Rikon 10-340 Alignment Issue

[Hank Keller]

I just installed a 1" timberwolf re-saw blade on my new 10-340 replacing the standard 1/2" blade that came with it. I had an issue where the top thrust bearing did not line up with the back of the blade, in fact it was so far to the left that it missed the blade entirely. I had to loosen the 4 bolts on the back that holds the guide post assembly and shift the entire assembly over.

Has anyone else had an issue like this going from one blade to another? Is this normal?

The new blade sounds much different then the other even after I got all the bearings to where they needed to be and resetting the tension. It's like a scraping sound but it's not hitting any of the bearings in a free state and the only thing I see it hitting is the rubber dust scraper in the bottom cabinet. It's tracking right in the middle of the wheels Any ideas?

[Mike Cutler]

Hank.

I have the same bandsaw, but I don't remember having this problem. I run a lennox 1" rimaster, and Bi Metal, and the thrust bearings are dead center behind them both. Interesting.
Can you take a pic of the upper guide assy? I'll compare it to mine and see if they are the same.

[Michael Adelong]

I just bought, and tried the 1" TW blade on my 10-340 Friday. Nothing like what you found.

Let me ask you a question. Is this the first TW blade that you put on this saw? Is it a "PS Wood" TW blade from Woodcraft? If so, then you need to loosen the tension limiting screw on top of the tension adjuster assembly. How do I know this? Rikon tech support. When I put my first TW blade on (a 3/4"), I was getting a ton of vibration that was not present with the factory blade. I called RIkon, and they said that the TW blades were coming out measuring 142 1/4" long instead of an even 142". This means that the factory tension limit settings are preventing you from putting full tension on the blade no matter how much you crank the tension wheel.

I think it is part #47 in the diagram in the manual. That is going by memory. It is the small screw with a lock nut located above the spring, behind the top wheel.

To see how it works, open the top door (saw off), and rotate the upper wheel until you can see this adjuster through the spokes. Now, remove as much of the blade tension as the tension wheel will allow. Leave the tension lever forward. You should be able to remove most, if not all of the blade tension. Look for a bow and check for slack in the blade between the upper and lower guide bearings (all roller guides should be as far away from the blade as possible while doing this). Now, crank the tension wheel until it starts taking up slack in the blade. Stop cranking as soon as you see the blade start losing bow and pulling tight. Look at the adjusting screw, and then notice that the black metal block with the shaft for the upper wheel attached to it is sliding up towards that adjuster as you crank the wheel. Start cranking the tension wheel again, and note if / when the top of the black block hits that screw. If the block hits the screw before the blade is pulled straight between the 2 wheels, then you need to loosen the screw. Rod at Rikon blew off my "how are you suppose to adjust this properly" question and said to just back it all the way out as far as possible. I did this and all is well.

I asked if it was necessary to adjust the screw back down when switching to an actual 142" long blade again, and Rod said "No.".

Good luck,
Michael

[Michael Adelong]

Hank.

I have the same bandsaw, but I don't remember having this problem. I run a lennox 1" rimaster, and Bi Metal, and the thrust bearings are dead center behind them both. Interesting.
Can you take a pic of the upper guide assy? I'll compare it to mine and see if they are the same.

How does the 10-340 handle that Lennox? I was thinking of trying it, but wasn't sure about the spring...

Michael

[John Haberle]

I've had a similar problem with my10-340...the main bar supporting the upper aluminum block holding the blade bearings was not drilled at a right angle, This caused the bearings to twist the blade. Let me see if I can insert the picture I sent to customer service...

[Ron Blaise]

Hank:
I have the same setup you do, blade & all. Can't say I had any problems like you list. The dust scrubber they use is very noisy with the 1" blade so I am going to replace that with some brushes. That should quite it down a lot.

[John Bush]

Hi Hank
I have the same saw and use the Lenox 1" for resawing. No thrust bearing misalignment lateraly, but I did have to change the position of the blade guard for front to back adjustment to allow the bearing to rotate freely.

I have noticed the 1" blade makes a different , and much more, noise than the smaller blades. Haven't tried to figure out why, just assumed it's normal physics. Good luck, JCB.

[Mike Cutler]

How does the 10-340 handle that Lennox? I was thinking of trying it, but wasn't sure about the spring...

Michael

It's an awesome combination. I've been doing some log milling with the Bi-Metal, and posting the results in the "Loggin' fron Griswold" thread.
As good as the Bi-Metal is, the Tri master is even better. Both blades are the 2-3 varipitch blade. Mark Singer turned me onto them. Expensive, but worth it.

[Jim Becker]

Just remember that the Trimaster isn't really designed for "wet wood" work... ;)

[Hank Keller]

I think it is part #47 in the diagram in the manual. That is going by memory. It is the small screw with a lock nut located above the spring, behind the top wheel.


Michael-
Yes, it is the TW, woodcraft blade. Can you verify that it is part #47 so I can start down that track.

Everyone else- Thanks for the suggestions and help.

Hank

[Mike Cutler]

Just remember that the Trimaster isn't really designed for "wet wood" work... ;)

I used the Bi-Metal for resawing the wet stuff. The Tri- Master is a bit too expensive for the "wet work" .

IIRC Jim, don't you use a Timberwolf 2 TPI for wet stuff? I was thinking about trying one out next time I fool around the Bandsaw on logs.

I have to remember this thread when I get a Timberwold. Lot of good info in this one.

[Michael Adelong]

Michael-
Yes, it is the TW, woodcraft blade. Can you verify that it is part #47 so I can start down that track.

Everyone else- Thanks for the suggestions and help.

Hank

Hank,

I checked the manual. Loosen the locknut (#10) and then loosen the adjuster screw (#47).

Mike