Bandsaw tire maintainence

[Bill Hops]

I have a 20" Rockwell wood/metal bandsaw which I bought from a school auction. The former shop teacher told me this saw had very little use due to administration rules due to liability. The tires were very brittle and have since shattered. New tires cost me $70.00 each. Does anyone know how or with what I can keep these tire from getting brittle. they are made out of a black plastic/hard rubber. they are T shaped.

thanks,
Bill

[Hoa Dinh]

I don't think there's much on tire maintenance. Rubber deteriorates because of age and UV light. You can't stop time. About UV light, just keep the tires in the shade... ;)

You may want to detension the BS at the end of the day but there are different opinions on this.

[Norman Hitt]

I don't think there's much on tire maintenance. Rubber deteriorates because of age and UV light. You can't stop time. About UV light, just keep the tires in the shade... ;)

You may want to detension the BS at the end of the day but there are different opinions on this.

There are two MAIN reasons for detensioning a bandsaw blade. One, is to keep the blade from taking a "Set" if it is not used fairly regularly, and the other is to keep the bandsaw's tires from developing "Flat Spots" from setting for long periods with pressure on the tires from the tensioned blade which covers only half of the tire. I guess it's up to the individual to determine whether they are using the saw often enough to keep the above problems from developing. It really doesn't take much time to back off the tension about 10 turns when finished at the end of the day, and then crank in 10 turns when you start to use it again. If the saw is used a good bit every day, it may not be worth the effort, but if only infrequently used, I personally think it's worth the effort considering the cost of tires and good blades, if there's ANY chance of adding to their useful life.

[Alex Shanku]

Iturra would have possibly hooked you up with a better price. Also, I bought my tires for a 14" BS, so it may be quite different in cost to go up to a 20" BS.

I glued my tires down with the 3M adhesive Louis recommended. Not a problem to date, plus my saw tracked great, so no crowning was needed.!!:cool:

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Yah what Hoa says. All plastics sublime their constituents away at a fairly ferocious rate. They all have a very high vapor pressure. Among the first things to go are plasticizers like octal thylates.

Eventually the material looses enough of it's constituents that it becomes hard and brittle. there isn't anything you can do about it other than minimize exposure to hostile agents like UV light, heat, and solvents.

[Dick Strauss]

The new tires are urethane instead of rubber for better durability...

[lou sansone]

Yah what Hoa says. All plastics sublime their constituents away at a fairly ferocious rate. They all have a very high vapor pressure. Among the first things to go are plasticizers like octal thylates.

Eventually the material looses enough of it's constituents that it becomes hard and brittle. there isn't anything you can do about it other than minimize exposure to hostile agents like UV light, heat, and solvents.

hmmmm OK cliff do neoprenes and urethanes have placticizers ? What time frame are you talking about?

lou