Saturday, July 18, 2015

Bandsaw work continues

The parts for the saw finally came. I got the cool blocks and tension spring installed and threw on the wood slicer resaw blade to give it a try. My God was I impressed!!! Not that i've used a ton of other people's' saws but enough to say that mine is the best one I've ever used. I started with a 3in piece of birch and the saw didn't even know it was cutting anything. Next I tried a 4.5in piece of red oak and the saw still didn't even flinch. The motor didn't slow or bog down at all. I'm so thrilled to have a bandsaw that can handle anything I can throw at it, now I just have to work on best sawing practices. 

My next priority is to get the right pulleys on the thing. I noticed that the saw pulley was wobbling quite a bit. The one on the motor fits very tight and has no wobble at all. Too bad it's not the right one. I know it should have a stepped pulley on the motor but I'm not committed to an exact replacement at this point since I'm strictly a woodworker. I guess my question is whether or not I should be looking for an original part or an aftermarket part that meets the manufacturers specs? Same goes for the pulley for the gearbox. It currently doesn't have anything on the shaft. The first pic is of the pulley off the saw, #5800. Original part or not? It doesn't have a pin (key?) that fits snugly in the slot of the shaft but I'm assuming it should. The second pic is the pulley on the motor which does have that pin and is really stuck on there. You'll notice its pushed up all the way against the motor. I thought tapping it back and forth on the shaft would loosen it up a bit or at least allow me to pull the pin but no dice. Now I'll have to track down a puller to get it off which shouldn't be a big deal. I think auto parts stores lend them out.


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