New old bandsaw question?

[GarageGuy]

I'm the new owner of a Famco 612 horizontal bandsaw. I was looking for something a little better and a little bigger than my Chinese 4 x 6, and this opportunity presented itself. I got it for $200, which I think was a decent deal. The guy I bought it from got it at a City of Kenosha (WI) municipal auction a week ago. I cleaned it up a little, put on some cast iron casters, a new power cord, and a new Lenox RX4 bi-metal blade. It looks like it may need a new seal on the gearbox because that end of the machine is pretty greasy. Powered it up and it runs smooth and quiet.

Anyway, here is my question: After making 3 cuts through a piece of 2" diameter 1018 steel, the Lenox blade is missing 4" of teeth. The saw is set to the 2nd slowest speed, and the lightest blade weight possible. The blade is 14/10 TPI. I don't think I was over driving it. Part way through the second cut, I noticed the boom starting to jump a little on each revolution of the blade. I'm not new to bandsaws, so I knew what this meant. I'm just surprised that such a premium blade would give up that quickly. On my old Chinese bandsaw, a carbon steel blade would last me about a year. Any ideas?

Thanks!
GG

 

[pineyfolks]

Move your blade guides closer together and check to be sure that the teeth of the blade are not making contact with the guide rollers.

 

[markba633csi]

Were you cutting dry or wet? Blade tension high enough? Almost sounds like a defective blade to me..
Mark S.
ps check that the drive wheel is not oily, maybe the blade slipped and that caused the tooth stripping

 

[Ulma Doctor]

that's unusual, lenox blades are about as good as they come.
i would look at alignment as well as what the blade does at the end of a cut, does it have clearance between the blade and bed when the cut is finished?
there should be daylight under the blade when the cut is finished, otherwise the blade abruptly hitting the vertical wall of the bed casting when the head drops could strip teeth off the blade.
also an errant slip when lowering the head could damage teeth too, i have done that myself
that's what i got anyway. i hope it helps in diagnosing the problem

 

[kd4gij]

Not unusual for lenox blades lately. At work we got one missing teeth out of the box. And a couple that didn't last no time.

 

[GarageGuy]

Move your blade guides closer together and check to be sure that the teeth of the blade are not making contact with the guide rollers.

I did check to make sure the teeth were not being pinched by the guide rollers, and they were not. I also watched to make sure all of the guide rollers were rolling freely when it was cutting. They are good, too. I could adjust the blade guides closer to the work. I'll try that. Thank you!

GG

 

[GarageGuy]

Were you cutting dry or wet? Blade tension high enough? Almost sounds like a defective blade to me..
Mark S.
ps check that the drive wheel is not oily, maybe the blade slipped and that caused the tooth stripping

I was cutting dry. The drive wheels are also clean and dry. I adjusted the blade like the manual instructed. Tighten until the blade is straight, then ONE more turn. It seems tight, and gives a bowstring sound when plucked. Thank you!

GG

 

[GarageGuy]

that's unusual, lenox blades are about as good as they come.
i would look at alignment as well as what the blade does at the end of a cut, does it have clearance between the blade and bed when the cut is finished?
there should be daylight under the blade when the cut is finished, otherwise the blade abruptly hitting the vertical wall of the bed casting when the head drops could strip teeth off the blade.
also an errant slip when lowering the head could damage teeth too, i have done that myself
that's what i got anyway. i hope it helps in diagnosing the problem

The alignment appears good. No noticeable deflection of the blade. It's better than my 4 x 6 bandsaw ever was in that regard. It made nice straight cuts, too.

There is clearance under the blade when the saw is completely lowered. I ran it that way for a few minutes when I first powered it up. I wanted to listen for any noises it might make. It runs smooth and quiet.

The hydraulic cylinder to regulate the lowering head is not working right, so I was holding on to the head to make sure there wasn't too much weight on it. There is an adjustable sliding steel weight on top as well, and I moved it completely out of play so it had no effect.

Thank you!
GG

 

[GarageGuy]

Not unusual for lenox blades lately. At work we got one missing teeth out of the box. And a couple that didn't last no time.

I don't know what else to think. I use Olson (made in WI) carbon steel blades in my other bandsaw, and I generally get a year out of them unless I do something stupid.

Thank you!
GG

 

[kd4gij]

Linox is still our go to blade.