Dewalt DW 3401 Advice

[Dajoca]

Hi. I have just had a good look at the bandsaw and while it seems to run okay, I have a few questions.
The wheels are unfortunately plastic (I couldn't find that out before buying).

Given that the saw was made in 1989 and they've lasted this long, is this likely to be a problem.

The wheels do not appear to have tyres on them and not having seen plastic wheels before, I don't know if this is correct.

The top wheel has damage? around the bearing, whereas the bottom wheel has a raised housing protecting it.

View attachment Bottom wheel bearing.jpg
The wheels do not seem to have the curved profile I was expecting from watching Alex Snodgrass video's, but in the first photo you can see that they each have a groove cut around the centre of the wheel.

How should the blade sit on these wheels.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[flh801978]

I have recently sold a similar one and i’m Sure that they had bonded tyres on...i have another model that i’ll Pull out in the morning and have a look
Many bandsaws have flat rims rather than crowned
The cut around your circumference is where the blade teeth have run...nothing wrong with that
Anyway i’ll Report back tommorow

Ian

 

[tony_s]

Are you sure a manufacture date of 1989 is correct?
I purchased my elu 3401 new in 1998 and I assumed that it was around this time that elu was taken over and the rebranding took place.
The wheels in the elu are alloy with plastic or hard rubber tyres.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Sounds about right to me. I bought one about the same time. The plastic wheels lasted about an hour before the bearing housing started to split. The replacement did the same. They had only just started to use plastic, before that the wheels were alloy. I complained and complained and eventually they sent me an alloy pair. That saw is still going strong today.
I'm pretty sure that mine had tyres on it.

 

[flh801978]

I've fished out my other dewalt bandsaw and it certainly seems that theres very hard rubber bonded onto the plastic wheels

Ian

 

[Lons]

I bought mine new about 1990 ( a DW3501, only difference was variable speed ), it had plastic wheels with a hard rubber bonded and I used it regularly until I bought a Startrite about 3 years ago.
It never let me down with no damage to the wheels and as far as I know it's still going strong today used by its new owner.

 

[Dajoca]

Thank you all for the replies.

FLH or Lons.

I'm hoping then, that my first photo shows that it is the bonded rubber edge with the groove cut in it
Could you tell me where the blade aligned on the top wheel on your models, as the video I saw, said the gullet should be at the center of the wheel.
If I do that, I'm thinking that the teeth will rapidly eat the hard rubber, so it may be more correct for the set of the teeth to be off the edge.

Many thanks again.

 

[flh801978]

The teeth won't eat the rubber at all as the wheel is moving with the blade and teeth
After much use you will get the line you have in your picture but that's nothing to worry about

Ian

 

[Lons]

The damage to the top wheel is strange, I can't think of a reason why that should happen unless someone had been extremely careless with a wrench. I don't think you can overtighten the nut as it seats on the metal wheel shaft.

I always centred my blades as a matter of course, didn't think about it too much tbh and didn't have problems apart from the odd breakage but I'm pretty certain that was the quality of the welds.