Bandsaw tires

[SteveM]

I need to get new tires for a vintage 16" bandsaw.

Any recommendations on what to get and where to get it from?

I'm looking for advice from people that have actually replaced their tires. I've done some google and ebay searches already.

The bandsaw appears to have wheels that do not have a groove to hold the tire in place, like my old bandsaw did. Not sure if that makes a difference.

Steve

[johnfreese]

I replaced the tires on a 24" Grob saw. They were Urethane. I just needed to warm them up a bit and stretch them over the wheels. Since your saw has no raised rims you are going to have to cement the tires in place. You might check this site and see if they can offer advice.
https://www.carterproducts.com/band-saw ... eels-tires

[SteveHGraham]

You should be posting this at Sawmill Creek, where everyone has band saws with tires.

I have a Shop Fox. The tires turned to cheese. I had to scrape them off the rims, one chunk at a time. I bought new tires from Grizzly, but afterward I learned they have a bad reputation.

People recommend Carter or an Ebay seller called Band Saw Tire Warehouse. One guy says Carter will talk to customers on the phone to help them select tires.

I learned something useful: when installing the new tires, use clamps to hold them in place. I used urethane Irwin slide clamps. Kept the tires from falling off while I worked on them.

[jdanke]

Talk to Bobby at WWTW in Wisconsin: https://www.woodworkerstoolworks.com/index.html

He'll set you up with rubber tires and you could use either the contact cement he supplies or 3M Black Weatherstrip adhesive (https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/ ... 126&rt=rud). I've used both and that 3M stuff really holds. Unless your wheels have a built-in crown you'll also need to crown them. There are videos on the site, but you've probably seen some youtubes.

I've used tires from them on a number of bandsaws (ranging from 10" & 14" Deltas & Powermatics to 36" Crescents). I think the blue urethane ones are just okay if you have raised rims but probably not going to last otherwise.

Joel

[SteveM]

He'll set you up with rubber tires ...
I think the blue urethane ones are just okay if you have raised rims but probably not going to last otherwise.

Interesting. Everything I've read so far seems to indicate longer life and better performance with the urethane ones.

One advantage is not having to crown them (my wheels do not have a built in crown).

Why do you use the rubber ones instead?

Steve

[jdanke]

Okay, you got me. No direct personal experience with stretch-on tires losing their elasticity over time, which is what I had in mind and read about on various forums (but did not write here).

To be fair I have used the orange and blue urethane tires on 14" delta bandsaws that have crowned rims with outer lips to keep things in place. The orange tires are thicker than the blue ones. I use the orange on a 14" woodcutting saw and the blue on a 14" metal cutting saw. Both work well.

I used rubber tires on a variety of other saws because I wanted a thicker tire for crowning and I knew I could rough it up for a good bond with the cement/adhesive/glue. They were also cheaper (about $90/pair vs. $130.) I did not want to pay extra for pre-crowned tires and I knew that the 3M adhesive will last on the 36" wheels. Plus, the orange tires would look crazy on a 1912-ish bandsaw.

I also have the rubber tires on a 10" woodcutting bandsaw. Check back in with me in 15 or 20 years for the result of this poorly designed and uncontrolled experiment about which ones last. I'm still scratching my head about how to measure or observe "performance" on a tire, other than longevity.

You're right that a crown is needed. It's kind of a pain, and I can see getting precrowned tires as a convenience. I once bought a Powermatic 143 at a very good price because the top wheel wasn't crowned (actually, dished) at the blade kept falling off. The shop bought a new bandsaw instead!

Another factor is that I needed to order blades so getting the right length blades from WWTW at the same time as the tires saved shipping costs. (Try finding 218- and 74- inch blades locally.)

[SteveM]

You're right that a crown is needed. It's kind of a pain, and I can see getting precrowned tires as a convenience. I once bought a Powermatic 143 at a very good price because the top wheel wasn't crowned (actually, dished) at the blade kept falling off. The shop bought a new bandsaw instead!

The tires on this one are dished, so the blade, while not falling off, isn't tracking well.

Another factor is that I needed to order blades so getting the right length blades from WWTW at the same time as the tires saved shipping costs. (Try finding 218- and 74- inch blades locally.)

My old Shopmaster had 78". This one uses 109", which can be had off the shelf.

With the bandsaw, I got about 10 coils of bandsaw blade stock and the blade welding jig my dad made, so I just have to get out the grinder, torch and silver solder and make some (for both bandsaws, as I gave the Shopmaster to my brother).

[TomB]

I was gifted with a little 3-wheel Enco EC-2 bench top band saw. I used it for some lite work and then had to replace the tires. I measured the wheel diameters and called some company that the search engine found. I got 3 tires and some two part tire glue. I took the wheels off and replaced the bearings then had to heat the tires in boiling water to get then on the wheels. I figured with the tires that tight I would not need the glue -- wrong. Took then off mixed the glue, boiled the tires again, put the glue on the inside of one tire then mounted it. Repeated the process 2 more times and then I was ready for the blade. It would not fit. The original tires were about 1/16" thick and the new ones were perhaps 1/8" thick. The blade adjustment was insufficient to accommodate the thicker tire. Next step go buy a new steel tape that was flat (not concave) meas'ure the distance aground the three wheels with the adjustment set to just a bit bigger than maximally closed. Ordered a new blade. It arrived and I mounted it, turned the blade tightener to the most tight position and the blade was still so loose that it slipped on the drive wheel when I tried to cut a piece of pine. I called up the blade company and was connected with the foreman of their blade welding shop. I explained the whole story and he said the wheels were likely racking and I should put the blade on and tighten the take up a much as I could. Then measure the distance around the wheels with my tape over the blade. Then I could send back the blade and the measurement and he would recut and reweld the blade. I did so and when the blade was returned to me it fit perfect. The saw now works well and the process only required a couple of years.

The sticker on the box says "BandSawBladesDirect.com" and the return address on the box says "Jeff Tlocznski, Action Industrial Supply,Grand Rapids". They did very well by me. I don't remember the company that sold me the tires and glue.

[Mr Ron]

While you are at replacing tires on the wheels, please take a look at the following site: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU It shows the correct way to set the guides which is contrary to what band saw manufacturers recommend.

[SteveM]

While you are at replacing tires on the wheels, please take a look at the following site: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU It shows the correct way to set the guides which is contrary to what band saw manufacturers recommend.

I found that video yesterday, but haven't watched it yet.

The guides on this one are interesting. They are about 1-1/4" tall and have a hollow taken out to clear the bearing in back. The guides contact the blades on the top and bottom. I'll have to get a picture, as words are hard to use for this.

Steve

[SteveM]

I am officially blown away.

On Steve H Graham's suggestion, I searched over at sawmill creek.

Someone recommended the ebay seller "bandsaw-tire-warehouse", so I did some searching for bandsaw tires over there.

I figure I'm going to have to do some trimming because the wheels aren't 1", or 1-1/4", they are 1-1/8" wide.

Well, guess what?
Bandsaw tire warehouse has 1-1/8" wide tires SPECIFICALLY for the 16" J.D. Wallace bandsaws:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/JD-WALLACE-16- ... 2316317598

Steve

[spro]

The description is encouraging.