WWA Info Exchange

I got a problem I haven't been able to fix so far.

The upper wheel on my '84 Rockwell (Delta) band saw (14") has a wobble. I have finally started to try to fix it.

At the Atlanta woodworking show I asked the guy at the PS Wood Machines booth why I have so much trouble adjusting the tension on my Timber Wolf blades. He asked if the saw has a vibration...

So that finally got me to try again to fix it.. The upper wheel has a vibration. I greased all the bearings except the about the new bearings-about three years old- on the upper wheel. I replaced those because the only symptom that penetrated my skull at that time was the noise it made so I figured what the heck it works fine.

The only potential source of movement I can find is where the upper wheel shaft attaches to the upper wheel shaft hinge. It is loose in there. It wobbles side to side and forward and backward. I don't see any way to tighten it. Is this normal or should I replace those two items? Is there any other part that can cause this problem.

Thanks,
Richard

I would hazard to guess that the bearings are worn, OR the shaft is worn because of frozen bearing and is turning inside the bearing.

Wayne

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The saw tracks by tilting the upper wheel, so it must have some play when unloaded. If you tension the blade to at least 1/4" mark and still have movement, you may need to work on it. There's circlips and a bunch of spacers you should look to first. If you don't have the proper manual, try http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgIndex/de ... 1141&tab=3 and pick the oldest appropriate Delta 28-2XX. Things haven't changed much. Biggest is the hinges on the doors!

If by vibration you mean that sort of throbbing background noise you get when running with a blade but no load, try a belt first. Love the linkbelt on mine.

Bad bearings squeal, rumble, or seize. Noise is involved, not just motion.

There is more. I was so wrapped up in the wheel vibration that I didn't think about this a little more. Actually I think I have a wobble in my brain. This is what I should have written.

The wobble I referred to is more of a vibration than a violent shaking of the machine. I can see the upper wheel vibrate. Also it makes a scraping noise when it runs- rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. It's been doing this for a long time.

There is plenty of room between the upper wheel and the top cover of the machine. I can't see any place where the wheel is touching anything.

So far I have
gotten a link belt (the bandsaw runs quiet without a blade).

aligned the pulleys.

greased all but the upper wheel bearings. Those are fairly new and were pressed into the wheel at the Delta service center.

made sure the upper and lower wheels are aligned.

I have been thinking about removing the top cover again and this time run the saw without it to see what the cover contributes to the noise.

Richard

Scraping noise? PLEASE tell me you've checked that the blade guard isn't rubbing the rim of the upper wheel.

Check your static balance on the upper wheel by removing the blade, spinning, and marking the low spot for a half dozen times. You'll probably see what they did to balance at the factory. If you have to, remove a bit of metal. Or, if it's merely annoying, and the saw tracks and cuts, let it be.

If you have fluorescent lights in the shop you'll get some stroboscopic effect with the spokes that can fool the eye, but affects nothing else.

It is mostly quiet with a small level of noise now. The blade vibrates within the blade guard on the left side. However it does not scrape against it. It is hard to tension the TW blade with a little machine vibration making it flutter. Just how smooth and quietly should this thing run? With no blade the motor and lower wheel run almost silently.

Nothing is touching. I can't see any place that is close enough for something to scrape.*

It seems to help some if I don't tighten the upper wheel shaft nut as hard one would tighten any other nut. Enough that the wheel does not move on the shaft. If this does help I have plenty of thread lock.

I am thinking of getting another set of upper wheel bearings just to eliminate that as a source of problems.

I have had this thing for 27 years and it's American made back when companies cared about quality. In that time I have had the wheels off a few times. I don't get to do a lot of woodworking and the saw is no way worn out. By now the original motor bushings are gone and I use hardware store bushings. The center part of the bearings, the part the shaft rides on, stands a little proud of the rotating part so I doubt if it is scraping there. I am not sure if I can find any more the exact size of the shaft. I'll ask when I get new bearings.

*I worked in a chemistry lab for 33 years. I don't know how many times I have called tech support for one of my expensive machines and said "everything is perfect but the @#$** thing won't work right".

Richard

Ya' know, I've had the same problem with hammers and thumbs.

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Nothing is touching.

Including all the blade guides, upper and lower?
And the thrust bearing?

Back all of them well away from the blade to see if they may be the cause.

Does another blade cause the same noise/vibration?

_________________
~Dan.

When I ask for advice I shouldn't ignore the help and suggestions I get.

I went ahead and got new bearings for the upper wheel and changed the way I was using the spacers behind the bearings.

I also took a good look (well, feel) at the two blades I was using while trying to troubleshoot all the noise. Both of them had little "bumps" that stuck out and could have caused some of the noise I was hearing.

Now it is a lot quieter and doesn't make any scraping noise. Quiet is a relative term. I haven't heard another bandsaw operate in a long time and I don't remember how they sounded. I am sure it isn't realistic to expect a bandsaw to make *no* whirring, rrrring sound when it runs.

So how did I fix this thing? Everything I did helped. I never saw anything that I could say "this is the problem".

Thanks for the advice I have been given.

Richard