Band Saw Tires

[Wildman]

Time to change out my cracking Grizzly rubber bandsaw tires. Could have waited longer but found set of urethane tiers on sale at Hartville Tool.

Yesterday, including soaking tires in hot water, did not take long to do both wheels. Used two c-clamps to hold wheels on work-mate table did not use soap as a lubricant or need screwdrivers.

Taking wheels off bandsaw checking wheel bearings and cleaning wheels with paint thinner and steel wool, and wiping with rag took longer. Bottom wheel has bolt with left-hand threads. Remounting wheels no big deal other than running to store for some lock-tight. I did loosen motor mounts to get the belt back on pulley without forcing.

Read somewhere (message board, customer review) should wait some time before installing new blade. Instructions did not include any wait time before installing blade. I waited until today to put a new blade on.

I am waiting on new thrust and blade guide bearings, ordered from "The Bearing Store," to complete reassembly.

 

[ldb2000]

The Urethane tires a a great investment , they are much more resilient then the rubber ones and they will help your blade track better with much less drift . You should let them sit 48 hours before using your saw but opinions are divided on that .
If you don't have a quick blade tensioner I would advise getting one , you really don't want to leave tension on your blade for any length of time because you will find that the blade will leave an impression in the tire if left under tension for too long , however the urethane will spring back after a little use but it is still better to release the tension .
I take it you are getting the Carter style guide bearings ? these are a fantastic upgrade from any of the rub block style guides and will help with blade drift (especially if you do allot of resawing) and will help your blades last longer .
Don't forget to reset your fence after you get your saw tracking correctly . Also make new a new zero clearance throat plate , This is very important if you make veneer thin slices for segmenting .
Good luck with your "New" saw , it will seem like a new saw with these upgrades !

 

[PenMan1]

The Urethane tires a a great investment , they are much more resilient then the rubber ones and they will help your blade track better with much less drift . You should let them sit 48 hours before using your saw but opinions are divided on that .
If you don't have a quick blade tensioner I would advise getting one , you really don't want to leave tension on your blade for any length of time because you will find that the blade will leave an impression in the tire if left under tension for too long , however the urethane will spring back after a little use but it is still better to release the tension .
I take it you are getting the Carter style guide bearings ? these are a fantastic upgrade from any of the rub block style guides and will help with blade drift (especially if you do allot of resawing) and will help your blades last longer .
Don't forget to reset your fence after you get your saw tracking correctly . Also make new a new zero clearance throat plate , This is very important if you make veneer thin slices for segmenting .
Good luck with your "New" saw , it will seem like a new saw with these upgrades !

Sounds like someone has been reading. All of the excellent advice that Butch just gave you can be found in the Band Saw Book by Lonnie Byrd. IMHO, This $11 book (Amazon) is one of the better investments a woodworker can make. Lonnie gives step by step instructions for making any band saw perform MUCH better.

 

[ldb2000]

More then just reading Andy , I've been living this one for years . I have a tiny shop without enough room for a table saw , so I depend on my bandsaw allot . I used Mark Duginski's book "The Bandsaw Handbook" as a starting point then read everything I could find online and in the Public Library and learned as much as I could then bought the best bandsaw I could afford (The HF 14" multi speed w/riser block) After some upgrades and a little tuning and tweaking I have a Bandsaw that I can consistently slice 8" wide veneers so thin you can read through them flat on the fence .

 

[Mr Vic]

Just replaced the rubber on my ShopSmith with the urethane which I've had sitting around for a year or so. Recently it had begun to spit the blade everytime it started. The urethane fixed the issue and quieted it down. You'll really enjoy having switched..

 

[Wildman]

Wheels on Grizzly G0555 have built in crown. Tuesday put tires on and they looked flat. Wednesday saw the crown on both wheels, so installed blades. With new wheels did not need to put a lot of tension on the new blade to get it to run true. This saw has a tension release lever, so always relieve blade tension after use.

I have no previous experience with urethane tires, even though instructions did not give a waiting period. I waited full 24 hrs, could have waited another day.

Thanks for advise.