Band Saw Blade Wobble Help Please

[Nathan Camp]

I just bought a Ridgid BS1400 band saw. Why a Ridgid? I had lots of HD gift cards so I walked out with it for under $100 cash with extra blades:D .

Put it together fine, except for dropping the motor on my foot:( . Installed a new blade today. Ridgid 1/2" 4 TPI.

I adjusted the tracking so the blade was running in the center of the top wheel. Moving the wheel by hand, the blade stays in the center of the wheel, except for about a length of about 15 inches. The blade in this section moves forward and then the rest of the blade (93 1/2" blade) moves back and runs true in the center of the wheel.

Is this a bad blade? Did not notice it on the OEM blade that came with the saw. Or is there something I did not set up correcty?

By the way, the saw is vibration free during running, but buck for a second when turning on and off.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Nathan

[Mike Armstrong]

If the first blade ran o.k., I'd say this blade is the problem and wouldn't be surprised if it was in the area of the weld. With the blade off the saw, put a straightedge along the backside of the problem area of the blade and see if it's straight. Ends of the blade may not have been parallel when welded. You don't say how much it moves - 1/16", 1/4" or what? I'd take it back and get another one. And then do some research on other blade brands.

This is not to say that the saw may not have other problems - wheels that are out-of-round, not co-planer, etc. - but that's another story. Do a search here or Google "Iturra" or "Iturra Design". Lou is the guru of Delta, Jet and similar 14" bandsaws. He does not have a web site, but you can call - 888-722-7078 - and get his free 200-pg. "catalog" which is better than most bandsaw books. He may not address Ridgid directly, but the information and articles are indispensible.

[Nathan Camp]

Thanks Mike,

The movement was around 1/8". I'll check the blade. Thanks for the heads up on the Iturra Catalog.

From other posts, I guess Timber Wolf blades may be the way to go.

Nathan

[Russ Massery]

I agree what Mike had said about Itturra catalog. But it's much more then a catalog. It's a user manual and history lesson. A must have. Just could never figure out way he doesn't have a website.:confused:

[Pete Bradley]

Sounds like a bad weld. If the two ends are welded at a slight angle to each other, you'll see this.

A little shake below running speed at startup/shutdown is ok.

Pete

[Nathan Camp]

I stopped by Woodcraft and picked up a Timber Wolf blade. It runs just fine. Did a couple of test cuts. Cut like butter through Pine and Brazilian Cherry.

Checked the old blade and the weld portion of the old blade was about 1/8" off.

Thanks for all the help.

Nathan