purchased used 12in band saw it is on home made wooden stand brand name craftsman it has a wobble in the blade i have tighten blade as much as possible and the cool blocks are set goood but cannot stop the wobble would appreciateif some one could help me find the problem
Check the wheels of the saw for being coplaner. If the wheels are not in a straight line to one another you're gonna get some wobble, vibration, and possibly the blade walking on you a bit.
I assume its an older 12"?? I had one of those. It worked well, but getting the vibration to an acceptable level took some effort. IMO, you'll never get the machine to pass the "nickle test". But you can get it close. FWIW, most bandsaws shake a little, unless you spend a lot of money on the saw and/or parts or a lot of time tuning it to the nth degree.
Make sure the wheels are co-planer and the blade is aligned (to a reasonable degree). Also make sure the stand is good n' sturdy. A good stand will absorb vibration, a junky stand will make it worse. I have a 14" Ridgid that vibrated terribly out of the box. I augmented the stand with 3/4" plywood and that stopped 40% of the problem. The rest of the problems were solved by balancing wheels and replacing the crappy stock blade with an Olson blade.
Blade- A blade with a crappy weld will wobble.
Tires- Old rubber tires? Tires can wear unevenly, making them lumpy. New rubber tires might do the trick, urethane are even better.
Belt- A cheap and/or old v belt can cause the lower wheel to wobble; thus the blade will wobble. Many will rec a link belt. I have had success with them too, but I think a good quality ribbed belt works just as well and can be found at a local auto parts store for $5.
Pulleys- The stock pulleys on those "12 craftys are not exactly high-end. It doesn't take much for them to get bent. Even minor deviations will cause problems. And make sure the pulleys are properly aligned with each other. Some people like to upgrade to machined pulleys.
Wheel Balance- Remove the blade and spin the wheels. When they come to rest, mark the 6 o'clock position with a sharpie or chalk. Repeat the process 3-4 times. Are all the marks on the same spot? If so, the wheel is out of balance. Get some lead tape from a golf shop and stick it on the opposite end of the wheel. Re-test, check, and repeat until the wheel does not repeatedly come to rest at the same spot. You might want to remove and/or replace the tires before going to the trouble of balancing. There are other methods to balance, but this is a fairly good and inexpensive way to get it done.
if yes, it's a defective blade weld. at least that's what happened to the 4 new timberwolf blades i got that all displayed the same irregular blade motion.
Blades don't really 'wobble' as they are not round, but linear. Do you mean the blade moves from side to side as you face it? As in there is not enough tension and /or blade guides not being adjusted correctly? Or do you mean the whole machine shakes like the wheels are not running true? That can mean that they aren't coplanar as suggested and one wheel needs to be shimmed out with a thin washer. Or it could mean that the bearings are worn. There are two bearings for each wheel. Push and pull up and down and side to side (with the blade off) on the wheel and see if there is any play. You need to describe the problem a bit better.
Hmmm. If a poorly welded blade doesn't cause the blade to wobble (I define wobble as awkward blade movement in this context).
What are the symptoms of a bad weld?
Its always been my impression that a poor weld will make the blade appear to shimmy back n' forth. Or if the weld is not properly ground, it will cause the blade to dance around as the weld travels over the tires.
Are the guides properly setup? How about the tracking of the blade? Oh yes, the weld? This video may help your solve your problems: http://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuideArticle.aspx?id=34055.
The quality of the blade is also an important factor to consider. Make sure you have a great supplier for good quality blades. I got my blades from www.sawblade.com.
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