Bandsaw (G01514X2) vibration help

[WaterlooMarc]

I need help trying to rid my bandsaw of vibration. Really vibration is too kind of a term, my saw has what I would call a severe shuddering! If you'll entertain me I will attempt to link to a few videos of the saw running. They're less than a minute total. This is running with a brand new 3/4" wood slicer blade. As you can see I'm so far from even attempting a nickel test it's crazy!

https://youtu.be/nnyKpIPoRec

https://youtu.be/TSxZjJpyWmg

https://youtu.be/SUCLFDxDgdI

Here's what I've done so far:
-Replaced both tires. No difference at all.
-Replaced original belt with new "link belt". This helped a fair amount with the vibration and the saw is much quieter.
-Took saw off mobile base and set on concrete and leveled. This helped as well.

However the videos show how much vibration I'm getting now. I think the problem must be with the upper wheel but I don't know what to do about it or how to diagnose it. Without a blade on the saw runs fine. Just motor, minimal vibration. Motor and lower wheel, minimal vibration. Put any blade on and all hell break lose!

Here's a video with the blade off: https://youtu.be/FYHujpnRMvs

I've waited so long to deal with this there isn't any warranty left on the saw. I would appreciate any help you can give. I'm about out of aces and I'd really like to get this thing running so i can use it to it's potential.

Thanks!
Marc

(Cross posted at that other site too..)

[daddo]

Grab the pulleys and wheels (Blade off) and move them to see if there is any play (Run out) on their shafts.
Spin the wheels and see if there are any flat spots on the surfaces.
Spin the pulley(s) and wheels to see if they are true. Look for a cracked wheel.
When spinning everything, see if you hear a rough spot or flat spot on a bearing or bushing.
Use a different blade.
Be sure the motor is secured.

You will need to watch it run with the covers off.

Any play (run out) on the wheels at all will cause it to shake. Sounds like a flat bearing or bushing caused by sticking or freezing up then broke loose.

[Wild Turkey]

with no blade on saw spin upper wheel by hand. watch for wobble, etc but note what point stops at the bottom. If there is any "rocking" as it stops you've got a balance problem.

Watch upper wheel with blade on and watch for wobble -- it might be out of round.

good luck

[daddo]

I almost forgot- look for the infamous mud dauber nest behind the wheels. But I doubt one would be heavy enough for it to shake that bad..?

Loose bolts.

[barryvabeach]

Marc, you did the right steps in terms of checking the vibration with just the motor, then just the motor and bottom wheel, then finally the whole shebang. I think that leaves only a few possibilities, either there is a problem with the blade , or the upper wheel is out of round or out of balance. Has it ever run correctly? One other diagnostic is to number the spokes on the upper wheel, then attach a quarter with duct tape to one of the spokes near the outer rim, and set your indicator up, and run a quick test, record the results, then move the quarter to the next spoke. If you don't see any change, you have ruled out out of balance of the upper wheel. If you start seeing some change, keep at it, either adding additional quarters, or changing the location to you get it better.

[Richard D.]

I have a vibration issue with my 513 but it is intermittent. It runs fine but about three times now it has started shuttering making me hit the stop button immediately. I attribute it to the tires getting loose because of the over tensioned blade (.035 x 3/8" instead of the usual .025) and I saw a gap between the tire and blade the first time the vibration happened. I plan on switching out the tires and going back to .025 blades.

I don't know if my issue has anything to do with yours but have you run a smaller blade on the new tires? Look at the tires where the blade comes off and see if there is a gap from the tire deforming.

I know the saws are rated for 1" blades but I think they perform better with a .02 x 1/2" or less.

Do you have all the guides and thrust bearings away from the blade for the video...I couldn't tell?

[jteneyck]

Does the vibration change as you change blade tension? If it gets worse at higher tension I'd suspect the upper wheel bearing. If it doesn't it could still be the wheel bearing, but it could also be the upper wheel is out of balance or even out of round.

John

[WaterlooMarc]

Yes it does seem to get worse at higher tension, however slacking the tension off (even to the point of flutter) doesn't eliminate the vibration to anything close to tolerable. It is just marginally worse at higher tension.

I've tried to check for out of balance on the wheel by hand. It doesn't settle at the same spot very often. I was almost hoping it was the wheel out of balance as I think that would be easier to correct than if it were out of round, which is what I'm beginning to fear. I haven't been able to figure out a way to mount the indicator to check for round on the saw yet. I guess I'll take the wheel off and check the shaft tomorrow.

Regarding the bad bearing, how loud would that be? I don't have much experience in that regard. Am I listening for a dull crunch or somebody crumpling a newspaper loud? Speaking of bearings, the guides were all off the blade for the video.

Thanks for the help so far!

[daddo]

One of the best ways is to take the thing apart and inspect all the parts. During the process you may find the problem with something loose or a bearing that is rough or noisy when spinning it.
Putting it back together, you can lube, clean and grease it up.

You could even have a pulley that is slipping on the motor shaft wearing the shaft down causing the pulley to wobble. *Unless there is a key way in the shaft.

[jteneyck]

Bearings often start talking (and vibrating) long before a ball actually breaks - that's when you hear crunching. It was pretty noticeable on my Unisaw when one of the bearings went; the noise more than the vibration actually. I think any bearing noise is a sign the bearing is bad and needs to be replaced. The question is whether or not that noise is from the bearing. I don't really know; I was just guessing it was. As was mentioned by someone else, if you feel any play when you try to pull the wheel radially, with the blade off, then the bearing is bad.

You should be able to mount the dial gage on the frame somewhere to measure the runout of the upper wheel. Or perhaps up off the table. You might have to clamp a piece wood or steel somewhere and mount the gage to that.

I'm not surprised the wheel doesn't always settle to the same spot. That actually suggests that the bearings might be OK. Good bearings don't spin like a compass needle; worn ones do.

John