Thread: What causes bandsaw blade to wobble left to right?

I would be checking that both wheels are running straight and not buckled.

A tyre may have a lump in it or not seated properly.

You may also not be putting enough tension on the blade.

Try this: Fit blade and leave all the guides backed out. Tension blade and set tracking. Start the machine up and let it run for 10 mins. It may "iron" out any ripples in the tyres.

Check for run out after this time.

Hello Sam, It may be that one (or both) of your tyres has a bump. It may be that the wheel itself is slightly out of round, but the tyre should be easier to fix.

Here is an article on truing the bandsaw. I hope that it is of some help
http://www.ccwwa.org/NEWSITE/plans/BandsawTuneup3.pdf
Cheers
SG

It almost sounds like one or both of the wheels is off centre. When you spin them by hand this may be noticeable, or you may see a bump as SG suggested. It would be unusual, but things can slip through quality control.
When someone turns the blade by hand, when you look from the side, can you see the blade moving backwards & forwards? This could show that it hasn't been joined straight - again, unusual, but could happen.

, Scribbly Gum, AlexS

Thx for the quick reply!! I'll do that when I get back home from overseas. I am using 15mm tension which was suggested by AlexS in my previous post. AlexS, you asked me the same question in my previous email, and I checked from side and blade does not move. It may that the wheels are off centred. If this is the case, how do I fix it? Contact the supplier?

What I do not understand is that if this is common for such an expensive saw and quality blades. I mean if you are paying top dollars for a bandsaw, we should not be dealing with this type of problems. or am I being naive? I am a weekend worrier. In the past, I bought cheap machinery, and ended up spending my weekends trying to tune up the machine rather than doing woodworking. This time, I decided to commit to a better machine, but it seems I am back to square one. It makes me wonder



Cheers
Sam

Check the nuts holding the wheels are tight?

ps & washers flat & flush

don't assume anything; I could tell you about a motorbike that wouldn't start after washing (redface).

Hi Sam,
Is there nobody close handy to you, that may possibly help you out.
Surely, somebody must be close. Have you checked any of the Clubs, or even a Men's Shed. " White Pages " via Google, should be able to pick them up or of course the Phone Book.
Regarding the 15mm. & yours is bigger, mine is 14in. & I TWANG mine to a reasonable Pitch or sound, if you like.
Regards,
issatree.

Test the wheels for eccentricity: Just clamp (I've got a bunch of rare earth magnets, but a 'C' clamp will do) a block to the fixed cover of the saw with a point of some sort juuuust touching the metal rim of the wheel.

Rotate.

If the point leaves the wheel or gets knocked around by it, the wheel is off centre, machine was no good to start with (a Monday or a Friday machine) - contact the supplier & demand a REPLACEMENT bandsaw - waiting for them to source parts at some time in the future is not an acceptable offer.

If the wheels seem OK, do the same test with the point over the tyre - if the tyre is out of whack it would be reasonable to require an immediate replacement at the supplier's expense - again don't accept 'it will take months to get the parts' - It is pretty well established in Australia that any remedy for an item delivered as defective is immediate repair, replacement or refund at YOUR option, not the suppliers.

I've dealt with both those suppliers and found them and their products pretty good. However, things do go wrong, and I would expect, as you do, that they would be fixed up promptly, especially when, as you have, you pay for quality.

Hi Sam,
did you find the cause of your bandsaw problem and did the supplier fix it for you?
I am interested as I'm researching buying a Hammer bandsaw and suddenly, after lots of praise for them, there is someone reporting what seems to be a quality problem.
If you like, you can PM me to reply
Thanks
Paul
Auckland, NZ

Sam, i don't know where in Sydney you are but I'm near Bankstown. If that's close by, PM me and we'll tee up a time and you could come past my place.
I have an N4400 and a 1/2 blade from Henry Bros on it right now as a matter of fact. So that way you can do a direct comparison with mine and see if there's significant difference (which there must be, cause my N4400 doesn't suffer from what you have described). Anyway, it's not every day you can do a direct comparison with someone who's got an identical setup, so the offers there if you want it.

If you want to organise that, PM me.

TN

TN thanks for the offer!! I leave in the Eastern part of Sydney. Paul, my apologies for not posting back earlier!!! Here is the current situation. I have been in touch with Felder guys. They asked me to do tests similar to bsrlee, which I have done and it was not conclusive. They decided to send someone to look at the bandsaw tomorrow. Their comment was that if it is my fault, they will charge me for the time. I am not sure how it could be!! All I did was put the blade on, track, tension and rotate the blade. Regardles they said if something is wrong with the machine, they will replace it. If this is case then it is only fair that I should charge them as well for the time that I wasted I'll keep you posted after Wednesday.

Cheers
Sam

Good luck. Keep us posted on developments.

Thanks to all those that have helped poor Sam63 with his band saw concerns. I have orded a N4400 from the Melbourne distributer & found them to be helpful in answering any questions that I had. I have also talked to Sydney & they too have been fine. I went to the working with wood show last year (in Melbourne) where I could look @ the band saw in the flesh to see the quality of the construction of the unit. It appeared to me to be extremely well built. I had looked @ other small to mid range band saws & found their construction to be flimsy & tinny in design & with not as much H.P as the Hammer. So I felt confident with the product. Henry Bro who I have already got my band saw blades from (they are impatiently waiting to get on the saw) did tell me that some people where disappointed with the fact that the saw could only take a 25mm blade and no bigger. My researched proved that if one needed to go to a 32mm blade a much larger machine should be considered. Keep in mind this is a midrange size machine.

Sam63 you can get replacement tires for these machines, if you do find out that it is the tires & not the wheels (I am really hoping for your sake it is a defective tire) the part number is 504 – 15 – 456 $31.54 each + g.s.t. This price may have gone up since I got this price.

I think that if you have done all the correct things with the machine then you should feel safe Sam63 in your decision to get a 'Rep' to look over the unit. Stay confident & keep positive about a good outcome for both you & them. Stats prove that one bad customer has the potential of telling 25 people of the bad experience, & with the internet & online forums I would think it could be possibly more. They do not want that type of promotion.

I will be applying a few tests on my machine at the warehouse before I collect the unit & bring it home.

WWF has again provided good practical experience & advice.

G'Day Folks

I am back again to update the progress. Yesterday someone from Felder turned up and spent more than 2 hrs and he could not fix the problem. We ended up using 4 different same type and size blades from Henry Bros and they all do the same thing. In the process however, he ruled out that it is not the machine. However he did not want to jump to the conclusion since they also use Henry Bros blades in Felder NSW and he agrees that they are the best in Australia. As a result I asked him to take one of the blades and test with the new machines coming at the end of this month. He did and promised to get back to me as soon as he tests them. In the mean time, I talked to Henry Bros this morning and they were very helpful and puzzled as well. Regardless I asked them to send me a couple of different blades (1/4 inch, 6tpi). I'll test them as soon as I receive them and update the progress.

Cheers
Sam