I don't always release the tension on the band saw.  Not sure if it is necessary or not but had an idea to add a crank handle on mine.  I sent the motor from my radial saw and got the $100.00 rebate and saved a few items before tossing the carcass.  The crank handle was one of them and I decided to add it to the tension knob of the Delta 14" band saw.   I stuck a piece of 1/2" rod in the lathe and cut the end for a press fit into a thick washer.  Took it out to the welder and tacked in for extra support and ended up with this after drilling three holes for mounting bolts.

 

 

Removed the tensioner from the saw and mated the two together.

 

 

Add the crank and tightened the set screw.

 

 

Put it back in the saw and it worked flawlessly.  I thought the crank might be too short but it cranks with little effort so I'm good.

 

 

I got to thinking how fun it will be the first time I go to use the saw and forget to tension the blade so I made a sign to lay on the table.  I have some flat magnetic strips so I double stick taped two pieces on to help keep it from being knocked or blown off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great repurposing, Dan. And the sign is a swell idea, too. I always release the tension and, some times forget. 

I love the Tension Blade Before Use sign. I lost count how many times I fired mine up without the tension, man what a racket!

It's probably good I am transitioning more to hand tools

Once I got in the habit its not so bad... But once I tighten it up before I turn it on I open the door and spin the wheel with my finger to make sure the blade is where it should be before I turn it on...I thought if it is half on and it get turned on it might somehow kink the blade as it comes off and a kinked blades might not be fun to run??? 

And John all that racket it makes might be dulling the blade or else changing the set so it runs haywire...??

Just a thought...maybe a fridge magnet. Tape over the ad and write on it. 

1 hour ago, Smallpatch said:

And John all that racket it makes might be dulling the blade or else changing the set so it runs haywire...??

I'm sure it had Jess, a couple times the danged blade slid off the wheels when I fired it up without tension. That bandsaw is gone though, now I have a Shopsmith BS to ruin, we'll see, I'm sure I can figure a way.

Great idea and re-purpose Dan. I've seen someone actually makes a conversion kit on this order for the Delta's...IIRC it was kind of pricey too so you did real good.

I've only forgotten to re-tension once so far...after I went to the bathroom, I made a post-it-note with about the same verbiage as you...it's been reused several times now with painters tape. Both of mine have aluminum tables.

I don't know why they ever replaced the crank handle with a knob in the first place. 

The older Deltas had metal crank handles for the tension mechanism.

 

Hey @John Morris and @Artie, I cut a hole in my BS case for the allen wrench. It wouldn't take much to epoxy a short piece of 5/32 allen stock into the tension socket and, put a wheel on the other end. Whatcha think..hmmm? 

5 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

Hey @John Morris and @Artie, I cut a hole in my BS case for the allen wrench. It wouldn't take much to epoxy a short piece of 5/32 allen stock into the tension socket and, put a wheel on the other end. Whatcha think..hmmm? 

Gene I still haven’t USED my bandsaw yet  . I still have to tune the fence to it.

Mine's the old cast iron table. The fence won't fit that one. Had to fabricate one for resawing. It's just an L. Gotta clamp it on. If I wasn't so frugal...well, ok...cheap...I'd spring for a pair of those switchable magnets.

If you get those Carter guides...both sets...you wouldn't need to "tune" the fence. 

I think I ordered the Carter guides when I bought the SS, juts can’t quite recall where they went, and haven’t had a chance/need for the bandsaw yet, so haven’t really put forth a great effort on finding/setting up mr bandsaw. Doug Reid’s video on it seemed like it wasn’t too hard to do, (but the talented always make it look easy LOL)

I did it. So, anyone can. 

I was taught many years ago to remove, and store the bandsaw blades when not in use. That was in Junior High shop class.

 

The teacher was a new teacher the year I had wood shop, and he about had a fit when he saw that the saw had sat all summer with a tensioned blade on it. He started the saw and showed us the flat spots that had developed in the tires where the blade was tensioned on the wheels. We could see a definite bounce in the blade as the wheels turned. We learned how to put new tires on the wheels, and he required us to remove and store the blade after each use once the tires were replaced. We all learned how to install, and fold the blades for proper storage. 

Well done Mr. Handy...

very well done..

On 11/28/2018 at 6:03 PM, Larry Buskirk said:

I was taught many years ago to remove, and store the bandsaw blades when not in use. That was in Junior High shop class.

 

The teacher was a new teacher the year I had wood shop, and he about had a fit when he saw that the saw had sat all summer with a tensioned blade on it. He started the saw and showed us the flat spots that had developed in the tires where the blade was tensioned on the wheels. We could see a definite bounce in the blade as the wheels turned. We learned how to put new tires on the wheels, and he required us to remove and store the blade after each use once the tires were replaced. We all learned how to install, and fold the blades for proper storage. 

Can you please show us how to fold a blade safely and securly.  I normally just untension the blade then re-tension when I need it again.  If I need to change the blade then it take around an hour to get it in the tire in the correct position and balance it.

 

Edited November 30, 20187 yr by Michael Thuman

I guess I am the odd man out here. I have never in my life released the tension on the blade, what a pain in the ole rear that would be, also never had any problems. I use the bandsaw every time I am in the shop and I put a lot of tension on the blade to keep it from slipping. Back in the day when I took woodshop n the band saw only got the tension released to change blades. I have 2 bandsaws in the shop and when I need to use them ,I don't want to fool around trying to tension blades, just turn them on and go, turn them off and leave.

Another thing ,I like cool blocks and a porcelain guide on the back, took those ball bearing guides off.

Herb

2 hours ago, Michael Thuman said:

Can you please show us how to fold a blade safely and securly.

Michael, Alex Snodgrass from Carter Products method is the best I've seen. His video on Youtube includes his method (in the first 1:55) but also how he adjusts/fine tunes a bandsaw. I've sat in on his clinics during the Woodworking Show at Indy as well as watched his video. To me, he is the guru on fine tuning a bandsaw for peak performance.

 

Alex's video is the second one. The first is from one of our sponsors, Laguna and includes two methods.

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Dadio said:

I have 2 bandsaws in the shop and when I need to use them ,I don't want to fool around trying to tension blades, just turn them on and go, turn them off and leave.

same here... but it's 5