I adopted an orphan SCMI bandsaw last weekend. It is a SC600, vintage
1989, weighs 700# and fit under my garage door fram by less than 1/2
inch. It turns out to work well, though it needs a new 3 phase magnetic
starter (anyone have one to sell?) and new tires and blades. It has nice
guides, especially compared to my 14" POJ Walker-Turner.
The 600 in the name I presume is the size; 600 mm translates to about 24
inches, though it measures out to 23", (I'll have to check that). One
quote for tires concluded with "you'll have to grind them to a dome"
which I have seen other places.
However, it is hard for me to imagine that the folks buying the 14"
urethane tires are all grinding them to a dome... Don't these hi-tech
beauties come pre-domed? I believe that I can get urethane tires to
fit, especially if I'm wrong and the wheels are close to 24".
What's the consensus? Is grinding only for old-fashioned wheels? Will I
be able to install the urethane tires myself without grinding? The
place that recommended grinding offers a service to mount tires and
grind them, but that would mean shipping my wheels, plus a price of $50
a piece.
Thanks!
Merle
Greetings and Salutations...
On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 16:41:17 -0500, Merle <[email protected]>
wrote:
>I adopted an orphan SCMI bandsaw last weekend. It is a SC600, vintage
>1989, weighs 700# and fit under my garage door fram by less than 1/2
>inch. It turns out to work well, though it needs a new 3 phase magnetic
>starter (anyone have one to sell?) and new tires and blades. It has nice
>guides, especially compared to my 14" POJ Walker-Turner.
>
>The 600 in the name I presume is the size; 600 mm translates to about 24
>inches, though it measures out to 23", (I'll have to check that). One
>quote for tires concluded with "you'll have to grind them to a dome"
>which I have seen other places.
>
Yep... by doming the tires a bit, the blades will track a LOT
better..which becomes more important for a bigger saw like this.
>However, it is hard for me to imagine that the folks buying the 14"
>urethane tires are all grinding them to a dome... Don't these hi-tech
>beauties come pre-domed? I believe that I can get urethane tires to
>fit, especially if I'm wrong and the wheels are close to 24".
>
Well, it depends on the saw. It happens that my Delta 14"
does not need to have the tires ground. it has little rims on the
wheels and some "built in" dome that shapes the tire well enough.
>What's the consensus? Is grinding only for old-fashioned wheels? Will I
>be able to install the urethane tires myself without grinding? The
>place that recommended grinding offers a service to mount tires and
>grind them, but that would mean shipping my wheels, plus a price of $50
>a piece.
>
>Thanks!
>
>Merle
Well, it depends on how "handy" you are.
Some wheels have grooves down the center, which match
a rib in the center of the tire...these are pretty easy to mount
and glue.
If the wheel is flat, then, you will have to work the tire on,
get it flat, then, carefully work some contact cement under
it to hold it in place before shaping it. You really need
to "roll" a length of broomstick under the tire, to even out
tensions before gluing.
There was a good article in Fine Woodworking (I think) a few
years ago about making up a jig to hold a die grinder to trim the
tires. Basically, it is a pivoting arm that gets clamped to the frame
of the saw, so a straight cutter chucked in the die grinder will cut
a 1 or 2 degree slope about 1/3 up the width of the tire. Use light
cuts and a couple or three passes to cut the ramp, and, it should
be fine. The jig does not have to be complicated...just something
to hold the grinder at the same angle all the time as the tire is
ground.
It is not backbreaking work...just kind of finicky, and can
be a good way to burn a weekend (or at least a Saturday).
Which is more important to you...the $150 or so that shipping
and mounting will cost or five or six hours of time spent on a
project?