Cleaning the Bandsaw

Hands On May/June 80 (Revised 7/99)

For Bandsaws made prior to June 1984 ONLY

Here are some hints to keep your Bandsaw operating properly:

Clean the inside of the Bandsaw occasionally. Take off the cover and blow out the dust with an air compressor or vacuum cleaner. Brush the dust off the bearings, tension scale, and guide block assemblies.

Clean the upper and lower tires with a stiff bristle brush. When working with wood, this isn't necessary very often; but when working with metals, it should be checked every time you use the saw. Metal chips can imbed themselves in the rubber tires, causing them to crack and split.

To keep the table surface smooth and dust-free, clean the table and apply a coat of good paste wax. Let the wax dry and buff to a polish. Also, wax and polish the mounting tubes.

Every 15 hours of operation, put one or two drops of a light-weight machine oil on the tracking bearing (near the tension scale), the lower backup bearing (above the lower blade guides), and the upper backup bearing (above the upper blade guides). If you own a Bandsaw manufactured after June 1984, your Back-up bearings require no additional lubrication.

Every year, place a small amount of graphite on the upper guide rod assembly, the threads of the control knobs for the upper and lower guides, and each of the table trunnions. After putting graphite on the trunnions, move the table through the full tilt range a few times. (Graphite can be bought by the tube at most hardware stores.)

Replenish the grease in the upper wheel bearings about once a year. Remove the upper wheel by taking off the blade and releasing the wheel retainer snap ring with a screwdriver. Then pack a small amount of cup grease in the wheel bearing, and replace the wheel and snap ring.

When operating, be careful that the speed dial on the Mark V is turned down to "slow" before connecting the Bandsaw. If the speed is set beyond the maximum recommended speed (D), one or more of the rubber tires may spin off.