14” Delta bandsaw question

[Jason White]

My saw has the steel thumbscrew and wing nut for adjusting the angle of the upper wheel, and I hate them. I’d rather have some type of large knob and better wing nut. Has anybody found a better option?

[fritz eng]

I would try to cut some wood circles of appropriate diameter and then insert the head of the the thumb screw for leverage or get a hex head bolt of the same size as your thumb screw and insert and epoxy into the wood cut out

[Bruce Wrenn]

Just checked my saw, and thread on thumbscrew is 5/16-16, which is a common thread size. You can purchase knobs with studs, or knobs that use bolts. I don't understand your needing to adjust tracking so often. You must change blades a lot. On my saw, I run "The little blade that could." It's a Lenox Diemaster 1/4", 6TPI, hook pattern. Use it for everything.

[roger wiegand]

I used to hate mine, then I discovered thanks to folks here, that the pot metal hinge under the screw that actually adjusts the tilt was bent from stress over time. Apparently a very common problem. I found a cast iron replacement on Ebay and the adjustment suddenly became easy with the thumb screw. You might have a look at it.

The other thing I found was that over the decades the threads on the tension screw had stripped out. making it extremely difficult to pull the tension up high enough. I got a replacement screw with a nice handwheel and an oversize nut from Highland Hardware and again a miracle cure, I can now crank the tension up easily.

Between these two changes the saw is much better than it was even when new.

[Lee Schierer]

I would try to cut some wood circles of appropriate diameter and then insert the head of the the thumb screw for leverage or get a hex head bolt of the same size as your thumb screw and insert and epoxy into the wood cut out

I can't understand why you hate that adjustment. It shouldn't be adjusted when the band is fully tensioned. Unless your are changing blades frequently there should be no need for adjustment. I run a 1/4", 1/2" and occassionally a 5/8" blade without making any adjustments of the upper wheel tilt on my 14" Delta.

[Bob Johnson2]

While I agree with the others as to not seeing a reason to keep adjusting it, I don't remember the last time I've changed mine, and I change blades a lot. I do see a knob with 2" threaded 5/16"-18 stud on Amazon. I didn't verify the 18 thread vs the 16 Bruce mentions. FWIW, I made a wooden tool for loosening/tightening wing nuts on her cross stitch. Similar with a 5/16 hole thru it could go permanently over the wingnut on the Delta. It's just a piece of hardwood with a slot in it for the wings, hollowed out a bit in the middle for the center of the nut, you'd just drill that out the whole way through and slide it over the bolt before installing the wingnut.

[Jason White]

Yes, I bought that Highland tension crank for my older JET bandsaw. A fantastic upgrade!

Jason



I used to hate mine, then I discovered thanks to folks here, that the pot metal hinge under the screw that actually adjusts the tilt was bent from stress over time. Apparently a very common problem. I found a cast iron replacement on Ebay and the adjustment suddenly became easy with the thumb screw. You might have a look at it.

The other thing I found was that over the decades the threads on the tension screw had stripped out. making it extremely difficult to pull the tension up high enough. I got a replacement screw with a nice handwheel and an oversize nut from Highland Hardware and again a miracle cure, I can now crank the tension up easily.

Between these two changes the saw is much better than it was even when new.

[Jason White]

Not sure why everybody thinks I'm adjusting my tracking all the time (I'm not)... But once in awhile I do when I'm switching to a different width blade and I just dislike the thumbscrew and wing nut. There must be a better aftermarket option, which is what I'm looking for. Sorry I didn't make that clear.

[John Lanciani]

The tracking arm is the Achilles heel of the Delta 14. Giving that particular adjuster any more mechanical advantage than it has can be a one way ride to heartbreak city. Start with checking the end of the thumbscrew for burrs and then clean and lube the threads and see what you think. The wing nut doesn't need to be very tight either, just snug is plenty.