How to Balance Band Saw Wheels 

Thank you very much for your comments. I totally agree with you and you would be amazed at how much criticism that I have received doing it (the correct way).

@@PawPawsWorkShop Yup… ya get criticism from those least in the know. My reply to them is to ask how auto tires are balanced. Do they drill holes in the wheel or add weights?

Lol great point. Anytime you are in the public you get criticism. Comes with the job

One thing for folks to be aware of on Ridgid bandsaws and others. This bandsaw was licensed for manufacturer by TTI. This conglomerate of manufacturing facilities makes most of the power tools we use today; whether they are Delta, Craftsman, Ryobi, Milwaukee, Porter Cable, General Machinery, Delta, Grizzly and the list goes on and on. If you have a Ridgid bandsaw, many of the parts from other brands will work quite well. Some of the parts for Ridgid bandsaw are no longer available and this would include other brands that have the same part. So, you’ll have to use some ingenuity to make repairs like what Paw Paw did for this bandsaw. However, in this case a blade tensioner from Porter Cable would have worked very well. I must laugh when I hear how Ridgid saws are pieces of junk and folks look to another brand. Take a look at the design of the other similar brand designs and you will see they are very similar, if not identical to the Ridgid. They all use basically the same parts. The only differences are cosmetic; paint, a different cabinet, decals, etc. SO, PNA to what brand is better than the other. They all come off the same production line.

Wow, that's great. Those are all the corrects things to do. In the video, I only wanted to concentrate on the balancing of the wheel. Thank you for your comments

My pleasure

Awesome! I happy that it worked for you.

You're welcome! I'm so glad that it helped you.

You're welcome. The upgrades that you have down sound great. I hope that when you balance the wheels that it will work perfectly for you.

Awesome, every little bits helps to get it run smoother. I gave my other band saw to my oldest son...I wish I had that one back. The old machines work great.

Thank you very much.

Awesome! That will work!

Awesome! Thank you very much. It is an excellent bandsaw. I gave mine to my son and he loves it

Thank you

Thank you very much

That's an interesting idea that I have never thought of before. The glue added to the weights compensates for the clips. Thank you for your comment

You're welcome. This is a very common problem with band saws

I had to loosen the bolt a little more. I also have completed the lower wheel and have it balanced. You are correct in the different belts. Thank you for your comments.

I am glad that the video helped you. It is much better to add the weight than to drill holes into the wheel that I so often see. Thanks for the comment.

You're welcome and thank you for watching the video.

Awesome! Take you time and you should see a big difference. Much much better than drilling holes in the wheels.

Excellent job. That sounds like a great way to do it. Thank you very much.

Awesome, thank you very much

You're welcome. I hope that it works for you.

Awesome, it should work well for you. Keep in mind if you have new tires it will help also. Thank you for your comments.

Thanks, great idea

Awesome! Thanks for watching

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. I appreciate your comments.

Glad to help. You're very welcome.

You are welcome

Thank you very much. I appreciate you watching my videos.

Excellent, I'm glad that I was able to help

Thank you very much. Happy New Year

You’re very welcome

It's my pleasure. Thanks for watching

Awesome! Thank you! I appreciate you letting me know.

Great! Those old band saws are excellent. Most likely just need a little maintenance.

Thank you very much for your kind words.

My pleasure

Thank you very much

Excellent suggestion. I will do that at sometime in the future. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

No problem 👍. Glad that it helped yu

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. Yes, I will be careful

Excellent point. Thanks for sharing

thank you

You're welcome! Thanks for watching

Thank you very much. You have some excellent ideas

I must snicker at Paw Paw's statement of "losing integrity" by drilling holes in something made in China. There's a funny line out on the internet. What's the only thing at Harbor Freight that's made in the USA? The sales receipt

@@maxwellhouse1902 "There's a funny line out on the internet." It might be funny, but not true.

If it just started, then it may be something else. May be a bearing or something is loose. Thank you.

@@PawPawsWorkShopThanks. It has been standing unused for a few years so I have a few things to check, including the belt. It certainly won't do any harm to balance the wheels anyway

Belts might be the biggest concern

Excellent idea. It's great to see all the ideas that people have found to do this task. That's what I love about this community.

You are so welcome

Thank you

Thank you

Thank you so much

Yes, I want the wheel loose but not too loose. I did have to adjust the tension for the wheel to turn freely

Thank you very much. Keep in mind that this is a very low end bandsaw. You will most likely have to balance the wheels. It is difficult to resaw on it. The blade wants to wander no matter how I adjust it. The saw works for me mainly because I do not use the band saw that much. If you are planning to use it a lot I would strongly consider upgrading to a better saw.

I thought long and hard how to show the improvement on the balance. The only thing that I could think of was the water of the table. It was only for the video. I have to agree that it can definitely cause a problem with the cast iron table top. Thank you very much for your comments.

I thought long and hard how to show the improvement on the balance. The only thing that I could think of was the water of the table. It was only for the video. I have to agree that it can definitely cause a problem with the cast iron table top. Thank you very much for your comments.

Give it a try

You're welcome

Excellent idea, thank you

@@PawPawsWorkShop ..You are welcome sir! I restore vintage bandsaw machines.

For the purpose of the video, I did not address the bearing at all. However, you make a very valid point. It is a concern that should be considered.

That would be something to try

I would not recommend this saw for doing resawing lumber.

Not sure, the stones are very heavy to begin with

Awesome!

You may have a bad bearing or maybe it’s just to loose

Thank you very much

Thank you for your opinion. Old tools and large floor models are generally much better. You have some excellent ideas.

Once the wheel is balanced, you can spin the wheel and it will stop at random points. If it is still out of balance, the wheel will always stop with the heavy side at the bottom.

Thanks, I've had a shopsmith for about 25 years and lived unknowingly with two wheels out of balance, now thanks to your video I have balanced wheels and much smoother operation..

Awesome, great to hear stories like this. Thank you

Something is binding. Start with removing the belt and see if the motor runs free with no load. Rotate each wheel without the blade and see if they both turn freely. Next add each item back one at a time and test. Hope this will help you

The Chinese motors, like those from harbor freight, have notoriously terrible centrifugal switches. They also usually have an open frame motor on them. So, a little bit of dust gets on the contacts, not allowing it to start. Check the switch by blowing the motor cover out with air. If that doesn’t work, pull the cover on that side and spray the switch down with contact cleaner. While you have the motor cover off, spray the moving parts of the switch down with some silicone spray. After you blast all the cosmoline goo off with contact cleaner. If you have a meter, check the continuity on the switch. It should have continuity one way or the other. You also may need to move the switch slightly to get the circuit to open or close properly. The other likely candidate would be the capacitor on the switch. If you have a DMM with with cap test, you can test it that way. You can also check the cap by using an ohm meter. Put the leads on in one direction and watch the needle or readout. If it does nothing, reverse the leads. If it then starts to climb, the cap is most likely good. Although this is not the best way of diagnosing, it will do in a pinch. My money is on dirty contacts on centrifugal switch contacts. Some of the cosmoline hf spreads on their tools to keep them glued together, may have melted off the shaft or bearings, causing your contact issues. This all may sound difficult or daunting, but, it is fairly simple. Make sure your cap is discharged and your unit is unplugged. Hope you get or got it fixed!

Excellent idea. Thank you.

It would make very little difference in this type of application. If it were a much larger and heavier type of equipment it would make a greater impact. After the wheel is balanced the next biggest improvements would be new tires and new belt for the motor.

No, the physics are the same. The width of the blade will determine the exact placement on the wheel. Different manufacturers have slightly different methods for adjustments but the basic principles are the same.

Thank you very much. I’m not sure of the RPMs. I gave this saw to my son after the upgrades

Yes, as I put the weights on I rechecked and made adjustments when the clips were removed

That's always a possibility.

That is one way to balance the wheel, but, it is a lot of extra work.

@@PawPawsWorkShop I'm sure . I wasn't clear with my question. Does vertical imbalance cause the majority of the vibration?

There actual are a number of reasons that can cause the vibration. You must start with one and continue to solve each issue. The wheels, the tires, bearing, pulleys, and the belt on the pulley. How the machine sits on the floor even can cause problems. It is a lot of trial and error to solve the problems.

Yes, that will work. I have not use one of those for years. Thanks for the reminder

Yes, it will make a slight difference.

Good idea. Thanks

You are right. Thank you for your comments

What about the weight of the epoxy which replaces them? Also the results speak for them selves.

Yes they do! The method works, but then you should have weighed the collective mas of the clips and the weights and then glued on additional weight to account for the clips. The epoxy does have some weight, but its not even close to how much the clips weigh.

The nut should be loose. The wheel needs to be as close to free as possible. The weights can be remove with a small tap of a chisel to break the glue loose.

Paw Paw’s WorkShop awesome, thank you very much

You're welcome

That sounds like a heavy side of the wheel. If it constantly goes to the same place each time that shows a definite heavy point.

@@PawPawsWorkShop It would always move about 1", always landing in different places. I removed the wheel from the bandsaw and did find a heavy side, so I balanced it. It did seem to help a little with vibration. I dressed the blade and helped a little more. I removed the bottom wheel, but not sure how to balance that one, since it's keyed and driven directly by a shaft (has no bearing). But it does seem fairly well balanced already. I've never seen anyone have a test for side to side balance (i.e. tilt). You'd think if the front side was heavier than the back side that would cause vibration, but perhaps not. I got new blades from TimberWolf and they're vibrating like crazy. They sent me replacements and they're better, but still vibrate a lot. My other blades don't vibrate much, so I'm not sure if TimberWolf blades have issues or if it's just because they're heavier.

You could but I would be afraid that they would move with the wheel spinning.

Not for this video, the wheels are Aluminium

Yes, it was still too tight and I had to loosen it more to properly test it

Yes, you have to check and double check to get the balance correct

I think you are correct. The most important thing is that I would rather add weight than to drill holes in the wheel which would weaken it. Thanks for the comments

@@PawPawsWorkShop Agreed Paw. Imagine if you got new tires on your car and the shop drilled holes in your rims to try and balance them. I had a rigid 14 inch bandsaw at one point, and that's exactly what they did.

That's terrible. I hate to see holes drilled into the wheel

Loosen the nut that holds the wheel in place. Please make sure that the power is disconnected before you begin.

Paw Paw’s WorkShop I’ve got the nut off...I can’t figure out why it won’t spin more freely. I even tried a gear puller, and I can’t budge it. Thanks for the reply though. Maybe I just need a bigger hammer. 😁

Are the bearings ok? I have not remove the wheel but is there a snap ring holding it on?

Paw Paw’s WorkShop not sure on the bearings. I guess not, if yours is spinning so freely with no problem. It’s only a few months old, so it must have been that way when I bought it. The parts schematic shows a snap ring behind the bearing sleeve, but I can’t figure out how to get the sleeve off to get to the ring...it’s very frustrating, because mine is vibrating as bad if not worse than yours. Thanks for the continued support! You have a great channel.

Paw Paw’s WorkShop I got it off! Gear puller and lots of WD-40. now to balance on a lawnmower blade balancer. Thanks for your help! Keep up the great content. Mike

The clips add very little weight. Slide the weights out just a little more to compensate.

@@PawPawsWorkShop Or you could just add empty clips on the opposite side of the wheel to balance out the clips holding the weights?

Roger Smith . Lol. Don’t forget it’s from Harbor Freight. They have good tools. Not great tools. Once everything is adjusted, it is a very effective and is a very good addition to the shop. By the way, my old band saw is getting a new life with my son. He loves it.

I've got this same bandsaw that I picked up about 3 months ago. It works perfectly in a hobby shop, and the price point means I can mod it out however I want without feeling like I'm risking a big financial loss if I mess something up. I've already done quite a few upgrades to mine, including replacing the cast iron table with a larger wooden platform with a fence system. I can easily re-saw 5.5" hardwood Mine is also out of balance, but it's not a big deal and hasn't messed up my work in any way I couldn't overcome. I just just my re-saws a little proud then clean them up at the jointer and planer. I'll be correcting the wheel balance in the next few weeks. All in all, this is a great machine for a hobby shop, but you have to be willing to do some tweaking/tuning to get it perfect. But it's like Paw Paw said...HF don't make great tools. Literally everything I've bought from there has needed some form of tuning, but the price point makes it worth the effort.

Yes, you are correct. Thank you.

@@PawPawsWorkShop thanks.

Very little consideration, remember the glue it self has weight. Is it perfect, no, but it is close.

This was my question too. So you think the weight of the epoxy used is fairly close to the weight of the clips? I guess if you wanted to be sure you could weigh those using something very accurate like a powder scale and use enough epoxy to equal the weight of the clips. Not sure it’s necessary with the results you got.

Thank you