Bandsaw Tires?

[David Turner]

My Powermatic band saw needs new tires. Are you supposed to glue them on?

 

[tvrgeek]

Rubber are blued. Poly not. I think. There are some very good video's on replacing and crowning tires.

 

[David Turner]

Scott: Do you mean rubber are glued?

 

[junquecol]

For poly tires, check out "Blue Max" tires

 

[bob vaughan]

My Powermatic band saw needs new tires. Are you supposed to glue them on?

USA-made models 140, 141, 143, 80, 81 & 87 all had glued on rubber tires that were crowned after the tire was glued on. I suspect many of the earlier 20" saws had the tires Vulcanized on.
The later small (14") import models, I've no idea. Their Cantauro (Italian) made model had glued on rubber tires and I think their imported 20" saws had glued-on rubber.

 

[Garry]

I put a set of blue polyurethane tires on my band saw with no glue. Worked great for about a year, then the bottom (driven) tire came off while heavy sawing. I glued it on, but left the top tire alone. So far, after 6 months, all is well. Obviously it is better to glue them on, but maybe not necessary on the idler wheel. They fit very tight and were not easy to put on.

 

[bob vaughan]

A loose rubbery band on a band saw wheel gets compressed as the blade goes around. AFter a while this loosens the band if there's significant pressure from the blade. Blades on a 14" band saw that are 1/4" to 3/8" wide are generally not a problem. The problems of compression occur with the wider blades and the extreme pressure it takes to hold them in proper tension. The typical Delta style 14" bandsaw upper wheel pivot mechanism is aluminum and is not made for the extreme tension of larger blades. Glued on tires will last for decades. Slip on tires will last for years.

 

[tvrgeek]

Rubber itself does not really last for decades. It gets harder with time.
I put Carter blue poly on my baby Delta. I was hard to sand the seam flat. I am sticking with rubber.