be tougher on blades because of the glues that they are made with. Nature of the beast. You can still do what you are used to, but "save a bunch up" and then use an older blade that you care less about to chop 'em up. :)

[Joshua Bass]

Saw is not here yet but I started wondering....given that the wheel is not crowned, where should I position the blade on the tire?

Sorry I’m sitting in LGA with only an iPhone and nothing better to do. Ready to get this saw in house!

Make sure you grab this PDF manual I think some users put it together and its way better than what comes with the saw:

http://www.woodwrecker.com/woodworking/manuals/MiniMax16M.pdf

[David Eisenhauer]

Not trying to open up a "best blade" discussion, but I had one of the very inexpensive Lennox Flexback 1" blades on my MM 16 for a few years that was used for all general cutting, including plywood scrap size reduction. I do not re saw expensive wood into veneer thickness (Flexback leaves ripples that have to be addressed) and do not cut tight curves with the BS, so that blade worked for me. It was also especially good at cutting firewood to length for my wood stove until I allowed a knotty piece to jerk a kink in the blade. I think a 1/2", 3/4" or 1" Flexback would work well for your idea of putting a non carbide blade on the saw for saw familiarzation and general cutting.

[Darcy Warner]

Not sure I would like a blade running on the edge of the wheel. Crown all my saws so it wants to ride right in the center of the wheel.

[Frank Drew]

Joshua,

Thanks for the link to the manual for the saw; I don't have a MM16 but still found it interesting to read.

Note, on page 19, Always Detension Your Bands (at the end of the day). Oliver Machinery also gave this advice to prolong band and tire life.

[Darcy Warner]

My 1923 Oliver 36" saw has had a blade under tension for the last 5 years. No way I am going to back it off every day before I go home or have to tension it just to make a few cuts.

[Jim Becker]

I don't take the tension off mine, either...

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I remove the tension from mine. To each, their own!

[jerry cousins]

mm16 owner for many years - flat tires so hang the teeth over the edge - and there seems to be no wear on the tire. i do detension the mm which has a 1" resaw king installed, but i do not detension the delta 14" - which usually has a 3/8 or 1/2 blade
jc

[Joshua Bass]

Joshua,

Thanks for the link to the manual for the saw; I don't have a MM16 but still found it interesting to read.

Note, on page 19, Always Detension Your Bands (at the end of the day). Oliver Machinery also gave this advice to prolong band and tire life.

I saw that too and understand the reasoning, you are putting a curved preload on the steel blade for years at a time. Weather this ever really causes a blade failure, I am not sure. I leave mine tensioned, but have only had it a few months. Others have had their saws for years and keep the blade tensioned. Some people loosen the tension. I have not seen a conclusive study on this subject.

[Edwin Santos]

My Meber saw has what I believe to be a similar tire situation to the MM16, a rubber tongue on the back that registers into a rebate machined in the wheel. This saves you from having to glue the tire on. This also creates a very subtle crown in the tire, not at all as pronounced as the crown in the traditional delta style 14" tires, but a slight crown nonetheless. Lay a small straightedge against it and you can see for yourself. For this reason I track most blades at or near the center without really thinking about any effect on set. In fact, until this thread I've never heard that tracking can have any effect on set. However, I'll admit I rarely if ever use blades wider than 1/2".

[Bill Adamsen]

The Centauro manual for the larger saws has the teeth just hanging over the edge. I run mine like that and it works and tracks great.,

[Edwin Santos]

The Centauro manual for the larger saws has the teeth just hanging over the edge. I run mine like that and it works and tracks great.,

When the blade is basically the width of the whole tire like the diagram and photo show, the way you're running it is pretty much the only option.

[Bill Adamsen]

When the blade is basically the width of the whole tire like the diagram and photo show, the way you're running it is pretty much the only option.

The tire (flywheel) width on these machines is 45mm (1-3/4") for the CO800 (31-1/2"). They state the minimum blade is 10X0.7(mm or 3/8" wide) and the maximum is 45X0.7(mm). Photo shows the 1" Lennox Woodmaster on the 1-3/4 flywheel. Teeth normally hang a bit further off the wheel ... for some reason they move back if I spin the wheel while detensioned.

The technical specifications for the current SP400 (https://www.scmgroup.com/products/docs/rebranding/Minimax%20Generale/Minimax%20Gen._rev00_mag17_Ing_00L0365558F.pdf) (see page 122, screenshot image below) doesn't give a spec on the flywheel for the SP400 (MM16) but does list the min/max blade at 10X0.5/30X0.5 leading one to believe the flywheel might be 30mm wide.

I just found the manual online (https://www.partspronto.com/MachineDocs/SP%20SERIES%20BAND%20SAW%20CENTAURO.pdf) for anyone that might not have received it with their tool. Section 8 on fitting and adjusting the blade starts on page 10. Like the other specifications cited above, the manual gives a specification for the thickness of blade and suggests (page 12) the 400/500 get a thinner blade than the 600/700/800. Same data as on the image of the chart in the SMC specifications below. I'm guessing that might be as much related to the turning diameter of the wheel as the ability of the saw to tension. Would need the engineers at Centauro/SCM to advise on that.

The Lennox Woodmaster CT (27mm wide x 0.9mm thick) actually exceeds the recommended thickness for the CO800 by 22% ... and the recommended thickness for the SP400 (MM16) by 44%.

[Edwin Santos]

With no blade on the tire, if you lay a straightedge across it, is the tire truly flat, or is there a slight enough crown that you can see any light toward the edges?

[Bill Adamsen]

With no blade on the tire, if you lay a straightedge across it, is the tire truly flat, or is there a slight enough crown that you can see any light toward the edges?

The SCM/Centauro tires are essentially flat ... no crown. Somewhere in my search for manuals this morning I saw replacement tires. Got to find that again. My tires appear to be fine, but they are special (I believe they have a T) and I want to get prepared for that day I need to replace.

[Bill Adamsen]

Make sure you grab this PDF manual I think some users put it together and its way better than what comes with the saw:

http://www.woodwrecker.com/woodworking/manuals/MiniMax16M.pdf

Joshua ... that's a great resource. Definitely some gaps between that and the Centauro factory manual (https://www.partspronto.com/MachineDocs/SP%20SERIES%20BAND%20SAW%20CENTAURO.pdf) but very complementary.

[Jim Becker]

With no blade on the tire, if you lay a straightedge across it, is the tire truly flat, or is there a slight enough crown that you can see any light toward the edges?

The tire on my MM16 is flat. Zero crown.

[Edwin Santos]

This shows the tire crown on my Italian bandsaw. To the eye it looks flat, but with a straightedge and a light behind, there is an ever so subtle crown. The manufacturer's rep told me the T shape of the tire riding in the wheel groove creates this crown.

Crown or no crown, if your bandsaw tracks well, especially narrow 1/4" and smaller blades, I'd say all is good.

372691

372692

[Dan Forman]

MY MM16 has a very slight crown visible when a ruler is laid on it.

Dan