Band Saw Vibration

Hey Guys and Gals;

This is my first attempt of posting pictures along with the text. I’m sure I’ll get better at it as I develope this new found skill. Thanks to all of those who helped me, especially WayneC.

This first picture is the reason why I needed to balance the wheels (among other things) on my Ridgid Band Saw. I ruined the first wheel because the blasted band saw was vibrating so much I couldn’t cut a straight line on the wheels.

Removed the blade & spun the wheels. I noticed they returned to the same position each time; even when only turning them 1/4 turn. I marked the location of the spot and thought, “this thing is not smarter than me.

There’s got to be a simple way of balancing this wheel. I found some fender washers and for the top wheel I used industrial double back tape to tape it on the opposite side of the top wheel. Then I wrapped the washer with some metal tape I had laying around. That solidified it into place.

For the bottom flywheel I found it required 2 washers. Went through the same proceedure of double back tape and wrapped some metal tape around them to attach them to the lower flywheel.

I put the blade back on and waited for the moment of truth as I flipped the switch on. Much to my surprise, ALL THE VIBRATION WAS GONE!!!!! It ran smooth and I stood there in amazement with my finger on the table of the saw sensing a quiet hum and no vibration.

Oh, one other thing I did was to replace the plywood spacer between the motor and saw with a 1/4 inch hard rubber floor mat trimmed to fit the stand.

-- GrandpaD, Painesville, Ohio - demcvickersr@hotmail.com