Bandsaw restore, big, old & heavy

[Movin/on]

I'm going to be watching this thread. I've read all of the posts.
I bought a large Cast iron band saw probably 30 years ago and have never used it. It didn't have a motor. Picked up a 5HP Baldor motor years ago as well. Bought custom blades for resawing from a blade manufacturer in Wyoming. Everything just sits in a corner
Mine has 26" wheels and a 26" throat and a 8" cutting height. I can't find any markings on it to find the brand of the saw. I'll post a picture or 2 later. Hope someone can help with an ID

Movin/on

 

[Grigg]

We also have a number of bandsaws. That earlier post about 20HP is ridiculous... 3-5Hp would be a plenty, and 7.5 way more than enough for most all uses.
One of ours is a later Crescent 32" 3HP direct drive. Also have an old 36" Crescent, a somewhat new/old Powermatic about 28-32", and a couple old standard Delta bandsaws. None of them anywhere close to 20HP, more like 5HP at the most.

Yours looks like the baby version of our 38" Fay & Egan bandsaw direct drive, which I think is 5HP but might be a little less.
Picking it from the upper wheel bearing casting I wouldn't have done.. but perhaps those pivots are sturdier than I recall.

After gluing the tires on I believe truing the wheel, if you decide to put any crown on it or not, is almost essential. It can be done almost free hand (better to rest it on something) with some seriously coarse sand paper on a stick or block with the amount of crown you want cut into it. Take it slow and easy, let the high spots be sanded off instead of following the out of round contour of what is already there. Think of it much like you would turn something on the wood lathe, the wheel and tire is your work piece, coarse sandpaper is your cutter. Don't be afraid to try it. To true the upper wheel either mount it on the bottom if mounting details are similar or if not then make up a band from steel strapping but welded together, strapping like for banding stuff to pallets.

Grigg

 

[sideroad]

Thanks for all the advice so far, can't wait to cut something.

I have a 20 inch bandsaw and have been running the same home made tires on it for years. They are simply strips of 3/16" conveyor belt that were bias cut at the ends and glued onto the wheels with contact cement. No crown, and all is well.

That sounds like the way to go. What blades do you run and what type of work do you give it? Do you find the teeth cut into the tyre without a crown? Is tracking easy to set up with out the crown?
Cheers

My Crescents are two different generations. One is a 1905 babbit bearing saw, belt drive. The other is from the 50's, Rockwell era, ball bearing and much heavier with an integral 3 phase motor. Why? Because I could .

I could also justify two if they were different (well to myself, maybe not the wife). I like the sound of the saw, any pics?

I'm going to be watching this thread. I've read all of the posts.
I bought a large Cast iron band saw probably 30 years ago and have never used it. It didn't have a motor. Picked up a 5HP Baldor motor years ago as well. Bought custom blades for resawing from a blade manufacturer in Wyoming. Everything just sits in a corner
Mine has 26" wheels and a 26" throat and a 8" cutting height. I can't find any markings on it to find the brand of the saw. I'll post a picture or 2 later. Hope someone can help with an ID
Movin/on

Sounds like a great machine. Hope my saw inspires you to dust off yours.
I think once I get my saw going I'll be saying that I don't know how I lived with out it all these years. Much like the saying, 'To the man with a hammer everything looks like a nail'. (or something like that)

We also have a number of bandsaws. That earlier post about 20HP is ridiculous... 3-5Hp would be a plenty, and 7.5 way more than enough for most all uses.
One of ours is a later Crescent 32" 3HP direct drive. Also have an old 36" Crescent, a somewhat new/old Powermatic about 28-32", and a couple old standard Delta bandsaws. None of them anywhere close to 20HP, more like 5HP at the most.
Are the direct drives 3 phase? Not sure I have seen any direct drives before. I'm thinking of playing with 3hp to start with as I have one. I'll see how it goes and decide then.

Yours looks like the baby version of our 38" Fay & Egan bandsaw direct drive, which I think is 5HP but might be a little less.
Picking it from the upper wheel bearing casting I wouldn't have done.. but perhaps those pivots are sturdier than I recall.
You are right, not the best move. I didn't fully think that one through. I recently lowered it to my lower workshop floor and this time i slung around the same spot for balance, but with all the lifting from the cast frame. Hopefully I didn't do any harm from the first lift. Maybe all the sized bolts prevented any movement.

After gluing the tires on I believe truing the wheel, if you decide to put any crown on it or not, is almost essential. It can be done almost free hand (better to rest it on something) with some seriously coarse sand paper on a stick or block with the amount of crown you want cut into it. Take it slow and easy, let the high spots be sanded off instead of following the out of round contour of what is already there. Think of it much like you would turn something on the wood lathe, the wheel and tire is your work piece, coarse sandpaper is your cutter. Don't be afraid to try it. To true the upper wheel either mount it on the bottom if mounting details are similar or if not then make up a band from steel strapping but welded together, strapping like for banding stuff to pallets.
Grigg

Sounds like a larger scale grinder wheel truing. I have considered how I will do this. I am thinking of mounting a sander of a sort to a jig to ensure I get it true with an even crown. I like the strapping idea,Will keep it in mind Thanks.
Would be a great laugh watching someone try cutting with my latest technology ultra safe micro tooth blade.

My box of blades turned up. I'm pretty happy with the deal. 15 blades for $150, 5 nearly surface rust free and sharp, 5 with some surface rust and sharp, 5 with surface rust in need of a sharpen. The seller even through in 5 15amp outdoor power outlets to fill the void in the box. He was a legend to deal with.
I will have to look into whether the different tooth profiles are for any different purposes or just slightly different variations of the same. Some have much the same TPI, but different teeth profiles. Last pic on the far right is the most different. Any ideas?

 

[Bighead38]

Your tape measure sure does have funny numbers. :crazy:

What is resawing?

I didnt comprehend how big this was until I saw the pics of it in your truck.

 

[Grigg]

Yes,
Our direct drive bandsaws are 3 phase. The 32" at 600 nominal motor RPM and the 38" is 900 RPM! We call it the "wood vaporizer".

Don't be fooled, the strapping can still cut you but perhaps not as quickly/badly as a blade with teeth. Honestly though I have not tried either method of cutting my fingers off.

The first set of tires I trued I too thought I'd need all sorts of jigs and complicated stuff to ensure the crown was just perfect and so on... I thought up the idea of a coarse grinding stone in a router dressed to the proper radius... didn't work, waste of time.

Truing the tires is NOT that big of a deal. Think about it. Can you can turn an object on your wood lathe by hand and make it the shape and profile you want? If so then truing the tire on a bandsaw is not so much different at all, and not much material to remove either.
Keep whatever method you devise dead simple and just try it. Some 36 grit sandpaper on a stick with a place to rest it has served me well.
Check the runout with dial indicator with roller tip, I've pretty easily achieved less than 0.005" total runout. (Pretty near 0.001" if I am remembering correctly, In any case I'm sure less than 0.005"). Remember this is a rubber wheel, it will flex and give some under the blade with tension.

Grigg

 

[sideroad]

Yes,
Our direct drive bandsaws are 3 phase. The 32" at 600 nominal motor RPM and the 38" is 900 RPM! We call it the "wood vaporizer".
That feeling of power would get addictive.

Don't be fooled, the strapping can still cut you but perhaps not as quickly/badly as a blade with teeth. Honestly though I have not tried either method of cutting my fingers off.
I have cut myself a good few times on the edge of steel strapping. I really is just a blade with fine teeth.

The first set of tires I trued I too thought I'd need all sorts of jigs and complicated stuff to ensure the crown was just perfect and so on... I thought up the idea of a coarse grinding stone in a router dressed to the proper radius... didn't work, waste of time.
Funny, that is exactly where my thoughts were going. Until I looked into how others do it.

Truing the tires is NOT that big of a deal. Think about it. Can you can turn an object on your wood lathe by hand and make it the shape and profile you want? If so then truing the tire on a bandsaw is not so much different at all, and not much material to remove either.
Keep whatever method you devise dead simple and just try it. Some 36 grit sandpaper on a stick with a place to rest it has served me well.
After looking into other peoples methods, this is how I will be doing it. No different then turning on a wood lathe really.
Check the runout with dial indicator with roller tip, I've pretty easily achieved less than 0.005" total runout. (Pretty near 0.001" if I am remembering correctly, In any case I'm sure less than 0.005"). Remember this is a rubber wheel, it will flex and give some under the blade with tension.
Those are some impressive figures, Given good technique and a rigid tool rest I expect I should be able to get good results.
Grigg

Thanks for the tips.

Your tape measure sure does have funny numbers. :crazy:
What is resawing?
I didnt comprehend how big this was until I saw the pics of it in your truck.

Don't get me started on the difference between primitive and superior measuring standards. I do use inches as well as metric, though i generally use inches when giving rough dimensions to persons more advanced in years (like my father)
Back when I was 18 I was an apprentice Fitter and Turner and had to work on some machines dating back before WW2 (so imperial).
Having been raised only in metric, I really struggled with decimal imperial. Then as an apprentice carpenter I had to get familiar with fractional imperial. And recently I worked as a draftsman designing mining trucks and trailers and the company used imperial fasteners (due to lower cost), so we were always having double measurement standards on our drawings with metric holes for imperial fasteners.
I would love to work in just one standard, but the world is not that simple and never will be.

 

[sideroad]

Here is a good article on fitting and finishing tyres/tires on bandsaw wheels.

http://vintagemachinery.org/files/pdf/faq/1992-fww-bandsawtires.pdf

I'm no closer to working on mine, but think the crowning method used here could a direction I head.