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Michael Scussel

M

Michael Scussel

Joined
Dec 10, 2025
Messages
2
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Location
Phoenix, AZ
Good afternoon, I first started turning when I was about 11 or 12 on my grandfathers wood lathe in the mid 70s. It was a really old lathe that had a washing machine motor running it. Started out turning billy clubs. Had maybe 3 or 4 tools. Never sharpened them because i didnt know I had to and had no supervision. Just jumped in, probably turned a half dozen clubs before I gave up. Move ahead about 25 years, my wife and I moved to Az from Connecticut and bought a house. I wNted a shop and she wanted a pool. We got both. My first purchase was a Vicmarc 200 and a laguna 16" bandsaw. Took my old chainsaw and started the hunt for wood. Came home with mes17722320936266332494076546429125.jpg17722321929831542005299341767078.jpgquite, some acacia, olive and others that I know not there species. Most of it was freshly felled and I went about my turning of bowls with a big toothy grin on my face. It was awesome after so many years without a shop. Only thing was I smoked my bandsaw tires and it sat for another 25 years in my shop idle. Everytime i tried to fix it with urethane tires I could not get the blade to track and started messing with the lower wheel until I threw up my hands in disgust. So about 5 months ago I went into my shop and reorganized it and proceeded to get to the bottom of the issue with my saw. I had new carter bandsaw tires and after getting on this site and reading what you all had to say I was able to actually cut some small blanks with it. I wS ecstatic as I was thi king about selling or calling a repait service to fix it. Well after a couple of weeks the tires came off and that sucked. A little more research and I decided to get some crowned urethane tires from band saw tire ware house and i have glued them on. Waiting for it to dry as I write this. So I really enjoy turning bowls and general woodworking. 65 yo and now that I have my shop layed out what I think is pretty good I am ready to get busy. I have lots of questions and look foward to the discussions.
 
Michael Scussel said:
Only thing was I smoked my bandsaw tires and it sat for another 25 years in my shop idle. Everytime i tried to fix it with urethane tires I could not get the blade to track and started messing with the lower wheel until I threw up my hands in disgust. So about 5 months ago I went into my shop and reorganized it and proceeded to get to the bottom of the issue with my saw. I had new carter bandsaw tires and after getting on this site and reading what you all had to say I was able to actually cut some small blanks with it. I wS ecstatic as I was thi king about selling or calling a repait service to fix it. Well after a couple of weeks the tires came off and that sucked. A little more research and I decided to get some crowned urethane tires from band saw tire ware house and i have glued them on. Waiting for it to dry as I write this.
Click to expand...

Looks like you have a well equiped shop! And is that a cat door? Since slowing down a bit I haven't used any of the flat-wood tools for years, except for the drum sander. I'd be happy with just a couple of lathes, bandsw, grinders, drill press, and electric chain saw. (Of course I'd have to keep the little welding shop, the mini machine shop, and the shop computer and piano. Good clean fun!)

Glad your bandsaw is getting into shape! Couldn't get by without mine.

When the stock tires on my 18" Rikon wore out I replaced them with the orange Sulphur Grove urethane tires. The wheels of the Rikon are crowned so using their "flat" tires transfers the crown needed to keep the blade to tracking properly in the center of the wheel. For bandsaws with flat wheels they also offer crowned tires. I find aligning bandsaws so the two wheels are in the same plane is important. Even more important is the proper tension!

One thing about gluing on tires: some people have reported that the glue they used caused unevenness and vibration in use. The original tires that came on my Rikon had been glued on so I removed the glue with a wire brush and solvant, then sanded the metal smooth. The Sulphur Grove tires are held only by tension- no glue was needed or recommended. (They wern't all that easy to install but there are some tricks.)

The crowned SG urethane tires have been working fine in the 10 years or so since I replaced them (far longer than the original cheap Rikon tires). I mostly cut green log sections into turning blanks to dry, many 100s, probably 1000s. I mostly use inexpensive 1/2" 3tpi blades and sharpen them several times before replacing. I almost always turn dry wood so I track the drying by weight. Some blanks take years to dry!

If interested, for a covid-era zoom demo I made a video on how I cut log sections into turning blanks. It's long (about 45 minute) but I needed to fill the demo time and wanted to include the things I think are important for safety. I've posted the video elsewhere on this forum but here's a link if you want to take a peak.
View: https://youtu.be/4Rbdas-jtD0


And if that video is too long and boring, I made a 5 minute version for another club. For that, I brought in a smaller bandsaw and without turning it on I demonstrated and talked about the safety.
View: https://youtu.be/RTJU-MEGRBc


JKJ
 
Michael Scussel said:
Yes it is a cat door, with 7 cats on the other side.
Click to expand...

That's a lot of cats! We have just 5 but my wife would cram my head it the cat door if I got more. For some reason she thinks the horses, llamas, peacocks, guineas, and chickens are enough extra animals. (Although one cat, the only female, curls up on her lap when she's reading or watching TV!)

Actually lost one of my favorite buddies last year from old age. I trapped it as a feral adult - he tried to kill and eat me through the cage. A local vet group will "modify" them for free and we release them where found - they clip the tip of one ear to show they've had the surgery.

Instead of releasing it, I decided to domesticate this guy instead! I kept him in my little welding shop for 4 months (nearly destroyed the doors trying to get out), then when he started to get more used to me I let him roam the shop but not go outside. He eventually changed into a fat, happy, lap cat! (I called him Vincent since one ear was clipped! :)) He lived with us for maybe 15 years, mostly hung around the shop and barn, occasionally came in the house.

JKJ
 
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