Cleaning bandsaw blades & rubber tires
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blade gets wet a wood/sap builds up on the blade and causes the blade the
thump as it is pulled through the guides. I stop the saw and clean off the
gunk then I'm good for awhile. Is there anything that I can clean the
blades with or spray onto the blade to clean or reduce this buildup? I
notice that it is also on the rubber tire so I am guessing that it is
probably building up on the rubber wheel then heating up and melting/pressed
onto the blade.
I would also like to know what is the best method for cleaning the rubber
tires without damaging them. I was thinking of using paint thinner but not
sure if that would cause damage to the rubber.
Hope you can help. As you can tell I am not well versed on bandsaws. Any
suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.......Ralph
Tom Storey
seems to work on the wheel as it turns to remove sap etc. Watch your
fingers! Tom
"Comcast Newsgroups" <ralphj...@comcast.net> wrote in message
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George
"Comcast Newsgroups" <ralphj...@comcast.net> wrote in message
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>blade gets wet a wood/sap builds up on the blade and causes the blade the
>thump as it is pulled through the guides. I stop the saw and clean off the
>gunk then I'm good for awhile. Is there anything that I can clean the
>blades with or spray onto the blade to clean or reduce this buildup? I
>notice that it is also on the rubber tire so I am guessing that it is
>probably building up on the rubber wheel then heating up and
>melting/pressed onto the blade.
>
> I would also like to know what is the best method for cleaning the rubber
> tires without damaging them. I was thinking of using paint thinner but
> not sure if that would cause damage to the rubber.
I put WD40 on the blade after cutting wet wood. Cloth and hand rotation of
the blade in reverse cleans the gullets and helps prevent corrosion which
will dull the blade. Nice time to make sure you get that cherry juice off
the table and protect it, too. Leaves the blade lubed for the next cuts,
though adding some before you begin isn't a bad idea. Some use a convenient
spray of cooking oil.
I just take a thin piece of wood and rotate the tire past it while
compressing the rubber if I get a buildup down below. Breaks up and scrapes
off nicely. Usually only happens when I neglect the vacuum, though. You
shouldn't have problems with oil-based solvents. I'd avoid the ketones.
Some folks put a hard-bristle toothbrush in position so that it brushes the
tire while the saw's in use. If you don't use a vacuum, seems like a good
idea. If you need cleaning beyond the ordinary on either the tire or the
blade, nylon or brass bristles seem aggressive enough.
Consider ceramic guides for your saw. They're so slick they can actually be
set in contact, and they help keep the portion of the blade they contact
scraped clean. Be careful of the sparks on punky dry wood!
Gerald Ross
seems to help keep the gunk off and lubricate it. I raise the upper
guides and while running it hold a paper tower on one side and spray
the other side lightly. Or spray it on the paper towel and wipe it on
the blade.
Roller guides make it worse.
--
Gerald Ross
Cochran, GA
We should limit congressmen to two
terms: one in Congress...
Darrell Feltmate
tray from using a 50/50 mix of vegetable and mineral oil on some pieces. A
quick touch of the brush on either side of the blade before and occasionally
during the cutting of wet wood does wonders at keeping the blade and wheels
clean. If there is buildup on the wheels (seldom) I put a bit of 100 grit
paper on a stick to keep my fingers clear and touch it to the wheels as they
turn.
--
God bless and safe turning
Darrell Feltmate
Truro, NS Canada
http://aroundthewoods.com
http://roundopinions.blogspot.com
"Comcast Newsgroups" <ralphj...@comcast.net> wrote in message
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Bruce Barnett
> Some folks put a hard-bristle toothbrush in position so that it
> brushes the tire while the saw's in use.
Iturra sells these. Cost is about $7.
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
Bruce Barnett
> The instructions that came with my blades says use PAM on them.
I bought a lubrication compound called Lube Tube from Iturra. It's
made by Lenox. It's in a jumbo chapstick-like container - about 10
inchs in length. It's designed to be used with bandsaws. Just hold it
against the blade for a few seconds, and then apply to the other side.
I tried this on a metal-cutting bandsaw, and it makes a remarkable
difference in cutting ease.
http://www.lenoxsaw.com/lubetube.htm
I'm not sure about it's impact on gunk
build-up. I used a blade made for cutting green wood:
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=6944
The wheel brush I was talking about is here for $7.99
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=6712
Gerald Ross
> "George" <geo...@home.net> writes:
>
>> Some folks put a hard-bristle toothbrush in position so that it
>> brushes the tire while the saw's in use.
>
I can't find hard bristle toothbrushes any more. Not sure they make
them now. But I have an old one on my bandsaw.
George
"Gerald Ross" <gwa...@comsouth.net> wrote in message
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>
>> "George" <geo...@home.net> writes:
>>
>>> Some folks put a hard-bristle toothbrush in position so that it
>>> brushes the tire while the saw's in use.
>>
>
> I can't find hard bristle toothbrushes any more. Not sure they make them
> now. But I have an old one on my bandsaw.
>
>
Go with a half of a fingernail or vegetable brush.
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have a brush and I always use my dust collector with a 4" hose (2HP
Grizzly). I will make sure that the brush is probably adjusted so that it
cleans properly. Whatever I finally decide to use I can see that I will
need to use it frequently. I cut mostly wet wood as I rough turn almost all
my work so I will be trying all your suggestions. I will post what works
best for me once I pick a process/technique.
Thanks again, great information/forum.........Ralph
"Darrell Feltmate" <darrell...@eastlink.ca> wrote in message
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Prometheus
As far as the blade goes, I use oven cleaner on my table saw blades,
and it works great. Don't know about the tires as much, but I know
you can buy replacements pretty easily if it turns out that whatever
you try causes problems. At a glance, I think I'd avoid most
solvents, out of fear that they would dry out the rubber and cause
cracks, but that's just a guess. Maybe try a little 3-in-1 oil and a
soft brass brush before jumping right to the thinner- it may or may
not work, but I don't think it could hurt anything.
turnerbob
wrote:
Hi Ralph, I don't cut a lot of green wood but when I do I just wipe
everything down after the session. Usually the junky stuff gets
knocked off by the blocks. I do however cut a lot of "dry" wood which
does gum up the tires. What I do about once every couple months is
take the tires off and clean them in warm soapy water. They clean up
fairly easily. There is usually a small amount of junk on the wheels
themselves (under the tires) which I hit with a brush and occasionally
a light touch of 330 grit sandpaper. It's much easier to keep the saw
tracking properly if I do this once in a while. Bob
http://www.outofcontrol-woodturning.com
Bruce Barnett
> I tried this on a metal-cutting bandsaw, and it makes a remarkable
> difference in cutting ease.
One more thing. I had problems when the push bearing was a roller
bearing. I switched to a ceramic, and gunk never clogs it up, because
the ceramic doesn't need to rotate.
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was dampen a cloth with Paint Thinner and wiped the tires while rotating the
wheels. This worked pretty well, but still not good enough so I will try
other methods mentioned here. For the blade I used a small flexible 6"
metal ruler(?) to scrape off the gunk. I did this by the holding the small
thin ruler firmly against the blade while rotating the wheel by hand. This
worked quite well.
Forgot to mention. The rubber tires on my bandsaw are glued on, removing
them would probably destroy them. I do know that some bandsaws have tires
that are easily removed, such as the Mini Max MM16, unfortunately mine isn't
one of them.
Thanks again for your help.......Ralph
"turnerbob" <turne...@gmail.com> wrote in message
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rosemary Wright
rubber tyres. After a few comments I thought I could hear alarm bells
ringing. If my memory serves me doesn't oil cause rubber to degrade and
break up? If so perhaps an oil based cleaner would not be a good idea to
use on the tyres. Can anyone help switch off my alarm bells for me?
Hotfoot
John
<outoft...@ntlworld.com> writes
I was going to say about this the other day, but was a bit busy trying
to find the missing memory cells that carried the information. There are
oils made specially for lubricating some types of rubber, but in general
oil and rubber do not mix. The oils will as you say, cause the rubber to
degrade, possibly crack and disintegrate, normally the firs thing that
happens with many rubbers is that they soften and become sticky, which
will mean they tend to stick to the blade, and then pull off of the
wheel.
An example of not using rubber and oil is that Auto tyre fitters use a
soapy solution to ease a tyre onto a wheel and not oil. Probably the
best thing to use might be the spray that can be applied to rubber drive
pullies
--
John
George
"rosemary Wright" <outoft...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
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aren't, being neoprene or such. Common solvent for both oils and resins in
wood is going to be mineral spirits. Makes the cause and cure about equally
damaging.
Only twenty years of such abuse on mine so far. Same tires.
Darrell Feltmate
Similar abuse, similar age of tires. If we keep this up I doubt they will
last more than 20 years longer :-)
--
God bless and safe turning
Darrell Feltmate
Truro, NS Canada
http://aroundthewoods.com
http://roundopinions.blogspot.com
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"Darrell Feltmate" <darrell...@eastlink.ca> wrote in message
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I am hoping the lubricant stick, which appears easy to apply, will deter
some of the gunk from adhering to the blade. Here is the link in case
someone is interested. Thanks again everyone.......Ralph
Not sure how long this link will last:
Pitch Remover:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=11122&filter=pitch%20remover
Lubricant stick:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=2331&filter=blade%20libricant
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I tried the bandsaw blade lubricant stick and agree with a previous poster
in that it doesn't work on wet wood, gums up very quickly. However; I
sprayed the Rockler Pitch Remover on the blade and it works great. I spray
the blade as I slowly rotate it by hand. In a couple minutes the gunk comes
right off by slightly scraping the blade, very little effort. I use a thin
6" metal ruler (any thin flat scraper will do) to scrape the blades and also
to remove the gunk off the wheel tires. I do this while rotating the wheels
by hand. The question I have is that the Pitch Remover doesn't list the
ingredients so I do not know if the pitch remover will harm the rubber
tires. I like using this stuff but hate the thought of replacing rubber
tires more. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated......Ralph
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George
> Feedback re lubricant stick and pitch remover:
>
> I tried the bandsaw blade lubricant stick and agree with a previous poster
> in that it doesn't work on wet wood, gums up very quickly. However; I
> sprayed the Rockler Pitch Remover on the blade and it works great. I
> spray the blade as I slowly rotate it by hand. In a couple minutes the
> gunk comes right off by slightly scraping the blade, very little effort.
> I use a thin 6" metal ruler (any thin flat scraper will do) to scrape the
> blades and also to remove the gunk off the wheel tires. I do this while
> rotating the wheels by hand. The question I have is that the Pitch
> Remover doesn't list the ingredients so I do not know if the pitch remover
> will harm the rubber tires. I like using this stuff but hate the thought
> of replacing rubber tires more. Any suggestions will be greatly
> appreciated......Ralph
>
Same as before. Use oil to prevent pitch buildup.
Remove your blade, fold per instructions and immerse in a good solution of
washing soda or TSP. After ten minutes you might have to wipe with a towel.
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that I am cutting is very green (water flying). It is Live Oak and Black
Oak and begins to clog after trimming one piece. It is a big hastle for me
to remove the blade because I also have added a larger plywood table to
facilitate large pieces and requires removing some bolts before removing the
blade. Not that I am lazy but it it just too much of a hastle.
Thanks again........Ralph
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