Woodstock STEELEX ST1000 - Manual (Page 39)

ST1000 14" Bandsaw -37-
5. If your wheels are not coplanar, check them for
adjustment by placing the straightedge on the
lower wheel first, ensuring that it touches both
the top and bottom of the rim, and adjust the
tracking knob to see how the straightedge lines
up with the upper wheel. If the straightedge will
not touch the top and bottom rim of the upper
wheel evenly, first determine if the upper wheel
needs to be moved forward or backward. You
can only shim the wheels to come forward.
—If the upper wheel is behind the straightedge,
then the upper wheel can be shimmed.
—If the upper wheel comes forward from the
plane of the lower wheel, the lower wheel
needs to be shimmed forward, so the straight-
edge lines up even with both wheels.
Wheel Alignment
Wheel alignment is one of the easiest ways to ensure
you get optimal performance from your bandsaw.
When wheels are aligned, or coplanar, the bandsaw
is more likely to cut straight without wandering;
and vibration, heat, and blade wear are consider-
ably decreased because the blade is automatically
balanced on the wheel. This is known as “Coplanar
Tracking.”
To verify if the upper and lower wheels are copla-
nar:
1. UNPLUG THE BANDSAW!
2. Remove the table.
3. With the blade on and properly tensioned, hold a
straightedge close to the center of both wheels.
Make sure the straightedge fully extends across
the wheels as shown in Figure
43.
Figure 43. Checking wheel alignment.
Coplanar
Parallel, Not
Coplanar
Not Parallel
Not Coplanar
Adjust
Tracking Knob
Coplanarity Gauge
Contacts Top
And Bottom of
Both Wheels
Straightedge
4. A perfectly coplanar set of wheels will allow the
straightedge to touch the top and bottom of the
outside rims on each wheel. If this is the case
with your wheels, then they are coplanar.
Figure 44. Understanding coplanar alignment.