I have the Grizzly G0555 bandsaw and I'm trying to tension a 1/2"
timberwolf blade. It seems that no matter how high I crank the
tension, the blade still flutters a little bit. Is this OK? It seems
like it should run perfectly straight, but I can't seem to get it.
Has anyone else seen this, or is there more that I can do?
Thanks,
Tom
In rec.woodworking
"Mike in Idaho" <[email protected]> wrote:
>quoted the blade size to be 92 1/2". Now it says 93 1/2". I went to my
>local Woodcraft to buy a Timberwolf 93 1/2" blade and it was too big. No
>matter how I cranked the tension down the blade didn't even sit against the
>wheel.
I hope you realize that you can loosen the large donut on the tension shaft
and adjust it up or down to fit the blade? I had to do this after
installing my riser kit. I'll bet you could have made it work.
To the main question, I have no trouble tensioning a 1/2" blade and even
tensioned a .032 3/4" blade but it was nearly bottomed out. I do plan on
getting a heavier spring.
I wonder if the original poster understands what flutter looks like. Have
the blade well illuminated and it will be fluttering a blurry fat black
line. As you tighten, this line will thin and then noticeably stop and
become like a pencil line. Now when the weld goes by, you're going to see
that. That is not what they are talking about. It took me a while to get
this.
I use the King Koil aftermarket spring from Woodcraft. Does anyone have an
opinion on which might be better, the Iturra Designs or the King Koil?
Kevin B.
"Tom Wojeck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have the Grizzly G0555 bandsaw and I'm trying to tension a 1/2"
> timberwolf blade. It seems that no matter how high I crank the
> tension, the blade still flutters a little bit. Is this OK? It seems
> like it should run perfectly straight, but I can't seem to get it.
>
> Has anyone else seen this, or is there more that I can do?
>
> Thanks,
> Tom
Tom -
The first thing I did, at the advice of the wreck, was to buy a new spring
from Iturra Designs ( around $15 ). Have no problems since. I'm using the
105" blades with the riser kit. I have a 3/4" blade and I'll admit that one
is a bear to tension but since I don't need to use it very often it's not a
problem. Don't have it handy but do a google search on Iturra designs - call
them and ask for a catalog - in addition to some fine stuff for bandsaws,
there is a lot of great info on tensioning, maintaining, etc.
HTH,
Vic
"Tom Wojeck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have the Grizzly G0555 bandsaw and I'm trying to tension a 1/2"
> timberwolf blade. It seems that no matter how high I crank the
> tension, the blade still flutters a little bit. Is this OK? It seems
> like it should run perfectly straight, but I can't seem to get it.
>
> Has anyone else seen this, or is there more that I can do?
>
> Thanks,
> Tom
Vic,
Is it difficult to put the new spring in? It seems like you need to move
the tensioning rod and then replace it. Is this pretty intuitive?
Thanks,
Tom
"Vic Baron" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Tom -
>
> The first thing I did, at the advice of the wreck, was to buy a new spring
> from Iturra Designs ( around $15 ). Have no problems since. I'm using the
> 105" blades with the riser kit. I have a 3/4" blade and I'll admit that
one
> is a bear to tension but since I don't need to use it very often it's not
a
> problem. Don't have it handy but do a google search on Iturra designs -
call
> them and ask for a catalog - in addition to some fine stuff for bandsaws,
> there is a lot of great info on tensioning, maintaining, etc.
>
> HTH,
>
> Vic
>
> "Tom Wojeck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I have the Grizzly G0555 bandsaw and I'm trying to tension a 1/2"
> > timberwolf blade. It seems that no matter how high I crank the
> > tension, the blade still flutters a little bit. Is this OK? It seems
> > like it should run perfectly straight, but I can't seem to get it.
> >
> > Has anyone else seen this, or is there more that I can do?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Tom
>
>
Tom Wojeck wrote:
> Vic,
>
> Is it difficult to put the new spring in? It seems like you need to
> move the tensioning rod and then replace it. Is this pretty
> intuitive?
I don't know about hte Grizzly, but on the Jet it is a 5 minute job. While
you are looking at replacing the spring, consider getting a Quick Crank
also. Makes tensioning easier and faster that trying to turn the little
know on most saws. I paid about $30 for it and I'm happy to h ave it.
Makes taking tension off for periods of non-use easy. I take off five turn
so when I want to use the saw again a week later, five turn puts me right
back where I was fo rthat blade. --
Ed
[email protected]
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome
Tom,
I also have the G0555 and I swear that when I initially looked at the web
page (drooling after it week by week until I purchased it) that it initially
quoted the blade size to be 92 1/2". Now it says 93 1/2". I went to my
local Woodcraft to buy a Timberwolf 93 1/2" blade and it was too big. No
matter how I cranked the tension down the blade didn't even sit against the
wheel. I measured the blade that came with my BS against the one I
purchased and sure enough it was 92 1/2" long. So I took the new one back
and ordered 2 custom lengths (1/4"and 1/2") from Suffolk Machinery directly
and they fit. I will admit that the 1/2" (I haven't tried the 1/4" yet) was
pretty tight just trying to get it on the wheels -- not sure if that's
because the blade is stiff anyway due to it's thickness or it might have
been made a shy short (maybe 92 1/4" or 92 3/8"). I might request a 92 3/4"
next time.
Anyway, once installed it worked like a charm (I love that saw -- what a
performer!!).
Good Luck,
Mike
"Tom Wojeck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have the Grizzly G0555 bandsaw and I'm trying to tension a 1/2"
> timberwolf blade. It seems that no matter how high I crank the
> tension, the blade still flutters a little bit. Is this OK? It seems
> like it should run perfectly straight, but I can't seem to get it.
>
> Has anyone else seen this, or is there more that I can do?
>
> Thanks,
> Tom
Bruce and everyone,
The weld might be part of the problem.
My biggest issue is not knowing exactly what to look for. I read a bunch of
articles, but never really saw it. I think as I was working with the saw
tonight I finally got it tensioned correctly.
I do think that the weld may have been throwing me off as well. As it goes
by my line of sight, it might look a bit look a bit like flutter.
Thanks for your input,
Tom
"Bruce" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In rec.woodworking
> "Mike in Idaho" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >quoted the blade size to be 92 1/2". Now it says 93 1/2". I went to my
> >local Woodcraft to buy a Timberwolf 93 1/2" blade and it was too big. No
> >matter how I cranked the tension down the blade didn't even sit against
the
> >wheel.
>
> I hope you realize that you can loosen the large donut on the tension
shaft
> and adjust it up or down to fit the blade? I had to do this after
> installing my riser kit. I'll bet you could have made it work.
>
> To the main question, I have no trouble tensioning a 1/2" blade and even
> tensioned a .032 3/4" blade but it was nearly bottomed out. I do plan on
> getting a heavier spring.
>
> I wonder if the original poster understands what flutter looks like. Have
> the blade well illuminated and it will be fluttering a blurry fat black
> line. As you tighten, this line will thin and then noticeably stop and
> become like a pencil line. Now when the weld goes by, you're going to see
> that. That is not what they are talking about. It took me a while to get
> this.
>
Tom,
After heading the great advice everyone else has given (correct blade,
new spring (perhaps), etc. you might want to try my method of
tensioning the blade. Flutter isn't the most exact way to tension, as
you experienced. Some people pluck the blade and listen for a musical
"note". Well, some people are musically inclined and some are just
tone deaf. What I do instead is listen for a certain "quality" while
plucking the blade and tensioning. First, I set back the guide blocks.
As I tension the blade it goes from a sort of loose "twang" to a nice
tight "ping". When it reaches this point I give the tension knob a
quarter to half turn and that's it. Try this and see if it works for
you. In the beginning you may have to tighten and loosen the blade to
distinguish the transition from loose "twang" to a nice tight "ping",
but once you get the hang of it it's simple and fast.
Hope this helps,
Layne
On 17 Feb 2004 09:07:51 -0800, [email protected] (Tom Wojeck)
wrote:
>I have the Grizzly G0555 bandsaw and I'm trying to tension a 1/2"
>timberwolf blade. It seems that no matter how high I crank the
>tension, the blade still flutters a little bit. Is this OK? It seems
>like it should run perfectly straight, but I can't seem to get it.
>
>Has anyone else seen this, or is there more that I can do?
>
>Thanks,
>Tom
Typical of MOST cheap bandsaws, they cannot pruduce a lot of tension
Get the Ittura Design extra strength spring so you can properly
tension your blade
John
On 17 Feb 2004 09:07:51 -0800, [email protected] (Tom Wojeck)
wrote:
>I have the Grizzly G0555 bandsaw and I'm trying to tension a 1/2"
>timberwolf blade. It seems that no matter how high I crank the
>tension, the blade still flutters a little bit. Is this OK? It seems
>like it should run perfectly straight, but I can't seem to get it.
>
>Has anyone else seen this, or is there more that I can do?
>
>Thanks,
>Tom