i know there are quite a few guys out there who have the green hf 4x6 bandsaw and have no problems with it so i'm hoping somebody can give me some advice to setting this thing up.

i have done all the usual steps to set the saw up, i have set the blade tracking, i have squared the clamp to the blade so that when i clamp the work it will cut straight, etc.

the problem i am having is with adjusting the blade guide bearings. the minute i tighten the guides against the blade and turn the machine on, the tracking goes way off and half the blade moves off the pulley. if i don't tigthen the guides all the way the tracking stays fine but my work doesn't get cut straight since the blade isn't coming down square. i have adjusted the bolt on the back that angles the top pulley in or out through its entire range and still nothing, blade just keeps coming off track when i go to tighten the guides.

i'd love to smash this pos and buy a better machine but i can't afford that at the moment so i'd like to try and make use of what i have.

if any of you guys with the same hf saw can give me some advice i would really, really appreciate it.

thanks

btw this saw is on its third motor, my first one popped so i took the motor from a friend who has the same machine which he has never used and that one popped as well, the new motor is the blower motor from a furnace and has been rocking.

 

Burning up motors and popping off blades sounds like there's a bunch of binding going on. You sure you have the right thickness blade?

I have the HF bandsaw and mine cuts like a dream. I make manifolds, cut collectors, and do a bunch of other things to no end. It never misses a beat, never fails me, pure pleasure since I've owned it.

 

yes i have the proper blades, the motors burning out i believe may have been from having the belt tension way too tight and putting too much load on it, the new motor uses just enough tension so the belt doesn't slip and it doesn't get hot like my old one.

i know this saw is decent and would do everything i could possibly need since i don't do all that much work but the blade coming off track when i snug the guides up is driving me insane. and just for the record it just gets off track, it doesn't actually pop off.

 

everybody else with this saw got it setup properly without any problems?

 

If you havent already, throw the blade that came with it out the window, or proceed to cut it into pieces with a chop saw for revenge. Its a POS.

Get a Lenox blade made, finding the length they say to use on that bandsaw it has, if you can cut and weld a blade together, then do it, but any machine shop/welding shop can do it for you.

Now on for adjusting the bandsaw. This bandsaw once set, is awesome, getting it set is the biggest pain in the ***. You are either too loose, you barely tighten and you're too tight and it breaks. Too loose lets it come off, there is a VERY fine line between the 2.. you just need to find it, mark it and keep it.

I have this bandsaw, i use it to cut up on 3/16 and 1/4 stuff, mainly .125 and .188 wall steel for backhalfs and the likes.