Grizzly 14" bandsw alignment

[cdhknives]

I got this as a 'gift' from an uncle. I suspect he knew it had issues and was pulling a fast oen on me. Grizzly 1019, older model 14", with riser block. Numerous issues that all look like alignment problems to me.

1) Doesn't cut straight.
2) Blade tracking is terrible, top wheel is scraping the cover (almost no more adjustment available) with blade riding the back of the wheel, the bottom is the opposide with the blade teeth hanging slightly off the front of the wheel.
3) Terribly hard to align guides, and have to realign every time the upper guide is moved to a different height.
4) Blade takes a turn immediately upon making contact with material, so straight cuts just aren't going to happen. Solid guide blocks, have adjusted them many times and can't get this out. Many different blades, mostly Powermatic, 3/8" and 1/2".

A) Many adjustment iteratoins and I can get a 2x4 cut to within 2-3 degrees of straight, but still get a bit of wave. The front of the cut is square, the end of the cut is angled top to bottom. One side of the board is cut square, the other is angling the whole way binding the blade significantly if the material is thick.
B) A pair of .032" shims under the front of the riser block angles the upper section enough to get tracking mostly aligned. At least both wheels have the blade in their center third.
C) Would love to buy bearing blade guides but not going to spend $$$ on wasted effort if this thing is not fixable.
D) Without riser block things are slightly better but not enough to be usable for anything better than cutting small limbs into firewood and roughing out stuff that doesn't need to be at all precise.

So is this a lost cause? Has this thing been dropped and 'sprung' beyond fixing? What does it sound like to y'all???

 

[fitterman1]

1. Blade needs more tension.
2. Sounds like blade is stretched. Check it for correct length. Tracking is also a function of tension and whether the wheels are flat or crowned.
3. Can't help you there.
4. Blade is either worn on one side or you're pushing the work too hard.

Suggest you use 1/2 inch blades of correct length so you can adjust tension properly.
Once you can achieve decent tension then worry about tracking.
Make your guide blocks of the hardest material that won't damage the teeth.
Make sure wheel bearings aren't shot.
Not a waste of time if you cant afford a new machine.
Give it a go.

 

[hman]

I had a blade on my metal cutting bandsaw the absolutely would NOT cut straight. Gave it a good look, and noticed that all the teeth set toward one side had been pretty much worn away ... so the saw had a very uneven "set" and was biased to one side. I'll definitely agree with all the advice that @fitterman1 gave. And don't give up on the saw until you've acquired a new blade!

 

[Mitch Alsup]

I got this as a 'gift' from an uncle. I suspect he knew it had issues and was pulling a fast oen on me. Grizzly 1019, older model 14", with riser block. Numerous issues that all look like alignment problems to me.

1) Doesn't cut straight.
2) Blade tracking is terrible, top wheel is scraping the cover (almost no more adjustment available) with blade riding the back of the wheel, the bottom is the opposide with the blade teeth hanging slightly off the front of the wheel.

Get a blade that is 1" shorter, this will give you the tension control you need.

3) Terribly hard to align guides, and have to realign every time the upper guide is moved to a different height.
4) Blade takes a turn immediately upon making contact with material,

The ball bearing is not set correctly or the guides are not flat where they contact the blade.

so straight cuts just aren't going to happen. Solid guide blocks, have adjusted them many times and can't get this out.

Get rid of the thumb screws and use real set screws.

Many different blades, mostly Powermatic, 3/8" and 1/2".

longer blades run truer--I use a 1" thick blade (11-14).

 

[cdhknives]

Bearings are smooth...spinning the wheels with no blade results in a good 30 second spin down. No dragging or wobble so I don't thnk they are bad. Harder to test the bottom/driven wheel but no bearing noise and rotating it by hand doesn't feel rough like a bad bearing frequently will.

Guide blocks have set screws. 3mm hex unfortunatally but I can work with them. Blocks have been squared on a belt grinder.

Wheels are crowned cast aluminum. I just put new urethane tires on them and that didn't change anything. The old tires came apart last time I used it so that was happening anyway.

I have probably a dozen new or barely used blades. I may try to cut a 1/2" extra spacer from some flat ground stock I have around for knifemaking instead of getting a shorter blade. I think 3/4" blades are max on this machine but I do know I bought 1 or 2 of max width to try out when I got it.

Sometimes 'free' equipment is worse than a 'free' puppy!

 

[fitterman1]

If you can space the top wheel higher then thats cheaper than buying new blades, good idea.
How is tension adjusted?

 

[fitterman1]

Is it a spring loaded adjustable mechanism?
I ask because I used to be a sawyer in my earlier working life, and the saw i worked had 50" wheels. Tension was by weights adjusted to a certain height.
At the end of the day the weight was relieved to prevent blade stretch.
Your spring may have lost its strength and need to be replaced.

 

[cdhknives]

Top wheel height is adjusted via a top mount handwheel moving a spring loaded plate in a tongue and groove assembly. The end of the handwheel screw pushes against the top frame making the upper wheel move up until tension begins to compress the spring. The plate holds the bearing for the top wheel.

Thinking about y'alls suggestions I put on a brand new blade, and my only 'big' 3/4" wide 6 tooth. I don't think blade length is a problem, I have a lot of adjustment left. Heck the new blade was hard to get on with the adjustment plate bottomed out. It tracked fine in cuts so I looked over the old blade well. It seems to be rubbing the offside blade guard so the outer set teeth were badly worn (not to mention grooves in the guard!) I tried to get the guard better set but I am beginning to think it is simply the wrong part. Look at the pics. I would think it would not touch the frame and would be positioned via the top and bottom mounting holes. The blade is near the outside low in the guard and near the inside at the top. I am debating grinding off the back bottom 1/2" so it will float over the frame. Does this look normal to y'all? My only other bandsaw expereince of note was an old 10" Delta Rockwell that I am about to go steal back from my Dad if I can't figure this thing out! That thing was weak but it at least cut straight!

 

[C-Bag]

I have a HF 14” I bought for $50 because the two previous owners couldn’t get it to track. Watch this youtube. He is the MAN, do like he says and you will have a functional band saw.

 

[Hellbender]

Good step by step instructions in the video! Simple and logical.