fixerupper
Well-known Member
I have an older Emerson 64 1/2 metal cutting band saw that's all of 40 years old that has started throwing the blade with more frequency now. The blade stays on fine under no load but when it's cutting the band will lose traction on the driving wheel, the driving wheel will spin in the band and the band will come off. This saw has been almost flawless till maybe a year ago when this would start happening off and on, but lately it will cut for maybe fifteen seconds, maybe less, and like I said the driving wheel will start spinning on the band and the band will come off. A year ago I cleaned up the driving wheel real good and smeared silicone sealer on the wheel surface, trying to create a more or less rubber tire on the wheel. It worked fine till the silicone wore off, then the problem came back. I haven't taken much time to dig into it deeper yet but I did lay a straight edge on the drive wheel and it seems to be aligned OK. The bearing in the top driven band wheel seems to roll free. I took the angle grinder and roughed up the drive wheel to no avail. A thought I had was a little silicone is still on the wheel surface making it slippery, but this problem started before I tried the silicone trick. The band doesn't come off till the wheel starts spinning in the band. Back before this problem started the band would have enough traction on the drive wheel to smoke the V belt if the band caught for some reason. Anyone have an idea of what I could try next?