Thread: Alex Snodgrass

I have an issue with the term co-planar in the context of bandsaws. You can get the wheels the same plane vertically but as soon as the tracking is moved that adjustment goes out the door at high speed. Then there is this....

<However the axel can also be adjusted to make the two wheels in the same plane side to side and up & down>

What does up & down mean? You can lift the whole wheel vertically? Why?

Side to side in relation the the chassis, I get that and it may have applied to old BS's but given today's manufacturing and jigging methods I doubt it is an issue that a new owner need concern himself with. In the great big scheme of things I don't think Snodgrass is too far off the money, he may be a bit short on flat wheel BS's but Americans don't see that many of them and I suppose neither do we.

Hi Chris
You are correct in that the top wheel is tilted to get the blade tracking in the required location on both wheels. Therefore you are correct to state that when tracking is performed the top wheel is moved out of coplanar but this should only occur in one dimension

However the bottom wheel can also be tilted at an angle during manufacture or by adjustment. With top quality machines they are probably accurately aligned in the factory. With cheaper machines I am not so sure. My current saw actually has a spider on the outboard end of the bottom axle to allow the bottom wheel to be aligned in two dimensions.

Normally you want the CENTRE of the top and bottom wheels to be vertically aligned.
Then you can change the side to side angle of the bottom axle such that the sides of both the bottom wheel and the top wheel are also all vertically aligned i.e. the horizontal diameter of both wheels are in the same plane.
Finally one can tilt the bottom axle such that the top and bottom of the bottom wheel are not in a vertical line. Some bandsaws may do this to a small degree to make the tracking less sensitive.
Note all this affects tracking only and only indirectly affects the accuracy of a cut.

I have actually built three 15" bandsaw from scratch loosely modelled on the Startrite industrial machines. When setting them up, the first adjustment I had to make to get the tracking true was always the alignment of the bottom axle.
Hope this clarifies my original attempt to explain Coplanar alignment.
Ron

I doubt that many modern saws of any grade are that far out that you need to worry about the axis centres. In fact I doubt that the average person could even measure any variation to correct a problem if it existed. Modern methods or manufacture are such that these sorts of checks would only be necessary as a very last resort.

Modern saws are also not as rigid as older cast iron saws and I will bet money as soon as decent tension is applied all these measurements move by significant amounts. The lever effect on a wheel must be huge due to the design and the wheel must deflect significantly. An interesting conversation but there are many saws out there performing well without having to worry about all this stuff.

Snodgrass recommends centering the deepest part of the gullets on the center of the wheel. Would this not nuke the tires?

Thoughts?

Originally Posted by GarethR

Snodgrass recommends centering the deepest part of the gullets on the center of the wheel. Would this not nuke the tires?

Thoughts?

I was concerned about that at first too, but after 18 months using Snodgrass' method, my tyres are still fine.

I followed the AS bandsaw setup a couple of weeks back.
Today, I did a change over from a 1/4'' blade to a 1/2'' only having to loose & re-tension the blade for the saw to run well.....
Even tried the collapsing of the band as AS demonstrated; worked a treat as did the unfolding of the new blade....
Cheers, crowie

Thanks for starting this thread artme.

Recently bought myself a shiny new bandsaw and have had a devil of a time figuring out the instruction manual.

Pretty sure I've got it set up OK but with the glowing reports you fellas have given, I'm going to go over everything again and get it done right!

Alex's methods work fine to most band saw users. I suggest you read the "The Band saw Book" by Lonnie Bird.

Hi guys,

I recently bought myself a shiny new bandsaw. As I only intend to use it for model building, and not the serious furniture etc that some of you do, I was happy to settle for the baby 10" saw from Carbatec. I know it won't do the things that the $2k+ machines like the Laguna will, but for about $400 I figure it will meet my needs (for now at least!)

Anyway, never having owned a bandsaw before, or even used one in fact, the setup instructions were sketchy to say the least. I watched the Alex Snodgrass video twice, making notes on the second run through. Then I went and applied everything exactly as he said to. It worked a treat and my new saw is running like a charm. His instructions also helped me to figure out what the manual was saying.

Top marks to Alex Snodgrass, and a huge thankyou to the forum members who posted this thread.

Cheers,

Grant

Originally Posted by labr@

Having trouble with sound and Utube at present - does anyone know of a transcript of the AS set up technique?

Not sure if this will help https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU

Alex

Had some trauma with my Laguna SUV 14" with the resaw king using some VERY HARD rose sheoak.

I've seen this video before, but just rewatched it. Followed the instructions (Laguna doesn't use bearings) and it saws wonderfully now.

I havent done a 30cm bit yet (have to make a tall fence) but it works well.