# Grizzly bandsaw wheel runout?



## cactusjack (Jan 19, 2017)

So I was finally able to scrape up enough change to order a G0513 17" bandsaw from Grizzly. When it came in the other day, I assembled it and took it for a test drive. I immediately noticed the blade moving from front to back, causing some chatter on the thrust bearing. The blade moves quite a bit from front to rear and the saw has some vibration to it.

After checking tension and some other settings, I realized the upper wheel had some runout. OK, it had A LOT of runout. Checking the machined outer edge of the wheel with a dial indicator showed approx. 0.050" of lateral runout. Spinning the wheel by hand with the blade tensioned or not, you can see some obvious wobbling of the wheel through the tracking window. 

(unrelated: the saw came in with several spots of paint chipping, adding to my overall bad first impression of Grizzly's quality)

I called Grizzly and they shipped me a new wheel and a can of paint. Great! Got it today and the wheel was broken right out of the box. On of the spokes had a crack completely through it where it looked to have a casting defect. I decided to go ahead and press the bearings into it anyway and gave it a spin by hand just to see if the same runout occurred. Low and behold, the wheel wobbled just as the original did. It could very well be because of the cracked spoke so I took it with a grain of salt. Called Grizzly again and got the same lady. She was very nice and transferred me to the warranty department and they decided to ship yet another wheel.

Could I be missing something here? Could one of the wheel bearings be producing the runout? Is there an acceptable amount of lateral runout on these machines? I can't imagine 0.050" being acceptable. 

Cliff notes:
New bandsaw
Blade moves front to back
0.050" runout in upper wheel
New wheel broken
Angry
Help me


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## wyowoodwrker (Jan 19, 2017)

@woodtickgreg Greg sold be able to help you get it running right and dialed in

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mike1950 (Jan 19, 2017)

make sure you check it with something besides factory blade. it has to be checked under tension

Reactions: Like 1


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## cactusjack (Jan 19, 2017)

Mike1950 said:


> make sure you check it with something besides factory blade. it has to be checked under tension


@Mike1950 that's next on my list of things to try. I have a new resaw blade I'll throw on there and see if it makes a difference. That still doesn't address the excessive runout in the upper wheel, though. The blade tracks fine but that wheel sure does vibrate.


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## DKMD (Jan 19, 2017)

Is it the wheel or the spindle, I wonder?


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## cactusjack (Jan 19, 2017)

DKMD said:


> Is it the wheel or the spindle, I wonder?


I originally thought the spindle might be the culprit but realized the spindle doesn't rotate. There are bearings pressed into the wheel that just slide onto the shaft.

Reactions: Like 1


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 19, 2017)

Sounds to me like it is just bad wheels. One from the factory. Then they shipped another one, probably ups, and that one got damaged too. Cracked spoke = bent wheel. Grizzly usually has a good reputation, they are trying to fix your issue but shipping is a pain sometimes. Wait till you get a good wheel and I bet your troubles will be over. And yes, if you press a bearing in crooked you will have run out. Bad bearing? Possible but highly unlikely. I think it's just bad luck with the wheels. They will get you a good one.

Reactions: Like 1


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## rocky1 (Jan 19, 2017)

Was reading reviews on the 14" Grizzly Anniversary model on Amazon the other night, and encountered several complaints of this nature on the 14" saw. One gentleman had replaced bearings, had replaced the wheel 2-3 times, and finally gave up and shipped it back to them for warranty work. Which he said was quite frankly a pain in the ass, because he was several months into ownership by this time, had thrown his box away, and Grizzly tells you that you are on your own returning it. Upon return, they repaired it and return shipped without lift gate, had to call Grizzly and get that straightened out to get UPS to deliver it. He was not a happy camper!

I want to say he had the same issues with chipped paint.

Another had the same problems, Customer Service gave him the same run around, but he only lived a mile or two from Grizzly's Facility in Springfield. He drove down and talked with them, and the salesman showed up in his private pickup with one of the guys out of the shop at lunch, loaded it up, carried it in, fixed it, and brought it back to him the next day. So he was very pleased.

There were others with similar complaints, and the culprit seems, in every case, to be the wheel. Not sure where their wheels are being cast and turned over there in China, but there is definitely a problem with Quality Control there.

Reactions: Like 2 | Informative 1


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## cactusjack (Jan 19, 2017)

woodtickgreg said:


> Sounds to me like it is just bad wheels. One from the factory. Then they shipped another one, probably ups, and that one got damaged too. Cracked spoke = bent wheel. Grizzly usually has a good reputation, they are trying to fix your issue but shipping is a pain sometimes. Wait till you get a good wheel and I bet your troubles will be over. And yes, if you press a bearing in crooked you will have run out. Bad bearing? Possible but highly unlikely. I think it's just bad luck with the wheels. They will get you a good one.



Box was in perfect condition upon arrival. Looks more like a casting defect that caused it. No biggie, I'll give them a fair chance to make it right before I get too upset.

Reactions: Like 2


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## cactusjack (Jan 19, 2017)

rocky1 said:


> Was reading reviews on the 14" Grizzly Anniversary model on Amazon the other night, and encountered several complaints of this nature on the 14" saw. One gentleman had replaced bearings, had replaced the wheel 2-3 times, and finally gave up and shipped it back to them for warranty work. Which he said was quite frankly a pain in the ass, because he was several months into ownership by this time, had thrown his box away, and Grizzly tells you that you are on your own returning it. Upon return, they repaired it and returned shipped without lift gate, had to call Grizzly and get that straightened out to get UPS to deliver it. He was not a happy camper!
> 
> I want to say he had the same issues with chipped paint.
> 
> ...


I would have to agree about issues with quality control. I had read a large majority of good things about grizzly. Just hoping they see this issue thru until I'm satisfied. I can deal with some cracked paint. Did it disappoint me? Yeah, but I just want it to function as it should.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Mike1950 (Jan 19, 2017)

some of the best customer service I have dealt with. Hang in there I bet they make it right.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 19, 2017)

Sounds like they got a batch of bad wheels. I wonder if it's just on one size wheel or all of them?


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## cactusjack (Jan 19, 2017)

woodtickgreg said:


> Sounds like they got a batch of bad wheels. I wonder if it's just on one size wheel or all of them?



I'm hoping I just got unlucky. The replacement wheel most likely was wobbly due to the cracked spoke. Let's hope wheel #3 is the winner.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## cactusjack (Jan 19, 2017)

Took a video to hopefully better show what I'm dealing with


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 20, 2017)

Definitely a bad wheel. Cast aluminum is easily damaged in shipping.


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## Mike1950 (Jan 20, 2017)

I would check it with the good blade attached. also make sure wheels are coplaner. a bad blade will cause quite a vibration


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## cactusjack (Jan 24, 2017)

Update: Got the new upper wheel from Grizzly yesterday, pressed in some new bearings and low and behold the wheel spins true with no runout. I'm still getting some front to back movement of the blade. About 1/16" movement. No matter how I track the blade or set the tension, I still get this movement. I tried with the factory blade and a 3/4" resaw blade. Same amount of movement each time. What the heck?! I know it's not extremely vital to accuracy but it's still annoying paying this much for a machine that can't produce a quality blade movement.


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## Mike1950 (Jan 24, 2017)

Have you adjusted the wheels co-planer?

Reactions: Agree 1


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## cactusjack (Jan 24, 2017)

Mike1950 said:


> Have you adjusted the wheels co-planer?


I honestly have not checked that yet. I know, probably one of the first things I should have checked but I don't have a straight edge large enough so I will need to improvise somehow


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 24, 2017)

And now that you have good wheels it should be done. Just curious, does the lower wheel spin true?


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## Mike1950 (Jan 24, 2017)

cactusjack said:


> I honestly have not checked that yet. I know, probably one of the first things I should have checked but I don't have a straight edge large enough so I will need to improvise somehow


straightedge probably is not the answer. Use a piece of plywood- will probably need to cut out for table. Make it and store. It is something to check once in a while.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## cactusjack (Jan 24, 2017)

woodtickgreg said:


> And now that you have good wheels it should be done. Just curious, does the lower wheel spin true?


That's my next item to check off of the list. Eyeballing it doesn't seem to show any runout but I will put the dial indicator to it tonight and see. There is still some vibration coming from somewhere.


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## Mike1950 (Jan 24, 2017)

woodtickgreg said:


> And now that you have good wheels it should be done. Just curious, does the lower wheel spin true?



I bet he cannot see the lower wheel- I do not think it has that window. I bet without window- he would not see 1/16


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## cactusjack (Jan 24, 2017)

Mike1950 said:


> I bet he cannot see the lower wheel- I do not think it has that window. I bet without window- he would not see 1/16


Correct, no window for the lower wheel. The upper wheel was so bad you could see it wobble with the door open.


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## Mike1950 (Jan 24, 2017)

cactusjack said:


> Correct, no window for the lower wheel. The upper wheel was so bad you could see it wobble with the door open.



Oh i believe you- but 1/16- I doubt. My 21 inch griz has switches to prevent running with doors open.

Reactions: Like 1


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## cactusjack (Jan 24, 2017)

Mike1950 said:


> Oh i believe you- but 1/16- I doubt. My 21 inch griz has switches to prevent running with doors open.


I like to live dangerously. The wind from the spinning wheels makes me feel like I'm on the bow of the Titanic with Leo holding my arms...

Reactions: Funny 5


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## Mike1950 (Jan 24, 2017)

Chances are if blade breaks- nothing happens but speaking from experience- have one break while tensioned and cutting wood- the blade stops immediately and does nothing but the noise and saw jumping scares the crap out of ya.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## cactusjack (Jan 26, 2017)

So the wheels were not co-planar. Added some shims to the upper wheel and I seem to have eliminated the vibration but still have slight front to back movement of the blade. Tried the original blade as well as a 3/4" resaw blade. Both produce the same movement. I'm going to write it off as the blades and just deal with it. The saw cuts fairly well and accurately. It's just disappointing I guess.


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 26, 2017)

cactusjack said:


> So the wheels were not co-planar. Added some shims to the upper wheel and I seem to have eliminated the vibration but still have slight front to back movement of the blade. Tried the original blade as well as a 3/4" resaw blade. Both produce the same movement. I'm going to write it off as the blades and just deal with it. The saw cuts fairly well and accurately. It's just disappointing I guess.


Original blade is crap! Lol. Get a good blade and see how it tracks. Like you said, it could just be the blades.

Reactions: Like 1


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## cactusjack (Jan 26, 2017)

woodtickgreg said:


> Original blade is crap! Lol. Get a good blade and see how it tracks. Like you said, it could just be the blades.


Yeah, I'll have to break down and spend some cash on a decent blade, I guess.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Mike1950 (Jan 26, 2017)

You have to expect to adjust coplaner after shipping. also every once in a while just maintenance. Buy a good blade- you will be happy.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## woodnthings (Apr 20, 2017)

Regarding the lower wheel ....

That was my first thought also after the new wheel ran true. However the aluminum may run true but the tire may not. Check the tire also for any variations in front view and in side view. A blade may not be welded true as well. My theory is that the upper wheel would most directly affect the blade as it rotates downward, and the lower wheel would have less effect.


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