Ok so I was going through some old files and found something I typed up w/ a few pics to post last year and never did
So here it is as originally written sometime in early fall 2020.....
So at the beginning of the year I got a hold of a DeWalt portable Band Saw for the best possible price of free. It runs fine, its just really gunked up.
Well that was then and this saw has sat on my shelf until a couple weeks ago when I finally decided to work on it.
Replacing tires is a straightforward process on most band saws...basically removing the Hub from its axle, rolling the old tire off the hub and putting the new one on, then reassembling the whole thing.
In the case of this one I have to get the remains of the old tires off. This was more of a nuisance since the old tires had been melted by some sort of solvent into a mess more consistent with asphalt or roofing tar than rubber. Ultimately I ended up scraping it with tongue depressors and square dowel that was size the same as the teeth on the hubs, followed by a scrub with Dawn dish liquid on a toothbrush. I also had to remove the blade guides & rollers and scrub them up the same way.
On the idle side removal and reassembly of the Hub is fairly simple being it's only held on by a single bolt & double washer. I also took this is an opportunity to put some white lithium grease in the tensioner assembly behind it as well as the bearings inside of the hub.
The drive side is a little trickier. The hub is held on the axel with the single bolt same as the idle side but with an additional three bolts holding the drive gear to the back of the hub. The real problem comes in reassembling the drive side. The center hole the drive sprocket is the same size as the shaft on the back of the Hub that holds the bearings and slides over the axle. This means that in addition to being aligned properly you also have to be able to tension the chain at the same time.
Here's my trick:
Rotate the drive sprocket so that one of the three mounting holes is directly opposite and in the farthest position away from the motor output gear.
Thread a length of twine through this hole with a long enough tail that you can hang both ends outside the machine and get a good grip on them.
Now when you press the Hub on you can pull on the twine to both tighten the chain and wiggle the sprocket with one hand while giving the hub a jiggle with the other and they should slip together.
After this is a simple matter of just pulling the twine out and turning the Hub till the bolt holes align.
That's it. The saw is fixed aside from still needing to get a new blade.... which I will probably wait to use my Black Friday coupons at the local hardware store.
Ps
It is now 2021, the saw runs and cuts fine.
Donations
Community Links
