Bandsaw wheel won't come off

[Daniel Dray]

I am trying to remove the lower wheel to my Powermatic 14" bandsaw. Once I do that I intend to replace the wheel shaft and pulley and possibly the bearings depending on their condition. I've been unable to remove the bolt holding the wheel on. I assume it loosens with a counter clockwise motion. Right? I've been blocking the wheel and tapping the bolt with a socket wrench counter clockwise using a 4 lb mallet but the bolt won't budge. It's nice and shiny with no rust so I don't think corrosion is the problem. What's the best way to remove the bolt?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Daniel,

I just pulled up a manual for the PM 14" bandsaw. That bolt is listed as item number 21 on the body assembly and it indicates it's a left-handed thread which makes sense. The direction of wheel travel would want to tighten the bolt. It would loosen CW.

Check it for yourself.

Here's a link to the manual I used. https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/d...4cs_manual.pdf

[Daniel Dray]

I didn't consult the parts list which was dumb on my part! I did consider direction of travel though and since the wheels turn CW (when facing the bolt head on the door side) I thought the bolt would be RT. Otherwise isn't there be risk of loosening as the wheels turn? Thanks so much for your help!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Did you get it off?

The only reason I consulted the parts list is because I learned the same lesson through personal experience.

[Carroll Courtney]

If its an older PM 141 you may want to check to see if shaft is still available,I did buy one yrs ago which was not that bad I think from Redmond Machines????

[Daniel Dray]

Yes. It came off pretty easily. And I was easily able to knock out the shaft and the bearing on the pulley side. I put the new parts in and now all I have to do is line up the pulley, add the belt and adjust its tension. (I originally tried the CW direction but the bolt was tight so I was afraid I might strip the bolt if that direction was wrong. Little did I know that another 1/2 turn or so would have released the bolt.) Thanks again!

[Daniel Dray]

My model is PWBS14 purchased about 10 years ago. I was able to find replacement parts at ereplacement.com. They must be OEM because they are machined really well and fit perfectly.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I did consider direction of travel though and since the wheels turn CW (when facing the bolt head on the door side) I thought the bolt would be RT. Otherwise isn't there be risk of loosening as the wheels turn?

Daniel,

Think of how you would tighten that bolt. With the LH thread, if you hold the wheel, you turn the bolt with a wrench CCW to tighten the bolt. Now, with the same LH threaded bolt, hold the bolt with the wrench and turn the wheel CW to tighten the same bolt. The wheel is turning into the the thread.

The opposite is true for a RH threaded bolt. Thus, the wheel would be turning in a direction as to try to loosen the bolt.

Glad you got it off and things are going well!

[Daniel Dray]

Thanks Ken. You're exactly right! I was thinking too simplistically. I should have reversed my spatial orientation from the bolt alone to how the wheel and bolt move relative to each other. I missed the "Aha!" moment.