G0513 BS tension Help

[Charlie Woods]

I had a G0513 band saw donated to the scene shop here at the H.S. I work at. It has been turned on only a few times ( info from the donor who is upgrading to a 19") for some light resawing. It came with some of the Grizz blades ( 3/4" 1/4"), but since there was no manual with the saw, I wanted to check how you tension the blade based on the tension indicator for this saw. There is no traditional indicator( based on the blade width) but a gauge with 1-8 labled on it. I am not sure how this works and I don't want to over tighten the blades. Hoping to find someone who has this model who can give me some help setting the correct tension for the blades. Any info you can give me is greatly appreciated.

[tod evans]

charlie, here`s my take on bandsaw blade tension that i posted on another forum; this may not seem like much help right now but in a few months you`ll
understand.................. i have never, in lotsa years, used gizmos
or tension meters on a bandsaw blade. i would suggest purchasing a
couple of hss blades and tension them to what feels right to you,
then "pluck" the blade like a guitar string(saw off!) make a few cuts,
if the blade wanders crank up the tension, again do the pluck-test cut
routine. use the hss blades untill you wear them out, by this time you
should have "the-feel" for what is right for you and your saw.
remember; gizmos don`t cut wood and bandsaw blades are disposable..02
tod

[Doug Cowan]

You can download a PDF of the manual from Grizzly's website.

[JayStPeter]

I have an indicator based on blade width on my G0513. I'm glad Grizzly decided to go with a more useful indicator. In my experience, blade lengths of all the blades I've bought vary a little and make the indication based on blade width useless. Once you get the blade tensioned the way you like it, write down the number that works for you for that blade. I have actually found that the adjustment range of the indicator on mine is too small and have wound up "modifying" the pointer to give more adjustment range. One of these days I will do a better job and make the modifications more useful.

Jay

[Charlie Woods]

Thanks for the replies

Tod: I will use the Blades that came with the saw and work the correct tension for each width. I can then use the gauge on the saw to create a blade tension chart so that my students who change any blades will have a reference to go by. As always I double check the students before allowing them to begin. Thanks for the responce.

Doug: Could not down load anything from the Grizzly site from the schools computer, and my home one is down. My neighbor found it and printed it out. Their method is close to what Tod suggested. Thanks.

Jay: Will be tuning up the saw over Christmas break. I might look into making the gauge more accurate. It would also give me a chance to reinforce the need for tweeking your tools for better performance to the students in my advance classes. Thanks

[Brad Olson]

I made a special jig with a dial indicator to tension my blades. I get MUCH more consistent results this way.

All you need to know is that if you measure the stretch of the blade over 5", each 0.001" of stretch is equal to 6,000 psi of blade tension. The only key is that you need to know how much tension the manufacturer recommends for your blade.

If you do a search over on woodnet you will see a couple of incarnations of $10 jigs to measure tension like this or if you have Fine Woodworking on CD there is an article there on a simple jig to do this as well (it is also in the back issues somewhere too).

[Charlie Woods]

Brad:
Thanks for the info. Will do a search on the woodnet site.

[JayStPeter]

Charlie,

My specific mod was to shorten the pointer on the indicator so it could overshoot and point straight down. I specified 131.25" blades when I had some Timberwolves made, but even spec'ed a little short they seem too long for the indicator.

Jay