wspeck Posted June 5, 2019 Report Share Posted June 5, 2019 Hello all. I've been lurking and reading here for a couple of months now. I am very new to woodworking and I'm putting together a shop mostly from garage sale/craigslist items. I got a 12" Craftsman bandsaw that has been in storage for a number of years. It runs well but needed some tuning up. I have put new tires and thrust bearings on it so far. While aligning the blade I discovered this issue. the blade rubs against the upper blade guide (not the insert!). I have a few pictures that hopefully show the issue. I am not sure what the cause is? Is the blade guide worn out? Is the blade guide bar/bracket worn out? the last one is the lower blade guide as a comparison any advise from the learned folks on this forum is greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted June 5, 2019 Report Share Posted June 5, 2019 if there is no way to adjust the guides i would say that its the wrong size bearings that's the problem, and welcome to the forum, I'm sure some others will check in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wspeck Posted June 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2019 yeah, I was hoping I would just be able to adjust the guide assy left or right but that doesn't appear possible. The blade guide (that holds the inserts) when not locked down by the set screw seems very loose inside the slot. It slides forward and back correctly but also has a lot of play left and right but no way to make an adjustment there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted June 5, 2019 Report Share Posted June 5, 2019 The bar it's attached to might be bent. Is it like that when the guide is all the way up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wspeck Posted June 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2019 that is one of my theories for what is wrong. But what in the world would bend something like that without destroying the rest of the saw? it's 3/4" steel! I do see a bar on Ebay for 8 bucks + shipping. Might just grab that. I think I'll take the bar off this evening and check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wspeck Posted June 5, 2019 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted June 5, 2019 Problem solved! I took off the bar to check if it was bent. It’s not. But, there was a spring laying inside the area where the bar clamps in. I figured that was probably an important piece. I looked at an exploded diagram for the saw and sure enough it goes there ostensibly to hold the bar tight. So I reassembled the bar with the spring resting on the tightening screw. I screwed everything back down and it lined up just right! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted June 6, 2019 Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 Don’t ya just love it when things work out? Glad it did bud! Looking forward to seeing projects from your shop. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wspeck Posted June 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 I'm a real newby at this avocation. I've tried a couple of end tables with minimal success so far. I was unable to get good square cuts so things weren't lining up well. I think I am going to try some smaller items to work on skills and confidence. maybe some tissue boxes, bedside docking station, things like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted June 6, 2019 Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 I think it's best to start small & simple. It can be very discouraging (and expensive) to screw up a big project because you don't yet have the skills. You'll get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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