Brian Eaton
05-08-2019, 10:23 AM
Hello! I've mainly been a reader and sometime poster on the neanderthal forum but I recently purchased my first major power tool - a Grizzly G0555LX bandsaw. I did a lot of research beforehand and while it may not be the best saw out there, the reviews, information available on the web, my intended uses, and budget made it my saw of choice. Aside from a dented fan motor cover (which Grizzly has already shipped a replacement for), assembly went well with no hiccups. At the suggestion of a friend, I knocked out the dent in the fan cover and got work tuning it up.
With the stock blade I noticed some vibration but was able to get it to the point where it would "mostly" pass the nickel test. Vibration increased a bit as the blade spun down but would stay upright with the motor running. Last night I replaced the stock blade (did not seem to cut very well at all) with an Olson 1/2" blade (a well reviewed an inexpensive change as I'm getting used to the new saw) and the vibration increased noticeably. This led me to do some troubleshooting:
With no blade installed I ran the motor and this eliminated virtually all of the vibration - a nickel would sit nice and still on the table, so I feel like that rules out any issues with the lower wheel/motor assembly.
Spinning the upper wheel by hand, I noticed that the tire seems to be very uneven (see video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whGRJdnxYnE. Further observation with the blade reinstalled and tensioned (to about 1/8" deflection) revealed that, with the guides set according to the manual, as I spun the upper wheel by hand, the gap between the blade and guide bearings varied - as if the blade had a bit of twist in it. With the guide bearings set just shy of touching the blade as i spin it the blade seems to intermittently contact the guide bearings.
I have also done a few spin tests of the upper wheel with no blade installed and it does seem to always stop with the same spoke at the bottom (3 times so far - it takes a bit for the wheel to spin down!).
So - my thoughts so far are that the upper wheel is out of balance (not sure how accurate the spin test is) AND/OR the tire at least on the upper wheel was not installed correctly or is just very out of round. The wheels are supposed to be computer balanced at the factory. I know that doesn't mean they were balanced correctly but it makes me wonder how much a poor quality tire can impact wheel balance and blade tracking. Is a lumpy/uneven tire enough to cause uneven blade contact/twist and thus vibration?
I'm trying to be very keep it simple, stupid and not leap to any crazy conclusions about what might be causing vibration issues and the tire (and possibly upper wheel) seem like the most obvious candidate for the cause of my issues. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
With the stock blade I noticed some vibration but was able to get it to the point where it would "mostly" pass the nickel test. Vibration increased a bit as the blade spun down but would stay upright with the motor running. Last night I replaced the stock blade (did not seem to cut very well at all) with an Olson 1/2" blade (a well reviewed an inexpensive change as I'm getting used to the new saw) and the vibration increased noticeably. This led me to do some troubleshooting:
With no blade installed I ran the motor and this eliminated virtually all of the vibration - a nickel would sit nice and still on the table, so I feel like that rules out any issues with the lower wheel/motor assembly.
Spinning the upper wheel by hand, I noticed that the tire seems to be very uneven (see video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whGRJdnxYnE. Further observation with the blade reinstalled and tensioned (to about 1/8" deflection) revealed that, with the guides set according to the manual, as I spun the upper wheel by hand, the gap between the blade and guide bearings varied - as if the blade had a bit of twist in it. With the guide bearings set just shy of touching the blade as i spin it the blade seems to intermittently contact the guide bearings.
I have also done a few spin tests of the upper wheel with no blade installed and it does seem to always stop with the same spoke at the bottom (3 times so far - it takes a bit for the wheel to spin down!).
So - my thoughts so far are that the upper wheel is out of balance (not sure how accurate the spin test is) AND/OR the tire at least on the upper wheel was not installed correctly or is just very out of round. The wheels are supposed to be computer balanced at the factory. I know that doesn't mean they were balanced correctly but it makes me wonder how much a poor quality tire can impact wheel balance and blade tracking. Is a lumpy/uneven tire enough to cause uneven blade contact/twist and thus vibration?
I'm trying to be very keep it simple, stupid and not leap to any crazy conclusions about what might be causing vibration issues and the tire (and possibly upper wheel) seem like the most obvious candidate for the cause of my issues. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!