Bandsaw blade slip

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Garry Hirsch

Garry Hirsch

Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2011
Messages
19
Location
Umatilla, Florida
Have an older 12" craftsman band saw with 1/2" blade on it and the blade comes to a stop when trying to cut through 3/4" or thicker wood unless I cut extremely slow. I HAVE ALREADY REPLACED THE TIRES with new urethane orange ones but the problem remains! Should I try replacing the blade itself? Tension is correct as the bandsaw has an electonic read out on it which shows tension for the blade as being correct and speed of blade at 3000 fps when running before cut starts. I purchased saw used with the existing blade on it and thought replacing the tires would solve the problem but it did not.
 
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Where is the slippage occuring? Is the blade slipping on the wheels or are the wheels stopping also, or is it bogging down the motor?

If the blade is old, I would replace it anyway. I have an older 12" Craftsman [not with a digital readout]. My saw is over 20 years old with the original tires. They need replacing. But they are not causing any problems. I have done some resawing with it. It works OK. But the going is kind of slow. I know that with me, no matter what the thickness is, if I start trying to go too fast the saw will tell me to SLOW DOWN by bogging down. You may just be trying to go too fast.
 
First I would replace the blade, a Timberwolf would be my choice. If that doesn't solve the problem I would guess that your tension readout is not correct.
 
I am having similar problems cutting through some of the harder woods like some Ironwood that is 2+ inches thick. I think I need to look to replacing the the belt as well. If this doesn't work I am going to look into replacing the motor with a little more beef.
 
Had one of the Craftsman 12 in bandsaws -- It did not have the power to drive a 1/2 inch blade and cut very fast with the 1/2 HP motor. But tension of the drive belt between the motor and the bandsaw sheeve was the weak spot in the system.

Belt tension was critical to avoid power slippage.

The red link belts worked very very well --
 
Do you really need a 1/2" blade? The wider the blade the more friction in the cut.
Maybe using a 1/4" blade would work better.

Experience: I used to try to use a 3/4" blade resawing and it was a huge drag on the motor. When I went to 1/2" blade it cut better, easier and faster.
 
After rereading the post, I have a earlier version of the Bandsaw than you, but the problem sounds same as I am having with my Craftsman. So I can't help but adding my two cents maybe it will help. I damaged mine cutting 3/4 particle board. It would scream at me a little and quit cutting even though the motor was running. There is a plastic spline on the drive mechanism. It costs about $7.00 and you can order it from Sears. I replace it on mine and on the next time I was cutting 1/2" hardwood it broke again. I gave up on it when I found a 14" Delta/Grizzly clone for $85.00. I hope that this helps you out.
 
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