Powerline/Burgess BK1 3 Wheel Bandsaw

[spiderlane]

So I picked up a Powerline BK1 bandsaw for £15 today and "Jimi43" of this parish very kindly offered his advice and time in tuning it up to work at it's best.

A few very enjoyable hours cleaning up and tuning it in Jim's Aladdin's Cave of a workshop and I've ended up with what I feel is going to be a fantastically versatile little saw.

We cleaned out the accumulated dirt, lubricated the thrust bearings, squared up the ends of the guides (which were in good condition), created a zero clearance insert and replaced the blade. A quick tune up of the guides and it ran really nicely. It came with a 1/2" blade which I think is a little thick for my needs but good enough to get used to the machine.

Even in my novice hands it creates very clean wonderful cuts and has no problem at all cutting at it's maximum depth. It sailed through Jim's piece of burr oak which was about 2 inches thick. At home it cuts very cleanly through maple and walnut (although much thinner at about 20mm). The attached pic shows a freehand rip I just made; OK it's only pine, but I cut it without a line (just eased it through the saw with almost no noticeable blade drift) and it came out great - it really is a very controllable machine and produces very good cuts.

The next step it to get in touch with Ian at Tuffsaws for some of his 1/4" blades which will allow tighter radii to be cut.

These things come up very cheaply it seems and I don't have the space for a larger bandsaw so I took a punt on it. I'm delighted and can see that it's going to get a lot of use.

Jim - thank you so much for your time and advice today.

Cheers
Mark

 

[jimi43]

Hi Mark

You are most welcome my friend.

You have one of the better ones there which hasn't been abused too much and should serve you well.

I think when you get those Tuffsaw blades the true usefulness of this tool will become immediately apparent and you will find those tight cuts will be a breeze at any thickness you can fit under it.

Also...for such a small saw with tiny footprint and total mobility, you will also find the extra width at the throat courtesy of the three wheel design comes in most handy on more than one occasion. I know some have problems with 3 wheel types in that blades tend to be more prone to snapping but I have not found this to be the case in all the time I have owned mine.

Maybe this is another benefit of the excellent blades from Tuff Saws. They are TUFFER! :mrgreen:

Pop in any time you are passing mate...

Glad you are happy with it.

Jimi

OH...and ALFIE says thanks for his chews!! He's missing you already! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[MIGNAL]

I've had two such Bandsaws, both a Burgess BK3 model. I ended up selling them due to the blades breaking frequently. I suspect that I would have a better experience of them now that I actually know a bit about setting up a Bandsaw.
The table on your Powerline appears to be better than the ribbed one on the BK3 and £15 is a bargain.

 

[jimi43]

Hi Mignal

With these small blades, I find that it is more critical to ensure that both sets of guides are adjusted correctly and snugged up to the stock you are cutting so that there is little play in the blade. The ZCI also assists in stiffness here.

I am still at a loss to understand why a 3 wheeler bandsaw would be more susceptible to blade breakage than a two-wheeled one. I understand that along with the configuration comes smaller wheels which have tighter radii but I don't have many breakages at all with mine...only ones which are caused by me going way over the limit of the saw.

With smaller power tools it is vital to know the limits and stay under them.

Jim

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I had a 3 wheel De Walt and I never had a blade break in over twenty years. People used to knock them, but I thought it was remarkable for the size.

 

[AndyT]

I'm still waiting to break my current Axi blades so I can get some Tuffsaws like everyone else - I think I'll just have to wear them out!

 

[MIGNAL]

Right! That's it! You've all convinced me to get my third example of this type of Bandsaw. If the blade breaks within the next 20 years I will be extremely angry.

 

[waveman2010]

As a first foray into bandsaws I bought a Clarke cheapy and after a few cuts I was convinced it was good for cutting firewood and not much else. But following a suggestion from the forum I chucked away the blade that came with it and had a couple sent over from tuffsaws, its made the saw into one of my used tools, best advice ever.

kevin

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Whatever the type of saw, from a scroll saw to a chain saw, they are pretty much as good as the blade that's fitted to them. A perfectly good saw with with a lousy blade doesn't perform much differently to a lousy saw with a lousy blade. Not a lot of people seem to realise that this is elementary, and your power tools will last a lot longer when they are not under the perpetual stress of running a blunt blade.

 

[xy mosian]

I have a Burgess BBS 20, what I believe to be, the first machine in this family. When I bought mine, and used it frequently, I had quite a number of blade breakages. The tool shop that supplied both the machine and the blades suggested that the breakages could well be down to the blades being joined poorly. In that sometimes the metal around the joint would be hardened and thuss brittle. I do recall that different batch numbers of the blades had different lifespans.
I am still using some of my later purchases, blades, and I look forward to using some from Tuff Saws. I would not expect the same problems from what I have read here.
xy

 

[mikejlock24]

can you help me with the setting up of my blade guides for a burgess powerline bk 1 band saw please

 

[AndyT]

This is a summary of what I do.

Unplug the saw.
Open the cover.
Loosen the blade guides above and below the table.
With the blade fitted and reasonably tight, turn the wheels by hand observing how the blade sits on the top wheel. Adjust the tracking knob so that it runs central (if narrow) or with the teeth clear of the wheel (if broad). Fully tighten the blade and re-check this.
Check that the blade is at right angles to the table both ways.
Bring the below-the-table roller up to just touch the back of the blade.
With the guard at full height set the upper rear bearing so it is just clear of the back of the blade. (It will touch and spin when there is a piece of wood presses against the blade.)
Adjust the side guides so that they are close to but not quite touching the blade and are behind the teeth.
Lower the guard and check that all the above still look ok.

Refit the cover, plug in and make some test cuts.

There are plenty of general bandsaw setup guides on YouTube which will be relevant to the little Burgess, but the design of the parts will differ.

 

[Dean23]

Hi there,

I have been using my BK1 for some time to cut tyre tread for a project. It has always worked well enough - perhaps surprisingly, I know, as its more often used for woodworking - but has now stopped cutting. Ive fitted a new blade and am really introducing the rubber slowly. Does anyone have any idea [A] if Ive somehow altered the tension on the wheels would this affect it? and if so, how? and /or if there is another tool more fitted to cutting this thick tread?

At the moment I am considering forking out for a new bandsaw as it worked well enough in the past.

Many thanks,
Dean

 

[AndyT]

Can you say a bit more about how it has stopped?
Does it run ok under no load?
Does it slow down and stop if you cut some wood with it?
Does it just not start when you turn it on?
With it unplugged and the cover open, can you pull it round by hand?
Do you hear the motor straining when you turn it on?

Etc!

As a general point, the original slider switch gave up on mine, so I replaced it. I also had to replace the starting capacitor.

 

[Darrenb]

I understand that this post is quite old.
However I have just brought one of these quite cheep and plan to overhaul.

I have noticed that there seems to be some play in the plastic bushes of the wheels has anyone ever replaced or upgraded to roller bearings?

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[AndyT]

Mine has slanting holes for oil on the plastic wheels. I turn them by hand until the hole is vertical then add a drop of oil to each one. I can imagine that if previous owners haven't done this there could be enough wear to allow a wobble.

 

[Darrenb]

Ah that’s probably the problem then. I’m having some slightly larger shafts made to take up the slack in the wheels. Hope that will fix the problems.

Thank you for your help.