# Bandsaw blade wobble



## Gardnaaa (Jan 3, 2021)

Hey everyone. So I made a stupid mistake today. I haven’t really used my rikon 10-326 (14” bandsaw) very much since I got it about a year ago. For some reason today I figured I’d start messing with it. The blade seemed a little loose so I tightened the wheel. Turned the saw on and the blade shot off. It broke the little tension gauge too. I still had the blade that it came with on it, but I had a blade that I bought when I bought the saw. The place that I bought it, the guy that owns it makes the blades for you in the back from a big roll of blade material and he just tack welds them. So since I have never changed the blade before, I watched videos and followed the steps on how to do it. Now my blade wobbles. Could this be from the tack weld- even though he smoothed it out for the most part? Or did I damage something that could cause the wobble? Do I buy a Commercially made blade? It didn’t wobble before, and if it did it might have been the slightest bit. Non of my friends are woodworkers so I’m all on my own when it comes to tools and such, and unfortunately sometimes I make stupid mistakes because of this. Thank you everyone- sorry for all the questions.

Reactions: Sincere 1


----------



## woodtickgreg (Jan 3, 2021)

Take the blade off and spin the wheels just to make sure they are running true, also observe the tires to make sure they have not taken a set. If that checks out then try a new co..epically available blade and see how it runs. You could just have a bad blade.


----------



## Gardnaaa (Jan 3, 2021)

Ahhh another blade change! That was a pain in the butt lol. I’ll take it off and put the blade that came with it back on and see how that’s running. Hopefully it’s just a bad blade, I’m praying I didn’t do any damage to the saw.


----------



## FLQuacker (Jan 3, 2021)

And no matter what anyone says...(except Rikon) don't mess with the bottom wheel adjuster unless you REALLY know what you're doing.

Reactions: Agree 2 | Informative 1


----------



## Gardnaaa (Jan 3, 2021)

FLQuacker said:


> And no matter what anyone says...(except Rikon) don't mess with the bottom wheel adjuster unless you REALLY know what you're doing.


I read that. How do you even adjust it? My 3 year old was in the shop the other day while I was organizing things and he turned the knob on the right side of the saw so the belt came off. I put it back on the pulley system closest to the saw. I don’t know which one it was actually on. This is my luck lol

Reactions: Sincere 1


----------



## Wildthings (Jan 3, 2021)

Gardnaaa said:


> I read that. How do you even adjust it? My 3 year old was in the shop the other day while I was organizing things and he turned the knob on the right side of the saw so the belt came off. I put it back on the pulley system closest to the saw. I don’t know which one it was actually on. This is my luck lol


The more you talk about it the more we find out all the things that have been messed with.. Before putting the blade on spin the wheels, like Greg mentioned above, with your hand manually to see if either is badly out of whack

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Gardnaaa (Jan 3, 2021)

Wildthings said:


> The more you talk about it the more we find out all the things that have been messed with.. Before putting the blade on spin the wheels, like Greg mentioned above, with your hand manually to see if either is badly out of whack


Yeah will do. That’s the only things that have been done to it. I’m going to switch the blade black over and hope it’s just a bad blade and check the things you guys mentioned. The teeth are supposed to be centered on the wheel correct? That’s what I saw in a video. I had spun the bottom one looking at it and I’m almost positive I did with the top to check them, because I was stressing out that I messed the saw up. I think they were ok. I’ll get to it sometime this week, I was planning on it tonight but it’s snowing here now, so I’ll have to get up for work a little earlier now.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## FLQuacker (Jan 4, 2021)

Gardnaaa said:


> Yeah will do. That’s the only things that have been done to it. I’m going to switch the blade black over and hope it’s just a bad blade and check the things you guys mentioned. The teeth are supposed to be centered on the wheel correct? That’s what I saw in a video. I had spun the bottom one looking at it and I’m almost positive I did with the top to check them, because I was stressing out that I messed the saw up. I think they were ok. I’ll get to it sometime this week, I was planning on it tonight but it’s snowing here now, so I’ll have to get up for work a little earlier now.


He wouldnt be able to mess with the adjusters i referred to, they're the nut lock adjusters on the bottom wheel axle. He shouldn't have been able to change the top wheel adjuster unless he was on the cutting table! I have the same saw and run my teeth at the front edge of the wheels...there is discussion about that setup found other places. You have the speed set at high with that belt config, that's where I run mine.(usually)

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Gardnaaa (Jan 4, 2021)

FLQuacker said:


> He wouldnt be able to mess with the adjusters i referred to, they're the nut lock adjusters on the bottom wheel axle. He shouldn't have been able to change the top wheel adjuster unless he was on the cutting table! I have the same saw and run my teeth at the front edge of the wheels...there is discussion about that setup found other places. You have the speed set at high with that belt config, that's where I run mine.(usually)
> 
> View attachment 199302


Awesome thank you for posting the pic, that helps a lot. Hopefully I can get down to the shop tonight to work on it. I’ll set the blade to where you have yours as well. So you always have the teeth riding on the very front of the wheel? It looks like they are actually hanging a little over the wheel correct? I’m praying it’s just a bad blade.


----------



## woodtickgreg (Jan 4, 2021)

For what its worth I back off all the blade guides and get the blade to run in the center of the wheel when fully tensioned. Then I bring the blade guides and thrust roller bearing in.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 2 | Way Cool 1


----------



## Gardnaaa (Jan 4, 2021)

Well case of a bad blade. Everything works fine thank god. Where do you guys get your blades? What’s the good optimum size for an all Around blade? Thanks for all your input and help!

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## woodtickgreg (Jan 4, 2021)

@Mike1950 uses supercut brand and likes them. I'm not hard on my blades and they seem to last a long time so I usually just order timberwolf blades off Amazon.


----------



## Mike1950 (Jan 4, 2021)

What size is your saw. That blade seems very wide. I use supercut. They are inexpensive and work well for my application. 
If you cut wet wood do not use a fancy blade such as wood slicer. 
What blade do you need? Saw size. And what do you want to do. Ps. Blades that come with saw are always worthless.


----------



## Gardnaaa (Jan 4, 2021)

Mike1950 said:


> What size is your saw. That blade seems very wide. I use supercut. They are inexpensive and work well for my application.
> If you cut wet wood do not use a fancy blade such as wood slicer.
> What blade do you need? Saw size. And what do you want to do. Ps. Blades that come with saw are always worthless.


I have a 14” saw. According to the rikon website it came with a 111” 5/8 4TPI blade. The blade it came with is trash. When I put that other blade on it, besides the wobble it cut great. I’ll probably cut some wet wood, and mostly for trimming pen blanks, and just general use for now. I’d like to make a circle cutting jig and such too.

Reactions: Funny 1


----------



## Mike1950 (Jan 4, 2021)

I 5/8 is too wide. A 3 tpi 1/2" and a 1/4" for circles. 1/2" is .025 thick. A 5/8 is .032. The thinner blade will do better on 14" wheels. I use a 1/2 on my 19. The 19 extreme with 19" resaw i use a 1" 3 tpi. My other saw is dedicated to cutting exotics. Carbide. 
Changing blades sizes is time consuming. I just change saws.
Wider is better but saw has to be perfect for wide blade. Ps. Others will have different opinions. Good luck. Bandsaws are hard to hurt...

Reactions: Agree 2


----------



## Mike1950 (Jan 5, 2021)

Picture is worth more than words. Plug your length in.

Reactions: Like 2 | Thank You! 1 | Way Cool 1


----------



## Gardnaaa (Jan 5, 2021)

thanks mike! Your awesome. I’ll order this one and give it a shot, and maybe I’ll order the 1/4 inch one as well.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Karl_TN (Jan 5, 2021)

I’ve gone through enough blades on my 18“ bandsaw that I started brazing my own blades (using silver solder and propane torch) from blade reels that I buy on eBay. Blades cost me about $6 to $7 a piece now vice $25 to $30 when I was mail ordering pre-made blades. Might not be worth your trouble unless you go through a lot of blades.


----------



## Gardnaaa (Jan 5, 2021)

Karl_TN said:


> I’ve gone through enough blades on my 18“ bandsaw that I started brazing my own blades (using silver solder and propane torch) from blade reels that I buy on eBay. Blades cost me about $6 to $7 a piece now vice $25 to $30 when I was mail ordering pre-made blades. Might not be worth your trouble unless you go through a lot of blades.


That is a good idea! I don’t go through that many blades though. At least not yet. Might consider in the future though! I’m going to order from the place mike orders from


----------



## Nubsnstubs (Jan 5, 2021)

Zack, I have the 325 saw by Rikon. It's a good saw if you set it up properly. Apparently it wasn't set up by the previous owner, and I couldn't figure it out. Now that I have a couple good blades, one a 5/8 Starret 3TPI, and the other is described later. The saw works like a dream, but is way underpowered. It needs a 3 hp motor for my needs.
Don't fret on that pointer on the tensioner. It doesn't work anyway. I set mine on the 1/4" blade tension for a 3/4'' blade. Works fine at that setting. When I use a half inch and 5/8 blade, I set it at the 1/4" setting. I don't have any 1/4" blades, so don't know where I would have to set it for that size. 

The teeth should be riding on the center of the top wheel. I don't think the bottom wheel matters. My old Duro saw would have the blades riding proud on the bottom wheel. The cuts on the inside of the aluminum door is proof that it was proud. I did manage one day to readjust both wheels, and now the blade rides just at the front edge on the bottom wheel. My tires are vulcanized, so I haven't had tire issues since I had that done in the early '80's. The saw works great except having only an height 8 1/2" capacity, and just a bit under powered. It's still has more power than the Rikon

Just in the last 6 months, I bought two 111 inch Timberwolf blades, but broke 4 of them. Total time on all 4 blades didn't amount to 1 hour. Two of the four were replacements for the originals purchased. Since Woodcraft didn't have anymore, and Timberwolf couldn't say when they would be able to get any more 1/2 3TPI blade stock, I was refunded my money for 1 blade so far. One more to go if I can find the broken blade. They broke while free spinning all 4 times. Never were they under pressure when they broke.

I also purchased a 1/2" carbide blade from Woodcraft cut to 111" by a local Phoenix blade sharpener and blade maker. On the first blade I recieved, it had 3 teeth missing. Sent it back and recieved another. When the first cut was made, I more than likely lost at least half of the carbide teeth. When I topped cutting, I looked and it was difficult to find any teeth. I did find six next to each other. That blade is awaiting a representative coming over to my place in February and watch me use my saw. Then they will decide what to do about their bad blade stock.

I got a flyer from Woodcraft with Laguna blades on sale. I bought a 3/4" carbide blade from Laguna. Man, is that a nice blade. Glossy cuts. Looks like 600 grit finish so far, and I got a could binds that trying to get the blade out of the wood should have broken it, or at least bent it, but it's absolutely fine. Beautiful cuts, and set on 3/8 tension straight cut at 13" deep. Maximum. Great blade.

On that blade made by a local in your area, it probaly has a bend in it causing the wobble. Raise your guides until they reach the top, then turn the top wheel by hand, look closely at the blade for the full 111 inches. If you don't see anything, lower the guides about 3 inches. Rotate the wheel again closley watchin the blade as it comes off the wheel and goes into the guide. If it's bent, you should be able to find it that way. Mark it and take the blade off. Lay it on a good sized flat surface and look for the bend. You might be able to straighten it with a couple pair of pliers. ......... Sorry about the wind in this reply. At least it doesn't smell......... Jerry (in Tucson)

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1


----------



## Gardnaaa (Jan 5, 2021)

Nubsnstubs said:


> Zack, I have the 325 saw by Rikon. It's a good saw if you set it up properly. Apparently it wasn't set up by the previous owner, and I couldn't figure it out. Now that I have a couple good blades, one a 5/8 Starret 3TPI, and the other is described later. The saw works like a dream, but is way underpowered. It needs a 3 hp motor for my needs.
> Don't fret on that pointer on the tensioner. It doesn't work anyway. I set mine on the 1/4" blade tension for a 3/4'' blade. Works fine at that setting. When I use a half inch and 5/8 blade, I set it at the 1/4" setting. I don't have any 1/4" blades, so don't know where I would have to set it for that size.
> 
> The teeth should be riding on the center of the top wheel. I don't think the bottom wheel matters. My old Duro saw would have the blades riding proud on the bottom wheel. The cuts on the inside of the aluminum door is proof that it was proud. I did manage one day to readjust both wheels, and now the blade rides just at the front edge on the bottom wheel. My tires are vulcanized, so I haven't had tire issues since I had that done in the early '80's. The saw works great except having only an height 8 1/2" capacity, and just a bit under powered. It's still has more power than the Rikon
> ...


Thank you for your info! I have a laguna lathe and I absolutely love it. The quality they produce is awesome. I’m actually looking at their $500 dust collector with the canister filter on top. There just isn’t a lot of info on it right now, and I’m going to get my sawstop first. I through that other blade in the trash already, it’s at the bottom of the can. If I ever get a blade that does this again, I will be sure to give it a shot with your tips. I haven’t done much with the saw to feel if it’s underpowered or not, but I’m sure when I get a good blade I’ll find that out. Do you think the tension pointer is even worth replacing? Or should I just do it by feel? I’ve read lots of people online saying the tension meter isn’t accurate anyways.


----------



## Nubsnstubs (Jan 5, 2021)

Gardnaaa said:


> Thank you for your info! I have a laguna lathe and I absolutely love it. The quality they produce is awesome. I’m actually looking at their $500 dust collector with the canister filter on top. There just isn’t a lot of info on it right now, and I’m going to get my sawstop first. I through that other blade in the trash already, it’s at the bottom of the can. If I ever get a blade that does this again, I will be sure to give it a shot with your tips. I haven’t done much with the saw to feel if it’s underpowered or not, but I’m sure when I get a good blade I’ll find that out. Do you think the tension pointer is even worth replacing? Or should I just do it by feel? I’ve read lots of people online saying the tension meter isn’t accurate anyways.



It's only good when you get the proper tension, then look at where it's pointed and then use that as your reference point from now on. ........... Jerry (in Tucson)


----------



## Mike1950 (Jan 5, 2021)

Nubsnstubs said:


> Zack, I have the 325 saw by Rikon. It's a good saw if you set it up properly. Apparently it wasn't set up by the previous owner, and I couldn't figure it out. Now that I have a couple good blades, one a 5/8 Starret 3TPI, and the other is described later. The saw works like a dream, but is way underpowered. It needs a 3 hp motor for my needs.
> Don't fret on that pointer on the tensioner. It doesn't work anyway. I set mine on the 1/4" blade tension for a 3/4'' blade. Works fine at that setting. When I use a half inch and 5/8 blade, I set it at the 1/4" setting. I don't have any 1/4" blades, so don't know where I would have to set it for that size.
> 
> The teeth should be riding on the center of the top wheel. I don't think the bottom wheel matters. My old Duro saw would have the blades riding proud on the bottom wheel. The cuts on the inside of the aluminum door is proof that it was proud. I did manage one day to readjust both wheels, and now the blade rides just at the front edge on the bottom wheel. My tires are vulcanized, so I haven't had tire issues since I had that done in the early '80's. The saw works great except having only an height 8 1/2" capacity, and just a bit under powered. It's still has more power than the Rikon
> ...


I saw the sale for resaw king but of course they did not have my size. My saws are griz. They have pm jet Ripon sizes. They sell those saws. So I found one on ebay from laguna. Said it ships in 2-3 days with my prompting they printed a label at 14 days. Took 25 days to get it. As I am saying under my breath. Why to you do this. LAguna service sucks. I have a wood master CT. I love it on exotics. Have now found where I can buy for 150. I will never buy laguna again. He says for the third time....

Reactions: Funny 2 | +Karma 1


----------



## Gardnaaa (Jan 5, 2021)

Mike1950 said:


> I saw the sale for resaw king but of course they did not have my size. My saws are griz. They have pm jet Ripon sizes. They sell those saws. So I found one on ebay from laguna. Said it ships in 2-3 days with my prompting they printed a label at 14 days. Took 25 days to get it. As I am saying under my breath. Why to you do this. LAguna service sucks. I have a wood master CT. I love it on exotics. Have now found where I can buy for 150. I will never buy laguna again. He says for the third time....


There is a lot of mixed feelings on laguna because of their customer service. I had contacted them twice and both times they have responded right away. The gears in my tail stock stripped out and it wouldn’t tighten anymore. They shipped a whole new assembly the following day and didn’t make me pack the old one up. If I buy another lathe, I think I’d get that monster grizzly lathe. Laguna stuff is just way too over priced. Any recommendations for dust collectors for a small basement shop? Not running piping, wanted it to be semi portable if possible. I’m all ears


----------



## Mike1950 (Jan 5, 2021)

Gardnaaa said:


> There is a lot of mixed feelings on laguna because of their customer service. I had contacted them twice and both times they have responded right away. The gears in my tail stock stripped out and it wouldn’t tighten anymore. They shipped a whole new assembly the following day and didn’t make me pack the old one up. If I buy another lathe, I think I’d get that monster grizzly lathe. Laguna stuff is just way too over priced. Any recommendations for dust collectors for a small basement shop? Not running piping, wanted it to be semi portable if possible. I’m all ears


I have a 3.5 hp peen state tempest. They quit selling them works fabulous. I would go with griz. Their customer service is great.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## Karl_TN (Jan 6, 2021)

Nubsnstubs said:


> ...My tires are vulcanized, so I haven't had tire issues since I had that done in the early '80's.


Jerry, what do mean by ‘tires are vulcanized’? By this do you mean glued on rubber tires or something else?

I bought a older Jet 18“ bandsaw at an auction with rubber tires that were falling apart. I replaced them with some urethane tires, but now my blades no longer track in the middle of the guides. The blades now track toward inside so there’s almost no adjustment room on the left guide. I suspect the urethane tires aren’t as thick as the original tires. Been wondering if I should go back with OEM rubber tires from Jet, or look for thicker urethane tires.


----------



## barry richardson (Jan 6, 2021)

For general purpose cutting, I would go with 4 tpi, I find 3 tpi is too coarse and grabby on seasoned wood, just my 2 cents. also as said above, the tension gages on bandsaws are not accurate, but when in doubt I over tension, and have never broke a blade that way.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


----------



## Mike1950 (Jan 6, 2021)

barry richardson said:


> For general purpose cutting, I would go with 4 tpi, I find 3 tpi is too coarse and grabby on seasoned wood, just my 2 cents. also as said above, the tension gages on bandsaws are not accurate, but when in doubt I over tension, and have never broke a blade that way.


probably good advice- if you are going to own one blade. Mine cuts almost exclusively burl


----------



## Nubsnstubs (Jan 6, 2021)

Karl_TN said:


> *Jerry, what do mean by ‘tires are vulcanized’?* By this do you mean glued on rubber tires or something else?
> 
> I bought a older Jet 18“ bandsaw at an auction with rubber tires that were falling apart. I replaced them with some urethane tires, but now my blades no longer track in the middle of the guides. The blades now track toward inside so there’s almost no adjustment room on the left guide. I suspect the urethane tires aren’t as thick as the original tires. Been wondering if I should go back with OEM rubber tires from Jet, or look for thicker urethane tires.


Karl, back in the early 80's, my Duro bandsaw was already over 30 years old. Finding parts was a task left to frustration since Duro was not in business any more. I talked to a friend who recommended getting them vulcanized without leaving earth or talking to Spock. heheheeh

Putting bad humor aside, vulcanizing is a process where raw rubber is applied to metal, (in this case my wheels), heated to a set temperature, cooked for a set time, and them allowed to cool down. I believe it's the same process as making a tire or recapping one.

I was told it would last about 50 years without anything catastrophic happening. It's now 39 years since I did that. The only drawback is the rubber wasn't crowned, and I had no way nor the knowledge then to be able to do that on the top wheel. I had tracking issues when cutting anything over 2" thick, but not an issues as most everything I cut was 7/8" thick Alder. Thousands of feet, and had pretty clean cuts. 

Just about 10 years ago, I had an epiphany. Why not mount the top wheel on the bottom arbor and sand the crown on the rubber with the wheel turning like I did to the actual bottom wheel when I first got them back from the vulcanizer. It took some creative mounting as each wheel is different but it worked. Now, this saw tracks a lot better than my new Rikon. 

If your lathe has the swing to mount your wheels on it, I would recommend getting them vulcanized, crown them on your lathe, put them back on your saw and never have another tire issue........ Jerry (in Tucson)

Reactions: Informative 1


----------



## Karl_TN (Jan 6, 2021)

Nubsnstubs said:


> If your lathe has the swing to mount your wheels on it, I would recommend getting them vulcanized, crown them on your lathe, put them back on your saw and never have another tire issue........ Jerry (in Tucson)


@Nubsnstubs, Sounds like an expensive process assuming it is still done. I don’t even know where to begin looking for a company that can do vulcanizing. I remember the original tires looking flat, but don’t know if Jet now sells crowned rubber tires or not. Luckily my Vicmarc VL300 lathe has a 24” swing so I should be ok if iI need to crown the tires. Sanding down rubber tires to crown them sounds like an very unpleasant job. 

Zach, Sorry for taking this thread off in a slightly different direction. Let me know if you would like this conversation moved to a new thread.


----------



## Gardnaaa (Jan 6, 2021)

Karl_TN said:


> @Nubsnstubs, Sounds like an expensive process assuming it is still done. I don’t even know where to begin looking for a company that can do vulcanizing. I remember the original tires looking flat, but don’t know if Jet now sells crowned rubber tires or not. Luckily my Vicmarc VL300 lathe has a 24” swing so I should be ok if iI need to crown the tires. Sanding down rubber tires to crown them sounds like an very unpleasant job.
> 
> Zach, Sorry for taking this thread off in a slightly different direction. Let me know if you would like this conversation moved to a new thread.


Nope you guys are good! I got the answers I needed! Going to order a blade or 2 from super cut in the next few days! I’m excited to use the saw to it’s full potential. That stock blade was garbage. Thank you everyone for all your help. I really appreciate all the tips as well!


----------



## Eric Rorabaugh (Jan 6, 2021)

You're welcome. Glad I could help! You know with all my bandsaw experience.


----------



## Gardnaaa (Jan 6, 2021)

Eric Rorabaugh said:


> You're welcome. Glad I could help! You know with all my bandsaw experience.


Eric your the man! Pay attention since you’re buying one soon with all the wood you make me buy from you. So yeah, it’ll technically be my bandsaw that your using

Reactions: Great Post 1 | Funny 2


----------

