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TLC for bandsaw tires

Jamie Straw

Jamie Straw

Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
1,607
Likes
217
Location
Bainbridge Island, WA
All this green-wood slicing (and there's more to come this week) is gunking up the bandsaw tires more than I've ever experienced. What is the best safe way to clean them? I've been using the Kirkland (Costco) cleaning cloths, but wonder if they might not degrade the rubber if used regularly. Given the controversy over belt dressing, I hesitate to ask this, but is there a dressing or conditioner that helps preserve the tires?
 
I think that PAM works well as long as you don't let it sit until it becomes really hard. You might need to put some on a shop rag and scrub to get it clean if soaking isn't enough. Otherwise, the nuclear option ... Simple Green.
 
Bill Boehme said:
I think that PAM works well as long as you don't let it sit until it becomes really hard. You might need to put some on a shop rag and scrub to get it clean if soaking isn't enough. Otherwise, the nuclear option ... Simple Green.
Click to expand...
Yeah, Simple Green, especially full strength, is strong stuff. I think the Kirkland cloths are gentler, they work quickly and are convenient. Are you speaking of PAM as a cleaner, conditioner or both?🙂 some day I'll get urethane tires, but I'm really hoping they'll include a 17" bandsaw with all the frills.
 
Well, I would not oil my tires, especially if they are some type of rubber. I just take some 80 grit to the wheel, spin it by hand till the gunk is almost all gone. You can also use a brass bristle brush which won't eat the tires either. Regular wire brush will work, and I have used a putty knife as a scraper too. Don't do it with the power on... Madrone is probably the worst for gunking up blade, wheels, and guides...

robo hippy
 
wax and brush

Joe Greiner said:
I keep a supply of surplus candles near the bandsaw. Cut a candle before each session. Seems to help.
Click to expand...

Lenox sells a big tube of soft wax made for this; applying it to the blade helps keep things from sticking to the blade and being transferred to the wheel.

Also, if the saw did not come with one, you can add a stiff brush or two inside the bottom cabinet to help knock junk off the blade. One on a little bracket on the inside just before the blade contacts the bottom wheel and another before the blade leaves the bottom cabinet. I cut sections from a small, stiff scrub brush for one of my bandsaws.

JKJ
 
robo hippy said:
Well, I would not oil my tires, especially if they are some type of rubber. I just take some 80 grit to the wheel, spin it by hand till the gunk is almost all gone. You can also use a brass bristle brush which won't eat the tires either. Regular wire brush will work, and I have used a putty knife as a scraper too. Don't do it with the power on... Madrone is probably the worst for gunking up blade, wheels, and guides...

robo hippy
Click to expand...

I have an old spent "credit card" diamond sharpener. and hand scrape gently while turning the wheel by other hand.. This would be thicker than a putty knife and doesn't dig in. Have't seen any degrade, but I only do it 2-3 x /year because I don't cut much really wet wood. Gretch
 
John K Jordan said:
Lenox sells a big tube of soft wax made for this; applying it to the blade helps keep things from sticking to the blade and being transferred to the wheel.

Also, if the saw did not come with one, you can add a stiff brush or two inside the bottom cabinet to help knock junk off the blade. One on a little bracket on the inside just before the blade contacts the bottom wheel and another before the blade leaves the bottom cabinet. I cut sections from a small, stiff scrub brush for one of my bandsaws.

JKJ
Click to expand...
I'm sure that your brushes work much better than the commercial one I installed years ago. Long, too-flexible bristles.
 
Oil won't hurt the tires because they are nitrile rubber. Timberwolf recommends lubricating the blade with Pam and you can't lube the blade and at the same time not get lube on the tires.

My bandsaw has a brush, but the bristles could be more effective if they were shorter and stiffer.
 
Larry Pasha said:
As to conditioning and preserving, any thoughts on 100% silicone. It can be purchased in an aerosol can. Just wondering.
Click to expand...

While it probably won't hurt the rubber, I doubt that it would do anything to extend its useful life. Also, because silicone lubricant is so slick, the band might slip when cutting through thick pieces of wood.
 
I use water on a paper towel to wet down the blade and the tire surface, then clean them using the green 3M scouring pads. Spin the wheels by hand, in reverse when cleaning the blade. Be sure to unplug the motor before starting.
 
john lucas said:
I use a soft brass brush to clean the wheels as I spin them by hand.
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I've been using a stiff nylon brush, or gently with brass if the stuff is really sticky, sometimes with the power on😱 which I may get chastised for, but I hold the brush in the big space where the blade isn't, and only take one wheel cover off at a time. Have cleaned the blade with the brass brush too, carefully, with all guards on.
 
Bill Boehme said:
While it probably won't hurt the rubber, I doubt that it would do anything to extend its useful life. Also, because silicone lubricant is so slick, the band might slip when cutting through thick pieces of wood.
Click to expand...

Yep -- the "silicone thought" crossed my mind, but only for an instant. Could just see the wheels spinning and the blade not.😛
 
On the last piece of wood I cut before changing out the old blade, bottom must not have been flat enough, or something else happened, but the blade bound and jumped to the front of the wheels, first time that's ever happened to moi. No problem getting everything sorted out and finishing the cut. But when I changed the blades and cleaned the wheels, I noticed a short stretch (~9") of the top wheel had subtle scallops in it, kinda like the cupping that occurs on car tires when run with bad shocks, but not as dramatic -- small dents. Would that be from a combination of blade binding and wet sawdust on the bands? I supposed I might be putting on new bands in the next couple of months.
 
It is kind of exciting when the blade on my Laguna 16HD goes.... I can tell now if they are getting stress cracks. Doesn't hurt the saw, but still....

robo hippy
 
Had an amusing event at Campbell when the blade broke and my assistant said it disappeared.
With great persistence and a little confusion we found it wrapped around the axel of the top wheel.
Like anything you look for it was in the last place we looked.
 
Jamie Straw said:
On the last piece of wood I cut before changing out the old blade, bottom must not have been flat enough, or something else happened, but the blade bound and jumped to the front of the wheels, first time that's ever happened to moi....
Click to expand...

A blade that is welded crooked will also do that, but you would know right away if that were the problem. I can imagine that a blade with stress cracks in the gullets like Reed described can cause the same thing to happen especially right before it fails. It's also possible that you have a loose tire. The scallops sure make that seem like a possible cause. An old tire will lose its stretch and start to flap. See if you can slip a screwdriver beneath the rubber and easily lift the tire. If the tire is shot, I recommend replacing both of them with Carter urethane tires.
 
Bill Boehme said:
Once upon a time, an irregular piece of wood rocked and pinched the blade. The blade snapped with a very loud bang. Got my attention.
Click to expand...
Is that why the saw companies tell you not to stand to the side of the BS table? I just noticed that in the warnings on the top wheel cover.😱 I stand there quite often actually, wondering if -- when the blade breaks -- it comes flying off to the side? Yikes.
 
Jamie Straw said:
Is that why the saw companies tell you not to stand to the side of the BS table? I just noticed that in the warnings on the top wheel cover.😱 I stand there quite often actually, wondering if -- when the blade breaks -- it comes flying off to the side? Yikes.
Click to expand...

Most of the time a broken blade stays in the cabinet.
But if the leading end of the break makes it out the cabinet the top wheel will send the rest of the blade behind it.

It is moving an can cut.
Keeping the upper guide close to the work helps trap a broken blade.

Most of the blade breaks I have had come from a small piece of wood dropping through the throat plate on the wheel side of the blade.
The blade usually can stretch to accommodate the wood being between it and the wheel.
Al
 
Jamie Straw said:
Is that why the saw companies tell you not to stand to the side of the BS table? I just noticed that in the warnings on the top wheel cover.😱 I stand there quite often actually, wondering if -- when the blade breaks -- it comes flying off to the side? Yikes.
Click to expand...

Most of the time a broken blade stays in the cabinet.
But if the leading end of the break makes it out the cabinet the top wheel will send the rest of the blade behind it.

It is moving an can cut.
Keeping the upper guide close to the work helps trap a broken blade.

Most of the blade breaks I have had come from a small piece of wood dropping through the throat plate on the wheel side of the blade.
The blade usually can stretch to accommodate the wood being between it and the wheel.
Al
 
hockenbery said:
Most of the time a broken blade stays in the cabinet.
But if the leading end of the break makes it out the cabinet the top wheel will send the rest of the blade behind it.

It is moving an can cut.
Keeping the upper guide close to the work helps trap a broken blade.

Most of the blade breaks I have had come from a small piece of wood dropping through the throat plate on the wheel side of the blade.
The blade usually can stretch to accommodate the wood being between it and the wheel.
Al
Click to expand...

Table saws use a zero-clearance insert to prevent fouling by small pieces of wood. Made by raising the blade through the raw insert while running. Best with a backup block of wood to prevent tearout. Works with bevel settings too.

I do something similar on the bandsaw with a thin sheet of polycarbonate, for minimum reduction in thickness capacity. The sheet is the same size as the entire bandsaw table, taped or clamped after cutting halfway along the table. The tail end of the slot is behind the blade.
 
Joe Greiner said:
Table saws use a zero-clearance insert to prevent fouling by small pieces of wood. Made by raising the blade through the raw insert while running. Best with a backup block of wood to prevent tearout. Works with bevel settings too. I do something similar on the bandsaw with a thin sheet of polycarbonate, for minimum reduction in thickness capacity. The sheet is the same size as the entire bandsaw table, taped or clamped after cutting halfway along the table. The tail end of the slot is behind the blade.
Click to expand...
When I cut thin pieces I use a plywood slide. Close to zero clearance.
One issue is over time the throat on my saw gets bigger.
 
hockenbery said:
Most of the time a broken blade stays in the cabinet. But if the leading end of the break makes it out the cabinet the top wheel will send the rest of the blade behind it. It is moving an can cut.
Click to expand...
Ugghhhh, not fun.

Keeping the upper guide close to the work helps trap a broken blade.
Click to expand...
The bandsaw demo that preceded our 12-person demolition of a 100-yr-old maple tree included info to keep the upper guides 2 fingers above the wood. I keep them closer than that! (2 pinkies perhaps). I want as much metal as possible 'tween me and the blade, while still being able to see a drawn line if applicable

Most of the blade breaks I have had come from a small piece of wood dropping through the throat plate on the wheel side of the blade.
The blade usually can stretch to accommodate the wood being between it and the wheel.
Al
Click to expand...
Which I suppose might be more likely with throat plate removed? Still, that sure helped cut down on clogs today. Thanks for the info, Al, I've yet to experience my first blade-breakage (knock, knock, knock )
 
Joe Greiner said:
Table saws use a zero-clearance insert to prevent fouling by small pieces of wood. Made by raising the blade through the raw insert while running. Best with a backup block of wood to prevent tearout. Works with bevel settings too.

I do something similar on the bandsaw with a thin sheet of polycarbonate, for minimum reduction in thickness capacity. The sheet is the same size as the entire bandsaw table, taped or clamped after cutting halfway along the table. The tail end of the slot is behind the blade.
Click to expand...

I bought a package of ZC blanks for my bandsaw years ago when I was doing a project that required very clean sawing of very thin wood. Still using the first one out of the pack. I take it out, per Reed's suggestion I think it was, when sawing with the grain of green wood.
 
Jamie Straw said:
How'z zat?
Click to expand...
The blade cuts the throat plate when the blade twists too much. TH
My Laguna 16 HD is about 15 years old. Throat plates are plastic and can be made from wood if you have a bandsaw.
I replaced one worn throat plate then got the great idea of keeping the a good one in a drawer and popping it on if I need it.
The chewed up one works fine for blank cutting

Throat plates on my old old powermatic were metal ...
 
I haven't broken a blade with it hitting a piece of wood funny. My breaks have all been metal fatigue. Most of the time, this will come from the thrust bearings loosening up and then since they don't support the back of the blade, it starts cracking there. Some times it is just from lots of use. If you don't resharpen, then you probably don't use blades long enough for this to happen. There is a noticeable front/back movement or wobble as the blade is spinning. Some times the cracks are easy to see or feel if you hand spin the blade. Of course, don't try this when the saw is running. If the blade guides are set too high, that also puts this kind of stress on the blade. Dull blades also put this kind of stress on the blade. The narrower the blade is, the closer you want it the guides to the wood. With my 1 1/4 blades, an inch or three above the wood is not a problem. With my 1/2 inch blades, I keep it about a finger thickness above the wood. With the blade do break, they come off the wheel which is what drives them. They can spring out some, and bend, but they do stop moving very quickly even though the drive wheel keeps going for a bit.

robo hippy
 
robo hippy said:
[Snip] Most of the time, this will come from the thrust bearings loosening up [Snip]
robo hippy
Click to expand...

Glad to know that my Grizzly 1019Z isn't the only saw that is prone to this problem. I use pliers to tighten the thumb screw on the top bearing mount, and really crank the Allen wrench on the bottom, but they still manage to move sometimes, especially the bottom one.
 
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