question on how to cure minimax s45n blade drift

[Valhalla]

Hi,

I have identified some drift in my bandsaw blade. I've seen the solution whereby the guide is skewed slightly to bring the fence parallel with the blade, but this knocks out the alignment with the slide groove on the table top. The alignment between the fence and the groove is spot-on on my saw.

I saw a video that just aligned the blade closer to the centre of the wheel to adjust the drift. As the drift on my machine pushes the teeth of the blade towards the fence and my saw has a crowned wheel this made some sense. This keeps everything else in alignment as it should be without having to remember to change angles depending on what you're doing.

My question is that if the teeth of the blade rest on the wheel rubber will this damage the rubbers as the manual states that teeth should overhang the front of the wheel by a small amount?

Cheers

 

[Sideways]

Search for my own (long) recent thread about the minimax s45 in the Projects subforum
For some reason I can't simply copy and paste a link here.

Overhauling an older s45 makes me think :
1. Your bandsaw tyres are likely to be gently curved ("crowned") not flat.
2. Because of this, you shouldn't be tracking the teeth off the front edge of the blade. That method is correct for flat tyred bandsaws but the s45 my friend and I worked on did not have flat tyres.
3. The condition of the blade matters. A worn out blade can cause problems.

Whatever you do, the guides should not be used to fix the problem. A correctly setup saw will make a good cut with no guides at all.

 

[Richard_C]

Have you tried it with a different blade?

I don't have that model/make but when I set my machine up, about a year ago now, I managed to get much of it wrong including at one point the guides too far forward. I am pretty certain I upset the kerf on one side trying to get it to track properly by tweaking the guides, maybe only marginally, but that blade now drifts no matter what I do. I only keep it to remind myself of my own early days stupidity, its on the same hook on the wall as my see through elm platter (yes, I can hollow a bit deeper ....oh, chuck jaws....)

I agree with Sideways above, with a sharp blade and the right tension and feed the work carefullly and not too fast, the guides rarely contact the blade.

 

[TRITON]

Have you used the blade to cut curves, as any blade once used to cut curves will then have a tendency to drift*
So i try to use some blades only for ripping, and some blades only for cutting curves.

Currently, my bandsaw is set up with the entire upper guide system removed. It comes straight off the wheel. I did this because the 10" saw only has a max cut depth of 120mm, and i had 160mm depth of maple i needed to split(It increased it from 120mm to 167mm.) That was with a new ripping blade 3tpi i think. I didnt have any problems with drift or wander. It cut straight as a die using the fence.
In the past blades that Ive used both to rip and cut curves have a tendency to want to drift, and its easier not to use the fence but to guide by hand/eye with the timber set offset to the fence when trying to rip with them.

*At least this is what I've heard.Experience bears this out.

 

[Valhalla]

Search for my own (long) recent thread about the minimax s45 in the Projects subforum
For some reason I can't simply copy and paste a link here.

Overhauling an older s45 makes me think :
1. Your bandsaw tyres are likely to be gently curved ("crowned") not flat.
2. Because of this, you shouldn't be tracking the teeth off the front edge of the blade. That method is correct for flat tyred bandsaws but the s45 my friend and I worked on did not have flat tyres.
3. The condition of the blade matters. A worn out blade can cause problems.

Whatever you do, the guides should not be used to fix the problem. A correctly setup saw will make a good cut with no guides at all.

Thanks Sideways. The following applies to my situation:
1) Yes, I have a crowned wheels
2) The manual I have (it came with the bandsaw - purchased new) clearly shows the blade overhanging the wheel and makes no mention of this method only being applicable to wheels with flat tyres - but I will double check the manual. I have tried tracking the blade to the centre of the tyre and this did make a very small difference, but didn't completely solve the problem.
3) It's a new blade ( SuperTuff Premium blade from tuffsaw)
4) The guides don't touch the blade at all

Success! Adjusting the lower wheel did the trick. However, I can't get the blade overhang the same on each wheel whilst maintaining the vertical aspect of the blade at 90deg to the table....so the blade overhangs the lower wheel by about 1/4" more than the upper wheel.

 

[Ttrees]

Moving the shaft northwards will make the blade track towards the rear of the wheel.
I'd also make sure that both wheels are in alignment whilst your doing this.

All these things are made easy with a straight edge and a block taped on,
You might be able to get a good level to do both jobs, but if ya don't...

Adjustments done under suitable blade tension, so the top wheel doesn't move about.
You can't clamp the straight edge onto the wheels, as the blade needs to track into it's new position, anything changes everything, so a rinse and repeat kinda thing.

And then checking the east west

Something like that, but maybe you could do it with a laser instead?
Once tracked and running nicely, then adjust the table to suit the blade.

Belt tension should be loose whilst adjusting and checking, take figures beforehand might be worth seeing.
Just incase you happen to fit a new belt aswell, I suggest not to..
as the one you have maybe stretched, yet still the same size as a new one,
which may be too small, and happened to be the right size when worn!!!

Hopefully both wheels align and also the motor pulley.
If you can't get the blade to track where you want afterwards, then the tires likely need a dressing.

All the best

Tom

 

[Andrewy]

What age is your saw ? mine is 2019 and flat tyres. Blade sits right at the edge of the top wheel but at least 1/4" over on the bottom like yours. I have a mind to adjust the bottom wheel but it is cutting fine... the old if it ain't broke...

 

[Valhalla]

What age is your saw ? mine is 2019 and flat tyres. Blade sits right at the edge of the top wheel but at least 1/4" over on the bottom like yours. I have a mind to adjust the bottom wheel but it is cutting fine... the old if it ain't broke...

Well, I was looking at the identification plate (as you do) and it had 2012 as the year of manufacture.......and I knew I hadn't had it for 10yrs so I rooted out the sales invoice and lo and behold......I bought it in 2015....
I was wet behind the ears back then as far as woodworking goes so I didn't notice this anomaly......so I think I got mugged. Nowadays I would not be buying a 3yr old machine as brand new.......robbing b'stards

The tyres are crowned. I am inclined to leave the wheel alignment as it is as the blade is 90deg to the table. This might be a problem on narrower blades and if it is I'll do something about it. At the moment tho' I'm using a 20mm blade.

@Ttrees I need a few mins to digest your post.....thanks