Blade Tracking - Grizzly G0640X Owner's Manual

Blade Tracking

Serious personal injury
can occur if the machine
starts while your hand
is touching the bandsaw
wheel during tracking
adjustments. Disconnect
power from the bandsaw
before performing blade
tracking adjustments.
"Blade Tracking" refers to how the blade rides on
the wheels. When tracking correctly, the blade
rides in the center of the rim part of the wheels.
Blade tracking is primarily controlled by adjust-
ing the upper wheel tilt. Tracking the blade in
this manner is referred to as "Center Tracking,"
because you tilt the wheel until the blade rides in
the center.
Another way to track the blade is known as
"Coplanar Tracking." Coplanar tracking involves
aligning the wheels so they are parallel and
aligned (see Wheel Alignment on Page 47).
When wheels are coplanar, vibration and heat are
reduced during operation.
The wheels on the Model G0640X are factory
aligned, so center tracking is the only adjustment
that needs to be performed during setup.
To center track the blade:
1. DISCONNECT BANDSAW FROM POWER!
2.
Make sure the upper and lower blade guides
are adjusted away from the blade.
3. Engage the quick tension lever and turn the
blade tension handwheel until the tension
scale (Figure 18) reads between 4 and 6.
G0640X 17" Wood/Metal Bandsaw
Blade Tension
Scale
Figure 18. Blade tensioning controls.
The cast iron spokes may have sharp edges
and the blade teeth may extend beyond the
edge of the wheel, creating a laceration haz-
ard. In the next step, be careful when turn-
ing the wheel by hand.
4. Spin the upper wheel by hand at least three
times and watch how the blade rides on the
crown of the wheel. Refer to Figure 19 for an
illustration of this concept.
—If the blade rides in the center of the
upper wheel and is centered on the peak
of the wheel crown, then the bandsaw is
already tracked properly and no further
adjustments are needed at this time.
—If the blade does not ride in the center
of the upper wheel and is not centered
on the peak of the wheel crown, then
continue with the following steps.
Blade
Centered
on Wheel
Wheel
CENTER TRACKING
Figure 19. Center tracking profiles.
Blade Tension
Handwheel
Blade Centered
on Peak of Crown
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