Johnny, I believe that bandsaws are sized by drive wheel diameter and throat height. 13 1/2” is pretty good on a 14” wheel. You are absolutely correct about tension release. Tire set and separation aren’t the only problems that come from constant tension. The wheels can spring, bearings can loosen and the mounts that hold the wheels can deform from it. The furniture factory that I worked at had a 36” bandsaw. It’s use was re-sawing timber sized oak beams. So, we ran a 2” wide carbide blade on it. It was used a couple of days each week and sat idle otherwise. It was only 10 years old when the post bent just enough it kept shedding belts. No matter how often the mechanics adjusted the wheel alignment… they couldn’t get it to work correctly. The factory tech came in… before he even went to the shop he asked the wood department manager if the tension was released when not in use…. That voided the warranty. A few weeks later… After he fixed the saw, we had the tech hold a meeting with the crew… he explained the need to release tension. The department manager held up the invoice for the replacement parts. Then, he told the crew that if they didn’t un-tension it the next repair was coming out of their paychecks! As far as I know… it is still running fine! When I’m ripping or re-sawing, I put a feather board against the bottom edge, in front of the blade. That holds the board against the fence. I’ve found that oftentimes, taller boards don’t need a higher fence. That looks like a nice saw… I’m going to Grizzly next week…. I’ll compare their 14” to what you showed. Thanks
Great to know I’m doing some things right. I appreciate the advice. Absolutely, let me know what you think about the Grizzly. I’ll be on the lookout for your video.
The nice thing about your saw is that it does not use a riser block to increase the vertical capacity to 12 inches. This this makes for a far more rigid frame! NICE SAW! Great video!
I have one of these. I mounted it on a movable base and that elevated that damn knob so its even harder to twist. I bought an aftermarket replacement screw with a better hand crank on the top. The screw was too short so I removed the crank and replaced the stock knob with it. MUCH BETTER. I had a problem removing the damned knob as its attached with something called a dowel pin. This is a TINY hollow metal pin with a very thin flange on one side and (presumably) a slight taper driven through the knob and the shaft. I took a pin punch and hammered the dowel pin out from the side of the hole OPPOSITE the thin flange. Had to soak the dowel pin with oil to make it easier to remove.
Good info. Hopefully now everything is working good for you. I haven’t had problems adjusting mine. It is a little stiff but not too bad. Thanks for the comment
Thank goodness someone else noticed that tension knob being difficult to turn. I'm thinking about that Carter ratchet knob add on. Anyone have any experience with that device on this saw? Thanks and appreciate the channel!
