4 x 6 bandsaw`

of the 4 x 6 bandsaw.

off for you.

Hi Bob Any chance of posting a copy to the dropbox? Thanks rgentry at oz dot net

ding of the 4 x 6 bandsaw.

can it off for you.

Awesome!

Email sent, assuming your email addy is real (mine was, but expired a bit ago).

Dave

of the 4 x 6 bandsaw.

off for you.

Use wess "at symbol" wess.mdns.org

Thanks,

Wes

of the 4 x 6 bandsaw.

off for you.

Grant has it posted on his web site.

Kevin Gallimore

feeding of the 4 x 6 bandsaw.

it off for you.

Thanks Kevin. I need to learn the tricks of making my 4x6 work. I'm used to using commercial saws at work that are in the 12x16 range. The 4x6 needs a bit of TLC to perform.

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

I just bought mine - a wonder of engineering bearing the name of Craftex. It was on sale - that's my excuse. I studied the above FAQs as well as some other sources on the net (you can have the links if you want). Here are some things I have discovered which were not covered in any of the above:

1) Do not rely on the automatic cut-off. The design is poor and the execution is even poorer. The little metal tag bends out of shape easily. It will cut of 3 times and then fail to do so. 2) Do not release the tension on the blade between work days too much. I did so. The next day I came to tighten it. I kept turning the knob - nothing. I should have twigged right away, but when the going got tough and the blade was still loose I opened the blade cover and the blade jumped at me. 3) Do not over tighten the blade tension. I know it says in the FAQ that it is not possible - it is! When I replaced the blade I tightened it as hard as I could as per the above advice. Something told me to check the tracking and sure enough: The blade was running off the top wheel. I relaxed the tension slightly and the tracking returned to normal. The blade feels reasonably tight although I could not vouch for the recommended "0.004" deviation. It cuts and it cuts reasonably straight. 4) The gear box oil. I have three manuals for similar saws: HF, Grizzly and Busy bee. Two suggest changing the oil in a year replacing with "140 weight gear oil", one says use grease. I did as the FAQ suggested and opened the box. The oil looked reasonably clean when I drained it. I did not use solvent or compressed air but wiped the whole thing - no trace of sand. I could not find any 140 weight gear oil. I cannot imagine why a worm gear would want something this thick particularly in a cold garage. I put in a dollop of 80W-90 and it runs smoother than before: I suspect there was not enough in the box in the first place.

I suspect that I shall discover many more foibles as I go along. Perhaps you are lucky and have a saw from one of the better suppliers and none of this will apply to you.

Mine never tracked right or cut straight until I replaced the blade guide bearings. They're just standard 6202 size that are readily available.

--

I have an old Keller power hacksaw like this one:

The shut-off switch is just a simple (easily modified) wall switch, but it works every time. I like using the power hacksaw and made a bunch of blades for it from discarded 1-1/2" wide bandsaw blades (from another much larger machine). I don't know why power hacksaws aren't more popular. It's also soothing to listen to.

I am slightly puzzled by the oft repeated recommendation to release blade tension between work sessions.

I cannot see the harm in keeping a strip of steel permanently tensioned to within a large fraction of its elastic limit - after all this is exactly what they do when they tension the steel wires in reinforced concrete girders.

Looking at it another way - repeatedly taking steel strip between low stress and high stress is a fine way to induce fatigue cracks.

With this in mind I keep my 4x6 blade permanently tensioned.

Jim

=A0 =A0Jim- Hide quoted text -

It's not the BLADE you've got to worry about, it's the saw casting! There's barely enough metal in the frame casting to tension the blade into the lower end of the recommended tensioning range. Yes, it CAN be warped. Kind of like leaving a bow strung all the time. If it starts cutting crooked, that may be one reason why.

Stan

My only reason for releasing the bandsaw blade tension would be because the casting is from China. I'd consider closing C-clamps with pressure when they aren't being used as an impractical purpose, especially since many of them aren't made as well as they used to be 30 years ago.

I decrease the saw's blade tension when I know the saw won't be used for a while. When it needs to be used regularly, the blade stays tensioned.

There's probably no risk in keeping the blade tensioned.

Maybe it is a superstition descended from woodworking bandsaws which have rubber tires that can take a print.

I was about to post the same comment. I always de-tension my woodworking band saw for that reason.

Wes

That makes a lot of sense. In fact I wonder whether this had something to do with losing tracking when I "over tightened" the blade. It is particularly relevant to *my* saw. I went and had a look at similar saws at KMS Tools today. Their cheapest 4x6 is $379. Mine was $220...

BTW it is also said of hacksaw, particularly the new ones with the improved tensioning, that one should release them between uses. I assume it is for the same reason - the frame will bend with time. I have a nice DeWalt frame and forget to loosen it frequently. So far no bends. I wonder if it would be true of a cheaper variety.

feeding of the 4 x 6 bandsaw.

it off for you.

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I would compare the weights of the two saws. Most of the weight will be in the castings, and for present purpose, cast iron is cast iron.

Joe Gwinn

Mine was in between but I see it is sensitive to tension. The blade will start walking off the drive wheel if I crank in too much tension.

Wes

[ ... ]

Mine has worked well for years. The "brand" on mine was MSC, and I think that the blade guides are more rigid (forged blocks with three bearings mounted instead of bent steel).

I never even thought of releasing the tension. It does tend to cause the blade to jump free of the wheels.

There is a setscrew below the upper bearing block which tilts it to prevent this. As you increase blade tension the block tilts towards the lost tracking angle, so you need to adjust this setscrew before tightening the blade -- then you can tighten it as much as your hands will manage to get close to the minimum tension needed for good behavior.

Good Luck, DoN.

Metal-working bandsaws which are designed for accepting multiple blade widths also have the rubber tires. The 4x6 bandsaws are designed to only accept a single blade width -- 1/2", and have a flange against the back edge to keep it from slipping off the back, and a relief under the teeth to keep the pressure of the wheel from bending out the set of the teeth on the wheel side.

And I don't remember there having been a recommendation to detension the vertical Delta which we had a work between uses. You simply set the tension according to a built in spring scale where you dialed in the width of the blade.

Enjoy, DoN.