Thread: SteelFast Bandsaw

Originally Posted by harty69

no only partial damage

We can rebuild him.

Originally Posted by harty69

advice dont crown the wheels on a bandsaw with the blade on and running

What does this mean? The crowning part.

Originally Posted by Bryan

The crowning part.

Its the profile machined on the wheel saw band contact surface .

It helps to to track/ center the blade, though the major adjustment is provided by the co planar alignment of the wheels and a screw adjustment that sees the "tilt" angle of the non driven wheel to be adjusted.Co planar is just having both the outside edges of the wheels lined up.Otherwise the saw band won't track at all.

Google these terms and you will find mobs of info and illustrations to help you.
At this point there is no mention of tires .They are a rubber strip stretched /glued over the saw band contact area on the wheel.
Some woodwork band saw machines have tires.My horizontal band saw does not.
I can't say I have ever looked for one on a metal cutting saw.

Grahame

Thank you all for the replies.

Ray, thanks for the photos.I have a question regarding the gearbox, for which your Loctite fix may be the answer. My bandsaw has evidence of the lower wheel migrating out and rubbing against the cover. The collar which sits against the pulley was loose, so tightening this prevents axial movement. My question is whether the collar and the 'press' fit of the large gear are the only means of shaft retention? My pulley also sits very close to the gear select lever, is this normal? Did you get a new oil seal for the pulley assy or reuse the old one?
Grahame, the extension included a longer bandsaw guide support rod so everything functions as it should. Who ever did the job went to a reasonable amount of trouble.
The guides do require a bit of attention, the upper one is a roller bearing for thrust and just a slot in a piece of horizontal round bar for side loads -which has worn.
Cheers everyone
Peter

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

Its the profile machined on the wheel saw band contact surface .

That's what I thought. Just trying to get my head around how you would rework this profile on a running saw. I guess I don't need to know because I will never be doing it.

Outside of a school or tech college you don't see a lot of real good iron up here.

I like it as its built like a brick dunny.

I hope you get a lot of pleasure re building it.

Grahame

That bandsaw looks very solid. Band saw blade selection will depend on the geometry of the material to becut and grade of the material. Basic rules is minimum 3 teeth of blade must be always in contact with the material during cutting .
If you want to cut 1” round bar of 1018 mild steel , use 6-10 TPI and if 8. 4” square tube with a wall thickness of ¾”, best to use blade with 2-3 TPI .

Hi Peter
Now you are testing the grey matter, it must be 3 months since I had my machine appart.
The main shaft is held firm only by the fit of the bearings in the housing, the large gear is not realy meant to be a press fit just neat, that is why it flogs the keyway.
The only parts I replaced were the seals, as I figured to get it running and then see what happened. The large drive wheel is only held on by a 3/8" socket head screw.
All the metal cutting band saws I have ever used had a hard rubber or composition tyre fitted, appart from the little chinese horizontal which is just metal. In most cases I have seen the blade guides have been brass on each side both top and bottom, However I know one guy who used tungsten carbide tips, I personally don't agree as we are trying to protect the blade not rip it appart, with a roller or small race to support the back edge.

The setting up of a blade is also easy, first retract all gudes and rollers etc. Fit the blade over the wheels and apply a bit of tension, switch on the machine (keep clear in case the blade jumps off) centre the blade using the upper wheel tilt adjuster and re adjust the tension (difficult to describe the correct amount) Stop the machine and adjust the rear rollers to just touch the blade without any pressure. Bring in the side guides to just clear the blade by a few thousanths of an inch (never measured it just feel) Then jog the machine so you can check for the joint passing through the guides, a thick joint can trap and throw the blade off.
Close all covers and refit guards, happy sawing

cheers
Ray

Hi All
Just thought I would add in a few photos. As you can see the yellow paintwork is on its way out. I think I might have to take a look inside the gear box to sort out the loose shaft and also replace an oil seal. I may change part of the upper blade guide also as it is not very effective as it is.
Peter

Hi Peter

here is some pics of my saw original paint to
for metal i have found the 14 tooth blade to be the most versatile as i go from cutting thin sheet metal to inch bolts in the same day
20140616_205931-900.jpg
20140616_205938-900.jpg
20140616_205943-900.jpg
20140616_210041-900.jpg

cheers
Harty

[QUOTE=harty69;1783278]Hi Peter

here is some pics of my saw original paint to
for metal i have found the 14 tooth blade to be the most versatile as i go from cutting thin sheet metal to inch bolts in the same day


Hello Harty
Your saw looks to be newer than mine and in much better nick. You can see that they developed the design over the years- I wonder when they started and finished production of these saws? I would guess something like 1960 to 1975? I reckon mine would be a fairly early model as it has a cast iron base! And more basic guides and wheel covers.
I like the design of the upper guide on your saw, I think the adjustable blocks would be a worthwhile mod.
Thanks for the TPI tip, hope the thumbs healing well.
Cheers
Peter

Originally Posted by harty69

last week skin and tendon still in a sling and splint
Attachment 316489
lt took a fraction if a second

cheers
harty

Jeez I crinched seeing that. So will you still be able to do one of these

thats all i can do at the moment the splint is holding my thumb straight up
all my staff think there doing a good job cos im giving them the thumbs up all the time

cheers
Harty

The photos show my old bandsaw, which I built 20 years ago, next to my steelfast. The depth of cut seemed similar so I thought it might be worth checking to see whether the blades were interchangeable. It turned out that the 2 blades I compared - 1 from each saw -
are exactly the same length. Quite a coincidence given that one saw is home made and the other has been modified. This works well as I now have a good range of blades for either saw.
I just felt like sharing this, as quite often things don't fit when maybe they should.
Cheers
Peter