Bandsaw - Height adjustment stiff?

[RobertMP]

The height adjustment knob on my Jet JWBS14 (?) seems to be getting stiffer and stiffer. Now I guess it should be reasonably tight to maintain a grip on the moving parts but it is getting to the point where turning by hand is getting very difficult. The locking screw is definitely not done up btw

The knob -

and inside -

I've tried cleaning the dust away and spraying with WD40 - which made it a little easier for a short while.

So do I dismantle the plastic lump that the column runs in? Or what?

 

[WellsWood]

Take it all apart and get the dust out. Once it's all nice and clean you'll be able to see if there's any additional problems which will show up as wear marks on the moving faces. If there's any alloy parts check them for "picking up" - it tends to produce little balls on the surface if the mating surface is rough or anything gets between - work it back to a smooth finish with wet and dry or similar.
Once you're satisfied evrything is as good as you can get lubricate it all with a dry luricant like spray silicone which won't attract and hold the dust like WD40 tends to.

 

[Peter T]

Probably no use whatsoever but.........................

My Basato 4 was the opposite, very sloppy and loose

I discovered that the slide, which is cunningly hidden away on mine, has some tensioning screws to take up any slop in the mechanism.

By adjusting these screws I was able to go from sloppy to overtight and back to acceptable.

Maybe yours has something similar that need to be backed off slightly

Good luck,

 

[Boz62]

Thankyou Peter T! Even if you haven't helped RobertMP you helped me .

Have just had a look at my Basato 3 and it has similar adjustment screws to your B4. Bit fiddly to get at with a side-driver but it's adjusted mine nicely

Boz

 

[RobertMP]

Thanks. I'll check if there are adjusters hidden away.

The square tube that it runs on is unmarked - no scratches or anything so the tension adjusters idea sounds a possibility.

I'm using the saw on and off lately so I'll take a closer look in a couple of days time.