Jet riser block

[George Heatherly]

I just bought a riser block for my older (early 90's) blue Jet band saw. I had read on a different forum that the white riser fit the blue saw without any problem. That is not true in my case.

The alignment pins of the block are in the oposite corners as on the saw frame. It isn't a slight alignment problem, I've read about those on the forum. These are totaly different locations.

The guide bar for the cutting side blade guard is a hexagon on my saw, as opposed to the new round one.

Do you have any suggestions about how to resolve the situation?

[Dave Morris]

You can have the pins pulled from the block and the lower frame. Any machine shop or good engine shop can easily do it with a sliding clamp/hammer (it is used to pull the same type of pin from an engine block where the pins align the head to the block). Pulling the pins makes aligning the frame more complicated, but the upside is you can align the frame so the wheels are coplanar *under* tension for a 1/2" blade.

The guide post is 13/16" hex stock (IIRC), might be hard to find, but *should* be available at most industrial metal supply shops without a special order. The bottom of the post is turned to fit the top blade guide assembly. Remember the hole at the top of the bar is tapped for a metric bolt. If you absolutely cannot find the right size hex stock locally, I can cut a piece from the looooong bar of hex stock I bought and send it to you from here in California... then you can have a local machine shop duplicate a 6" longer version of your old guide post.

I recently completed the restoration of my late-80's Jet 14" Wood/Metal bandsaw. I'll see about posting some pics after work tonight if you'd like, or do a search over at the WoodCentral forum from a few weeks back.

Dave--- glad he can finally contribute something to this forum

[George Heatherly]

Thanks, I looked at your restoration and was very impressed. I knew that I could remove the pins, but I had read that alignment might be difficult to hold without them. I sarched the internet for hex steel stock without finding any. I will have to contact a metal supply shop. I had hoped that someone might have a simple solution to the alignment pin problem. I don't use a mobile base and seldom move the saw, but I could see myself grabbing the block to pull it an inch further from the wall and throwing it out.

Thanks again.

George

[Dave Morris]

Thanks for the nice words about the resto, George.
I had the same worries about frame movement you expressed, and the longer bolt supplied with the riser block kit looked like a weak point with the pins removed. So, just to be safe, I upgraded to a 3/4" bolt, 9" long, and used the widest washers I could find that would fit in the upper frame to spread the load as much as possible-- a full two inches across. I doubled up the flat washers on the top, and used one flat washer and a lock washer on the bottom. The bolt will take a 1-1/8" wrench and socket. Anything bigger (or longer) and you won't be able to fit the tools inside the saw's frame.
That bolt is bigger than anything holding the frame on my 1-ton truck together. Go ahead, pull the saw around if you have to. Trust me, once that bolt is tightened down, those frame parts and/or the riser block ain't goin' nowhere.;)
Mark where your frame pieces mate together before you pull the pins, and use that as a starting point for where to place the frame pieces on the riser block. Set the saw up, table at 0°, with the widest blade you intend to use under tension, and take careful measurements relative to wheel coplanarity and blade angle to the table... fore and aft (or top and bottom), and side to side... you want it perpendicular to the table. Then, release blade tension, loosen the bolt slightly, tap the block or upper frame and move it just a bit in the direction needed, and tighten the bolt back down. Measure again, and repeat as needed. It can be a frustrating trial and error session, but you can get the saw spot on... something my saw was unable to do prior to the restoration because the pins, in their original position, put the upper frame, wheels, and the blade "Juuu-uuust a bit outside." (sorry, Bob Euker reference from "Major League")
Good luck in whatever you decide to do. Yeah, it can be a PITA with the pins removed, but it's worth the effort to set it up right, and you should only have to do it once.
Of course, you could always pay a machine shop to drill new holes and install new pins. But if they are just a bit off, you'll never get the saw to set up properly.


Dave--- who had already used up his all of his resto budget, and took the (cheaper) road less traveled

[George Heatherly]

Just in case anyone ever searches for information about this problem, I got a reply to an email I sent to WMH. Jet's parent company. They also said that I should just pull the pins. The saw will be harder to align, but it will be fine when the bol is clamped tight. The technical services guy gave me his phone number and an invitation to call if I wanted to discuss the matter further.