First bandsaw questions

[Raif Harik]

Hi, not really my first bandsaw, but first one in 20 years.
I picked up a 1979 Rockwell 14" bandsaw the other day for $100. I put new wheels on ( just the rubber part not the whole wheel ) and cleaned up all the parts, put on a new blade and adjusted it. It seems to run pretty well. Doesn't have a whole lot of power from what I can tell. So I have some questions for the bandsaw owing turners out there.
a) re the power, the motor is a goo 25" away from the gear and the belt is ... idk, pretty floppy, not loose like it's slipping, just seems to have a lot of deflection. Would this effect the power? I'm not too worried about it, if I need more I can get a new motor I'm just wondering if the belt could be the problem.
b) would people say that getting a height extender is pretty important for wood turning purposes? e.g. cutting up logs so you can turn them easier.
c) what sort of blades should I order for the purposes of making jigs and cutting logs for turning? i.e. width and tooth count
d) I'm thinking of getting some of those new fangled blade guides. Either ceramic or the ball bearing type. The saw currently has the regular blocks with ball bearings behind the blade. The new systems are pretty expensive though, I wonder if they are really that important.
Thanks for the help!

 

[robo hippy]

I never was a fan of the riser blocks. Mostly because the motor is designed for cutting 6 inches high. If you add the riser block, then you should have at least a 1 hp motor. For blades, a 1/2 inch 3 tpi blade is fairly common, and you can cut 5 or so inch diameter circles with it. I use the Lennox blades, with bimetal teeth. They can be sharpened a couple of times before they are toast, and if you hit a nail, it barely slows them down. As for guides, I have one saw with the standard roller bearings, and one with ceramic guides. Don't really notice that one has any advantage over the other. My big saw with the ceramic bearings cuts 16 inches high, and I use it for slabbing bowl blanks. The smaller saw is for cutting circles. You can do a lot with a chainsaw, but you need to be able to use one safely. I don't like to buy commercial cut bowl blanks. They don't cut them up the way I would. The local club or clubs there can be a lot of help. Most have work parties for cutting up wood, and some times just sweat equity is enough if you don't have a chainsaw.

robo hippy

 

[Ron Solfest]

I agree with the advice Robo gave you. I had a Delta 14” saw for many years and liked the impregnated guides that you put right up touching the blade, much cheaper than other systems. I also put a riser block on it, but the saw really doesn’t have enough power to take advantage of it. The power issue you have is the motor, not the belt if it’s not slipping.

I now have an 18” with similar height capacity and a large motor, I still don’t use it to make things round very often - that’s what the lathe is for. I do cut corners off of blanks so I start with an ~ octagon on the lathe.

I also learned a lot from Mark Duginske’ Bandsaw Book

 

[Arthur McViccar]

Hi, not really my first bandsaw, but first one in 20 years.
I picked up a 1979 Rockwell 14" bandsaw the other day for $100. I put new wheels on ( just the rubber part not the whole wheel ) and cleaned up all the parts, put on a new blade and adjusted it. It seems to run pretty well. Doesn't have a whole lot of power from what I can tell. So I have some questions for the bandsaw owing turners out there.
a) re the power, the motor is a goo 25" away from the gear and the belt is ... idk, pretty floppy, not loose like it's slipping, just seems to have a lot of deflection. Would this effect the power? I'm not too worried about it, if I need more I can get a new motor I'm just wondering if the belt could be the problem.
b) would people say that getting a height extender is pretty important for wood turning purposes? e.g. cutting up logs so you can turn them easier.
c) what sort of blades should I order for the purposes of making jigs and cutting logs for turning? i.e. width and tooth count
d) I'm thinking of getting some of those new fangled blade guides. Either ceramic or the ball bearing type. The saw currently has the regular blocks with ball bearings behind the blade. The new systems are pretty expensive though, I wonder if they are really that important.
Thanks for the help!

I bought a Delta -I think they call it a 12" 30 years ago and have never been unhappy. I did buy the riser block when the saw was brand new and so I can't really speak to not having one. Seemed to me at the time that I "needed" it. About 20 years ago I upgraded from the 3/4 hp motor to 1 1/2hp and immediately was so happy I made that move. I concur with RoboHippy, although I buy a 3/8" width rather than a 1/2". I buy from that guy in FL because I like to support small business. Haven't even looked at the price anywhere else so I can't speak if they are competitively priced. I do sharpen them, generally once but I am always surprised at how nice a cut a new blade makes. I know there have been times in the last six months when I set aside a piece of wood aside knowing that I would be replacing the blade very soon and I would get a much better cut with the new blade. My saw has thrust bearing behind the blade and ceramic blocks on the sides. No real complaints there. Sorry I can't speak to the belt issue

 

[Arthur McViccar]

I never was a fan of the riser blocks. Mostly because the motor is designed for cutting 6 inches high. If you add the riser block, then you should have at least a 1 hp motor. For blades, a 1/2 inch 3 tpi blade is fairly common, and you can cut 5 or so inch diameter circles with it. I use the Lennox blades, with bimetal teeth. They can be sharpened a couple of times before they are toast, and if you hit a nail, it barely slows them down. As for guides, I have one saw with the standard roller bearings, and one with ceramic guides. Don't really notice that one has any advantage over the other. My big saw with the ceramic bearings cuts 16 inches high, and I use it for slabbing bowl blanks. The smaller saw is for cutting circles. You can do a lot with a chainsaw, but you need to be able to use one safely. I don't like to buy commercial cut bowl blanks. They don't cut them up the way I would. The local club or clubs there can be a lot of help. Most have work parties for cutting up wood, and some times just sweat equity is enough if you don't have a chainsaw.

robo hippy

wondering if you would elaborate on how and what you use to sharpen your blades. I am currently using the chainsaw sharpening stone that Dremel puts out in an air grinder. So the blades stays right on the saw and I sharpen it there. I just touch the stone to the tooth and move on to the next. Takes me about 20 minutes to sharpen a 105" long blade.

 

[Dave Landers]

I have a 14" Delta, have used it for like 35 years. For about 30 it was my only bandsaw.

a) re the power,
b) height extender

I upped the motor to 1 HP when I added the riser block to mine. I'm happy with that. Course that was back when you could get things like motors for reasonable prices.
Whether you need the riser really depends on the size of stuff you are turning. I'd probably wait and see

I'd say more important than the riser is to put an extension on the table - the table on these saws is too small to let you safely maneuver wet, heavy stock. Here's the one I built out of plywood and etc I had laying around - screws to the table and has a support leg. It really helps.

c) what sort of blades

For cutting wet stock (and assuming the motor can handle it) I like a 3- or 4- tooth, 3/8" blade. I use the Woodturners blade from Highland Woodworking and am pretty happy with them.

d) blade guides.

I had the roller bearing guides for a while. I recently gave up on them - they just seemed to gum up cutting wet wood. I went back to the original mounts with a previous set of guides I had laying around ... I think they were called "cool blocks" back in the day.

 

[Dean Center]

You got a good deal on a nice utility bandsaw. And you're thinking about turning it into a high powered 16" Euro style saw. Understandable, but I suggest you use what you have for a while, see how YOU are going to use it, and then decide. Some turners use their bandsaw to make large, round bowl blanks, and some don't. Maybe doing the power and height upgrades will make sense. Maybe you discover it's fine for what you need just as it is. Or maybe you decide you really need a saw that was designed to be big and powerful from the factory.

BTW, 3tpi blade, from Highland or Timberwolf.

 

[robo hippy]

I am lucky to have a saw service that will sharpen and set the teeth for my blades. My big blades, 150 inch, with teeth at 3/4 inch apart cost about $9 each last time I took them in. They would also sharpen my 96 inch blades, 3 tpi, but I don't remember the cost. If you have a local blade maker, they may be able to sharpen them and reset the teeth, or know who could. Some brand blades are designed to use till dull and then recycle them. Never could get behind that. That is why I use the Lennox bimetal blades. They cut longer and straighter, and can be resharpened a couple of times before recycling. I don't think resetting the teeth is necessary, unless you have a bandsaw mill. I do think most of those people use the bimetal blades as well. I never investigated the rotary bits for sharpening when my saw shop did such a great job. They do cut like 'new' when I get them back.

robo hippy

 

[John Hicks]

Height and horsepower! Weight is also good

 

[Peter D'Attomo]

I also had a late 70's Delta 14". Had a 1hp motor and added a riser block. Had no trouble cutting blanks. Table is small and could use an extension as Dave describes. I used blades from Mcmaster-Carr and was very happy. I'm now in a woodworking club that has 6 bandsaws and I'm in hog heaven.
PS riser blocks are hard to come by.

 

[robo hippy]

Tables for just about all bandsaws need extensions, on both sides of the blade and on the ends as well..... Most of the time, they are not sold to woodturners, though every wood turner has at least one.

robo hippy

 

[Raif Harik]

This is all really great information. Ultimately I need to take Dean's advice first. I tend to live in my head and like to plan and design etc regardless of how I will ultimately use something. I've been getting by fine with a chainsaw and rounding with the lathe. But at $100 ( down, cuz you always gotta upgrade. Dang I did it again ) I couldn't resist. So no risers or motor or fancy guide till I can prove I'm actually going to use the dang thing and how.
I think the first upgrade probably will be a table extension. It will be, relatively, free and makes good sense. I suspect the motor will prove to be too weak as it kind of struggles with flat stock it seems. But we'll see. And advice about the belts all makes good sense. My thinking is, why by blades when you are gonna need the risers. There is a local member who gets a bulk discount on blades, and thought oh no! what length do I get . I'll just go with the 93s for now and see how it goes.
Thanks you all, as usual for the great advice.
Raif