BANDSAW SETUP

[Mr. T]

I have reccently purchased a 14" bandsaw and I want to know if anyone can point me to where I can find some information on setting it up. The manual is crap in this department. Any information of wheel alignment and blade tentioning etc would be appreciated.

[JOHN557]

check out this website www.timberwolf1.com john

[kornhead]

Check out the book called Mastering Woodworking Machines by Mark Duginske. It'll answer all your questions on all machines in the shop. For starters, make sure your top and bottom wheels are in alignment to each other. This involves adjusting the tilt of the top wheel so it is paralell with the bottom, and maybe shimming one of the wheels(on the Delta) so they are in line with each other. On my Delta 14, i had to loosen theframe bolt and twist the upper frame to align the two wheels perfectly front and back. When this is all done and you've double checked the wheels for perfect alignment(using a very acurate 4' straitedge, not a piece of wood!) use a sanding block and clean the rubber boots by spinning them by hand. Open up your guide blocks and mount your blade. If you tuned your saw right, the blade should track perfectly. This is the key to an acurate bandsaw. Set your guides0.004" on either side of the bladeand keep the guide blocks 1/64th back fom the gullet of the blade. You can use an American dollar bill wrapped around the blade to make this adjustment. Next, adjust the back thrust bearings 1/64th" back from the blade. These bearings should only turn when forcing wood into the saw. Keep in mind the weld of the blade should be on the opposite side of the saw when making these adjustments. If you use blades smaller than 3/8th", i like to use coolblocks with no clearence.Don't feel intimidated by all this; its actually pretty easy, and increases the use of your bandsaw ten-fold!! I can cut 6" veneer out of rock maple with perfect results using a 3/4" resaw blade. Just remember to go slow and let the saw do the cutting.
Good luck!!