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+-- Thread: 1/8" bandsaw blade won't track (/showthread.php?tid=7187785)
1/8" bandsaw blade won't track - Crane - 01-08-2016
Brand new 1/8" - 14tpi Starrett blade won't track on my Powermatic PWBS-14 bandsaw.
1. The machine is properly tuned-up. !
2. The guides, upper and lower are completely pulled out of the way during the installation of the blade as described below.
3. When I start to tension up the blade and turn the wheels by hand and adjust the tracking (with the tilt of the top wheel) the blade (within a couple of wheel revolutions) rides off either the front or back of the wheels.
4. Once the blade starts to move towards the edge of the wheels, any attempt to correct the tracking position seems to have no effect. The blade just seems to want to drift off the wheels.
I've never tried to run a 1/8" blade on this machine, but I regularly use 3/16" blades (and larger) with no problem.
As I said above, the guides are completely pulled out of the way. So, it has nothing to do with the guides.
I'm thinking it's just a bad blade?
Any other ideas?
Thanks,
Ken
Re: 1/8" bandsaw blade won't track - Alan S - 01-08-2016
Try less tension. I've noticed with 1/8" blades that sometimes they only track well if you sneak up on the tension while adjusting tracking.
Re: 1/8" bandsaw blade won't track - Steve N - 01-08-2016
How does the weld look? On bigger blades a prominent weld is just a little bump on a big object. Going down to 1/8" blades a prominent weld will act like an unbalanced load on a big truck. Send you willy nilly down the road. Watch the teeth but first just look, can you see the weld? If so is it flat to the blade, and smooth? It should be exactly that. If you can't see it, feel lightly around the blade for it, is it raised, rough, irregular, anything but flat and smooth?
If it is the weld, minor imperfections can be fixed, though I hate to pay good money for crap work, I'll usually return them. Let them fix it,
Who did you get the blade from?
Re: 1/8" bandsaw blade won't track - tablesawtom - 01-09-2016
What kind of saw? At the front of the wheel is where the 1/8 inch blade wants to run on a Inca 11 inch.
Tom