# Bandsaw Issues



## Horatio (Sep 10, 2015)

I've got an older Delta 14" Band Saw with a riser block and its giving me problems. I just got a new 1" resaw blade and slapped it on and I don't think that caused anything but exacerbating the issue. 

If I don't tilt the top wheel to a certain point, the blade will shimmy off. This is as tight - the wheel wrenched all the way up- as it goes. Problem is, I cannot keep it from rubbing the inside of the casing. Since swapping in the new blade, its only gotten worse. I have half a mind to try putting a spacer in there. In any case, I will end up disassembling it again. 

Any ideas or pointers? I got some blanks cut but the grinding noise of the back of the top wheel skinning against the inside of the case is awful and its making it harder to get any cutting done because its dragging on the whole works. The blade isn't hitting anything, at least. Its riding right on the tires like it is supposed to.


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## JR Custom Calls (Sep 10, 2015)

Are the wheels coplanar? If you're having to adjust the tracking on the top wheel to the point that it's rubbing, my first thought would be whether the top and bottom wheels are even close to being in the same plane.

I was thinking those old 14" saws would only handle a 3/4" blade, but I've never really worked mine... it's in pieces waiting for me to rebuild it after I promised it to someone and they never came and got it. 

@Kevin @woodtickgreg and @Mike1950 are definitely more familiar with those old saws though.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Schroedc (Sep 10, 2015)

A couple things come to mind,

1) Which Delta 14 inch saw? A lot of the older ones only took 3/4 inch blades max (I've run 1 inch in mine but there isn't hardly any clearance to the guards and a couple times I scraped up the front covers.....)

2) Did you back out the bearings in the guides as far back as you could? If they are too far forward for the 1 inch blade they could be pushing it forward which is why you have to tilt the top wheel that far (Which with a one inch blade could possibly be not enough adjustment for one that wide)

3) How are the bearings in the wheels? If you take the blade off does the wheel wiggle? If the bearings are worn it could be causing the wheel to tip forward under tension causing the need to tilt the top wheel....

4) Has anything shifted in the riser block area? If it twisted there so the wheels aren't on the same plane any more that could be causing issues as well.....

Those are the things I can think of offhand, maybe post some pictures? If everything is in adjustment you should be able to rotate the wheels/blade (By hand, I wouldn't do it under power with covers off) without the bearing anywhere near the back of the blade and it should stay on.

Reactions: Great Post 1


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## Tony (Sep 10, 2015)

I've got an old Rockwell 14", which I think is the same model. If I run a 1" it scrapes as well, I think it's meant for 3/4" and under. Tony


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## barry richardson (Sep 10, 2015)

Andrew, 1" is way overkill for that bandsaw, they can't even handle 3/4 adequately, even though the specs say they can. Does it work OK with a smaller balde? 3/8 or 1/2? With a tuned up bandsaw and sharp blade, you can resaw with a 1/2 blade fine on a 14" bandsaw. I never understood people putting riser blocks on those Deltas, they don't have the power to resaw that big. Kinda like putting monster tires on a VW beetle. Just my 2 cents..... Having said that, I recently got a 14" delta for free from work because it would not track properly, no mater what was adjusted on it, so they put it in storage and eventually the manager asked me if I could make it disappear cause they needed the space After fussing with it for a while, I discovered that the frame had a twist in it. The top and bottom are bolted together with one large bolt, and an indexing pin to keep it aligned. I drilled out the hole for the indexing pin to give it some slop, then twisted the frame into alignment and bolted it down , works great now, the problem was poor manufacturing, or the cast iron warped, or whatever. But I'm guessing your problem is too much tension, too wide of blade, on a small bandsaw...

Reactions: Agree 1 | Great Post 1


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## Horatio (Sep 11, 2015)

Thank you for the advice. I'll try and post a model number when I get home. I got it off Craig's list from a cabinet shop and that's about the truth of it, taking a saw with a 3/4 hp motor and putting a riser block isn't ideal but it came that way. The bearings seem pretty good. The blade runs on track through all the guides and cuts really well when the wheel isn't dragging really bad. Note: it was dragging with the 1/2" blade I had in there but not quite as bad....I didn't have to tilt quite as much....or it might be some other reason. I could very well have knocked something out of whack loosening it up and retightening t up whilst swapping blades. You know how it goes, you have something working but not 100%, you turn a knob, give it a whack and it gets worse and worse and then its 9 pm and you have to work in the morning but your wife won't let you climb in bed covered in sweat and sawdust.

The be sure, I cut up a bunch of wood last night despite all the issues. I turned a 16" Pecan log into boards and they came out pretty well. Cut a handful of bowl blanks and some assorted bits and pieces.

I lament the fact often that I bought the Delta dirt cheap with the 3/4 horse motor and then my late step father left me his gently used Jet 14" with a 1.5 hp motor but no riser so I can't really fit big logs under her. Oh well. I'll figure something out.


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## Mike1950 (Sep 11, 2015)

I agree with Barry, way too wide a blade. I doubt that a 1 inch blade is rated to bend around 14" wheels. Never mind that though- when resawing the wider the blade the more everything has to be perfect. I use a 1/2 on my 18" but a 3/8 works fine. I have used a 3/8 on my 20". I know common thought is wider is better but when you read about what the blade does when under working loads narrow blades work better when saw set up is off.


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## Schroedc (Sep 11, 2015)

Horatio said:


> Thank you for the advice. I'll try and post a model number when I get home. I got it off Craig's list from a cabinet shop and that's about the truth of it, taking a saw with a 3/4 hp motor and putting a riser block isn't ideal but it came that way. The bearings seem pretty good. The blade runs on track through all the guides and cuts really well when the wheel isn't dragging really bad. Note: it was dragging with the 1/2" blade I had in there but not quite as bad....I didn't have to tilt quite as much....or it might be some other reason. I could very well have knocked something out of whack loosening it up and retightening t up whilst swapping blades. You know how it goes, you have something working but not 100%, you turn a knob, give it a whack and it gets worse and worse and then its 9 pm and you have to work in the morning but your wife won't let you climb in bed covered in sweat and sawdust.
> 
> The be sure, I cut up a bunch of wood last night despite all the issues. I turned a 16" Pecan log into boards and they came out pretty well. Cut a handful of bowl blanks and some assorted bits and pieces.
> 
> I lament the fact often that I bought the Delta dirt cheap with the 3/4 horse motor and then my late step father left me his gently used Jet 14" with a 1.5 hp motor but no riser so I can't really fit big logs under her. Oh well. I'll figure something out.



Might want to check, That riser block from the delta will possibly fit the Jet. (I've got a friends Jet in my garage with a Delta riser block in it)


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## pinky (Sep 11, 2015)

You can always swap motors. The advice you have received has been right on the money. I had a Delta 14" with riser for years. I changed the motor to 1 1/2 hp and it cut through anything I threw at it. I would call it a woodturners bandsaw though. If you are roughing out blanks from logs, great saw but if you want to do real resawing, it ain't going to end well. That saw is not designed to put the necessary tension on the blade to do the job you are trying to do. Also, I believe 3/4" is the widest you should go with on that saw. If you want a saw for prepping woodturning blanks then swap the motor with the jet and don't be concerned on how good of job it does. If you want to resaw for flat work, then sell it because you will find nothing but frustration IMO.


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## Horatio (Sep 11, 2015)

pinky said:


> You can always swap motors. The advice you have received has been right on the money. I had a Delta 14" with riser for years. I changed the motor to 1 1/2 hp and it cut through anything I threw at it. I would call it a woodturners bandsaw though. If you are roughing out blanks from logs, great saw but if you want to do real resawing, it ain't going to end well. That saw is not designed to put the necessary tension on the blade to do the job you are trying to do. Also, I believe 3/4" is the widest you should go with on that saw. If you want a saw for prepping woodturning blanks then swap the motor with the jet and don't be concerned on how good of job it does. If you want to resaw for flat work, then sell it because you will find nothing but frustration IMO.



Seriously considering it. Or robbing a motor off of something else for the Delta so as not to gimp the Jet. Heh, the problem with having all old, used, inherited tools but the feeling of getting them going and getting the job done for pennies on the dollar is pretty cool.

Again, I made lots of sawdust last night despite all the issues. I'll look and see what dead things I have lying about that I could rob a motor from but I need to solve the rubbing issue first because giving it more power when its dragging is just gonna....yeah.


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## Horatio (Sep 12, 2015)

Well, I pulled it all apart and found a washer to space it out from the back of the case and its running alot better now. Cut up some rock hard ask last night into a handful of spalted pen blanks, a few slabs, and some bowl blanks. I'm going to work on some smaller mesquite logs now and get some good sized blocks for my next challenge which will be segmenting.

The 1" blade is not ideal and the saw was old and busted when I bought it. Granted. But I'm making it work so that's cool. I've got an few amazing spalted blanks to turn decent sized bowls from. My other next challenges are experimenting with inlay and most importantly, just practicing, playing with finishes, eliminating tear out on less than stable wood, all those other things that take time and patience. 

Thanks for all the advise. It will certainly inform my decisions moving forward. I'll still be looking to find a bigger motor to swap in and my next blade will be a 3/4" most like.

Reactions: Like 1


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## TimR (Sep 12, 2015)

Good to hear that you got it working. Just keep in mind what @Mike1950 said about smaller blade widths...I used to think 3/4 was better for resawing and long thick cuts, but now rarely go over 1/2" on my 14"jet with riser.


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## David Hill (Sep 12, 2015)

Just found the discussion. Had the same problem with the Delta 14. Changed out the bearing and new tires. Did well with that. To cut more, I went to TSC and bought a 1.5hp motor- now it's screamin cutting machine.


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