WALKER-TURNER 16 INCH BANDSAW CROWNED TIRES??

[Currahee26]

I have a 3331 variable speed W-T bandsaw that needs tires. Does not need a new blade! (See picture) 2 questions ..1 Do I really need crowned tires? The upper wheel has a rubber base ring and a rubber tire. The lower wheel has what appears to be either a leather or fiber base ring and NO tire. 2 What should I remove from each wheel (or don't remove anything excepty the one tire) and replace with new (crowned?) tires.
Push stick.....naaaah I don need no stinkin push stick....!!

 

[benmychree]

Some do, some don't.

 

[Currahee26]

Some do, some don't.

HMMM OK I.m leaning towards crowned the more I research. We're cutting metal and need a good track of the blade. Crowned seems tobe the preference for quality control of the blade. Thanks for your input.
dlb

 

[benmychree]

I think that is best, I have had saws with flat wheels and flat tires, but I think best is crowned, also for metal cutting, the guides are the most important part of the equation, they must fit well and not be worn and be adjusted with little clearance.

 

[mmcmdl]

I'm with John , go with crowned if possible . Looks like that blade is sharp enough to cut skin !

 

[Currahee26]

I'm with John , go with crowned if possible . Looks like that blade is sharp enough to cut skin !

Ok crowned it will be! And YES, 7 stitches later, I can confirm personally it is a sharp blade!!

Thanks so much for your input
dlb

 

[cathead]

I'm sorry you got injured but have to say the stitching job looks great.

My Walker-Turner band saw that had flat rubber tires on it. It's a 14 inch version I think.
If I remember correctly, I glued the rubber to the wheel so it would hold in place.
Anyhow, I machined the sides down to form a crown and it has been working
fine now for years. It was some sort of setup using the vertical mill and a die grinder to mill
off the unwanted material. I also have several 16 inch vertical band saws that I put urethane on
and that has been fine as well. Crowned tires keep the blade running on the top of the
tire smoothly and is a common practice.

 

[DavidR8]

I've owned three bandsaws and none had crowned tires. Had no issues with blade tracking using blade from 1/4 to 3/4 wide.

 

[Currahee26]

I'm sorry you got injured but have to say the stitching job looks great.

My Walker-Turner band saw that had flat rubber tires on it. It's a 14 inch version I think.
If I remember correctly, I glued the rubber to the wheel so it would hold in place.
Anyhow, I machined the sides down to form a crown and it has been working
fine now for years. It was some sort of setup using the vertical mill and a die grinder to mill
off the unwanted material. I also have several 16 inch vertical band saws that I put urethane on
and that has been fine as well. Crowned tires keep the blade running on the top of the
tire smoothly and is a common practice.

Our shop will be cutting stainless steel 3 " tubing for custom exhaust modifications. Gotta have smooth straight cuts so I'm very likely to go with crowned, although they are muchmore expensive than flat.
Thank yuou very much for your input and time. Hand cut wasn't too bad. Missed all the important stuff. Thanks
Dlb

 

[Currahee26]

I've owned three bandsaws and none had crowned tires. Had no issues with blade tracking using blade from 1/4 to 3/4 wide.

Good info to have. This Walker-Turner has seen some years, so Im not so sure the wheels are running true even with adjustments. Crowned will help with any (small) alignment issues I think.
Thanks for your info and time.
Dlb