Thread: Adjusting side bearings

Once side bearings are properly set they should be suitable for ALL types of sawing at all heights.

At least that is what i understand from Alex Snodgrass. Suggest you view his video.

See the thread started by me in this forum.

I think that would need to be checked first as each saw has its own little differences. If the guides travel up and down exactly in line with the blade then ok but for large height changes I would check it out first. It is not hard to check. Set guide bearings at say 2'' height so that the blade runs and bearings do not spin without wood being cut. (usual set up) Then raise to full height and see if this still applies. Set again at new height if you have to. Some saws will be ok and some will need to be reset. The larger height range saws will be more prone to this problem. From observation you will know what height changes you can make without resetting guides. For rough work it wont be a problem but for accurate resawing of thick stock you may need to. Get to know your saw.
Regards
John

Originally Posted by orraloon

I think that would need to be checked first as each saw has its own little differences. If the guides travel up and down exactly in line with the blade then ok but for large height changes I would check it out first. It is not hard to check. Set guide bearings at say 2'' height so that the blade runs and bearings do not spin without wood being cut. (usual set up) Then raise to full height and see if this still applies. Set again at new height if you have to. Some saws will be ok and some will need to be reset. The larger height range saws will be more prone to this problem. From observation you will know what height changes you can make without resetting guides. For rough work it wont be a problem but for accurate resawing of thick stock you may need to. Get to know your saw.
Regards
John

On my bandsaw, (a 12" Hafco), I need to re-adjust both of the guides and the thrust bearing if I change the height.
As a result, I tend to leave mine set at about 3" unless I'm doing something really accurate, to avoid constantly re-adjusting everything.

Originally Posted by mat

Should it be a requirement to back off the top side bearings before adjusting the resaw height and then reset each time or should the side bearing adjustment be "good" for the total resaw height from a few mms up to the maximum resaw height?

Orraloon's advice sounded pretty good.

My saw needs no adjustment when height is changed, but the post can be adjusted if this were the case. Do you have adjustment on the post (that holds the upper guides)?

One of the problems is that even if the post tracked perfectly the locking bolt rotates the post when locked and then it rotates again back to its "natural resting position" when the locking bolt is loosened. This rotation is enough to push the side bearing into the blade slightly.
I have checked on the local woodcraft guild bandsaw that is the same make and model and it too has the same issue.

Originally Posted by mat

One of the problems is that even if the post tracked perfectly the locking bolt rotates the post when locked and then it rotates again back to its "natural resting position" when the locking bolt is loosened. This rotation is enough to push the side bearing into the blade slightly.
I have checked on the local woodcraft guild bandsaw that is the same make and model and it too has the same issue.

I have a similar issue on my Fb 610 when the pot is unlocked, however when locked, the post is aligned at each height.

It took about 2 hours of fettling to achieve this, but the post now is reasonably well aligned through all of its travel range.