Bandsaw question..blade speeds up.

[Rick Potter]

Never seen this question.

Picked up an Agazzani 24" band saw used a year or so ago. Used it with a 5/8" blade for a while, and a few months ago mounted the 1" carbide blade for resawing. Didn't do too much till recently, when I had several 6" thick oak and fir boards to resaw.

Works fantastic, but maybe two inches into the resaws the motor and blade speed increase noticeably. I have no idea why, but it is quite obvious that it is happening, and it is definitely blade speed, not just the motor speed that goes faster. It just speeds up one level, and stays there until you take the load off, then goes back down to the slower speed.

Is this normal with this saw, or could the belt be loose (that would seem backward to me)? The saw is a 2000 model, 24" Agazzani with about a 23A current draw (240V), on a 30A circuit. Maybe it has some sort of soft start motor?

It sure cuts good with that blade on it, pretty smooth too, thanks to AJ Hughes who helped me set it up.

[Jim Becker]

Is there a blade brake that might be sticking at first?

[Bill Dufour]

Is there a three phase motor with a converter somewhere?

[Rick Potter]

Thanks guys,

I played with it a bit today. There is definitely no three phase or converter. The tag on the saw indicates single phase, and there is nothing there but a motor.

I guess it is possible the brake was dragging, but if I shut off the saw without touching the brake, it takes a full minute to stop spinning. The brake pedal, however has very little play before it works, and I guess it is possible it was dragging a bit on corrosion, till it wore off. Hard to tell, it is all behind a solid cast iron 24" wheel.

Anyway, today I cut some 2x6 into thin slices. It sped up the first couple slices, then just stayed on the lower speed the rest of the test. I wonder if the belt is slipping a bit. I tightened it up when I first got it because I could smell it slipping. It has been fine since then, but there is not enough room in there to see more than an inch away from the motor pulley.

The 1" blade is set at the indicated spot. It takes up to a 1 5/8" blade, so I could tighten it more, but it seems to cut nicely the way it is.

I don't want to overtighten the belt or blade, so I guess I will just use it a while.

[Bill Dufour]

You can buy a laser heat gun for around $20 and run it for a while then check if the belt is over heating from slipping. Or just stick your finger on the belt(stopped) and see if it burns your finger or not.
BILL D

[Rick Potter]

Great idea about the heat gun Bill. I have one , but never thought of that. I did touch the belt, but honestly cannot remember if it was before or after resawing, I touched it to see if I could tell if it was loose, but not enough was accessible to push it.