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Thread: Rikon 305 bandsaw tracking problem

  1. #1
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    May 2009
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    Rikon 305 bandsaw tracking problem

    My 305 will not allow the blade to track in the middle of the upper wheel. I usually use a 1/4" blade but it does the same with a 3/8"blade. If I attempt to track the blade, the back of the teeth, in the center of the wheel the wheel will tip/flip forward and you know what the blade does. So I start over again and again. I have tried three different sets of tires including new OEM rubber tires that Makita sent me free, and the results are the same. If I want to use the saw I have to keep the blade on the back of the wheel with the front edge of the teeth barely making it to the center. And if I think the tension is a little low during use and tighten it it will frequently cause the wheel to tip forward. And yes I have tried new blades etc. The only thing that I can see is that there does not appear to be any crown on the tires when installed. But on a half inch wheel that could be hard to see.
    So is this normal for this saw or am I doing something wrong or is this saw(the one I have) a POJ?
    Last edited by Bernie Kopfer; 11-26-2018 at 4:38 PM. Reason: spelling

  2. #2
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    Mar 2016
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    Have you checked the bearings in the wheels? If you have put new tires on and still having problems. I would check for bad bearings.
    My Dad always told me "Can't Never Could".

    SWE

  3. #3
    Have a machine shop put some crown on your wheels.

  4. #4
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    The lack of a crown on the tires can affect tracking, but I don't see how it could make the wheel flip forward. I can't figure out what would make the wheel do that. I wonder if the upper wheel tilt/tensioning assembly is broken, bent, or assembled incorrectly. It might be helpful if you could post a couple of photos of what's happening.

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    LA & SC neither one is Cali
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    First, has the saw ever tracked a blade correctly or is this a new occurrence?
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

    Deep thought for the day:

    Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.

  6. #6
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    May 2009
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    Sorry for the belated reply, work got ahead of me. To answer Van's question , kinda worked ok with the original tires, problems really started when I they wore out and i replaced them with Silicone tires. The first set i bought were terrible and when I called the Vendor he said that he had occasional problems with this Rikon model in that the wheel groove sometimes was not wide enough. Sure enough my wheels have groove that is 1/125 undersize and a 1/2 silicone tire has to be jammed into the groove. He graciously w/o cost sent me another set that were .005 undersize and i could see that they set in the groove "flatly". But it only tracked marginally better. Still either in the back of the wheel or on the front. Nothing in-between. So i elected to purchase another set from a different vendor, they came slightly undersize but worked the same. So I called Rikon and explained my problem and they did not have an answer but offered me a new set of rubber tires which i placed on the wheels. Interesting side note is that the rubber would decrease in width when stretched whereas the silicone appeared not to do so. But still only able to track on the back half of the wheel and when I cautiously adjust the wheel tracking knob the moment the front of the blade gets close to the center it moves, on its own to the front of the wheel. I would leave it there but the thrust bearings will not go that far forward. I misspoke when I said the wheel flips forward, it is the blade that jumps to the front. The wheel cannot do so except that as tension increases the metal 'bends' enough to tip the whole mechanism sufficiently to cause the blade to move forward to the center and then just keep on moving. But to restate, with the tension adjusted properly any attempt to run the blade in the center of the wheel is impossible.
    The bearings turn freely w/o noise. The total mechanism including the frame is stamped metal so accuracy and rigidity are suspect. So does anyone have this saw and can you consistently track your blades in the center of the wheel? And I do think it is a problem of no crown but I am not a bandsaw expert.

  7. #7
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    May 2008
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    Mountain Home, AR
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    How is the blade tracking on the lower wheel? Wondering if it has something to do with wheel alignment...

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wes Ramsey View Post
    How is the blade tracking on the lower wheel? Wondering if it has something to do with wheel alignment...
    The blade on the lower wheel tracks towards the center when the blade is back on the upper wheel, and of course goes to the front when the it is way forward on the upper wheel.

  9. #9
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    Just confirming this is the Rikon 10-305 10" bandsaw. I have this saw and the tires are very narrow; my previous 10" machine had 1" crowned tires so finding the sweet spot was not too tough. My saw had problems with the guide post. This problem was solved by replacing the guide post and the support at Rikon, while not next-day responsive, was good and better than many.

    I mention this as I became familiar with the wheel mechanisms while working through the problem with Rikon. While the folks who run large, flat tire machines will be quick to post videos of Alex or Michael stating that the coplaner state of the wheels does not matter . . . With a 1/4" blade in place you have less than an 1/8" in front of and behind the blade if it is centered on both wheels. Not a lot of room for loosey-goosey.

    Discarding coplaner function, you can still get your tracking in order if you are not too picky about table to blade perpendicularity. This is covered on page 15 of your manual. Since I use this saw for mostly rough cutouts and thinner stock I went with this method. For saws cutting taller stock that I need relative accuracy on, I go the full gamut of alignment.

    If you work through the lower wheel adjustments and still find difficulty, please report back and we can look to the next steps.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  10. #10
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    Sep 2016
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    Bernie,

    I owned a Rikon 305 for a short while and had no problems with blade tracking on it. As I recall, I used a (cheap) 1/4" blade most of the time. It was my first bandsaw, so I was about as noob as could be. I did sell it, but it had nothing to do with blade tracking; I just realized that most of what I wanted to do would require a larger saw. If I'd had room for it, I would've kept it.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
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    Bernie,

    First I would ask someone who knows (Rikon) if the tires should be crowned. If they should be crowned, even if the width is only 0.5 inches, you should still be able to see it if you hold a straight edge against the tire.

    A crowned tire on a bandsaw (which is designed to have crowned tires) makes all the difference in the world as far as blade tracking goes, in my limited experience, and from what I have read on the subject over the last year or so.

    Sure there are other things you could check, but if your tires should be crowned but are not, get that factor out of the way and you may get satisfactory performance without doing anything further.

    Bill
    Too much to do...Not enough time...life is too short!

  12. #12
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    As I stated previously it is very hard to see crown in a half inch width of the tire. It is also very hard to see when looking at the wheel groove. Or maybe because I can't really see any is because there isn't any. That said, if the wheel groove is not crowned there is not going to be crown just because I put a rubber tire on it. So Iam beginning to come to the conclusion that having a uncrowned tire is the cause of my problem. Does anyone have another good possible reason? I have a 14" Laguna and have no difficulty tracking the blade anywhere I want to. But I can see a distinct crown on its 1" width wheel.
    So if someone has a 305 would you be so kind as to lift off the upper wheel and look to see if you can readily see any crown curvature visually? I am of the opinion that I need to be talking now to Rikon and asking them this same question.
    Would be nice to try a new wheel and see if the problem is corrected. I will let you know Rikon's response.

  13. #13
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    Just went out and checked mine Bernie. Definitely crowned, no question.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by glenn bradley View Post
    Just went out and checked mine Bernie. Definitely crowned, no question.
    Thanks Glenn. That's what I need to know.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by glenn bradley View Post
    Just went out and checked mine Bernie. Definitely crowned, no question.
    Thanks Glenn, that's what I needed to know.
    Talked with Rikon today and they are sending me new upper and lower wheels. Wonderful service considering the saw is almost 5 yrs old. Only recently have I started using it extensively so that the problem became a constant annoyance. My fault that I didn't address it sooner but my knowledge was limited so I put up with it. Will post if the new wheels solve the problem. Thanks all

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