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Setting up a bandsaw

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John Hinkley	04/10/2011 13:42:39
1545 forum posts 484 photos	On a recent trip to the UK, I picked up a new Warco CY90 bandsaw that I had ordered online and had delivered to my son-in-law's house. I didn't have time to check it out before setting of for home and didn't discover, until I unpacked it, that the 'manual' was written in "Chinglish" and the photos accompanying the setting-up description were completely illegible. I have worked out how to adjust everything, but, no matter what I do, the damn thing won't cut a straight line! Anybody got any ideas or tips on setting blade guides etc, so that it will make a vertical cut? John
Metalhacker	04/10/2011 15:01:10
82 forum posts	hi John, I bought a CY 90 in August and its instructions were also in Chinglish and several pages were missing. However mine cuts very straight, so apart from a slight decrease in the blade tension as delivered I have had to adjust nothing. I do't know if Warco publish the full text of the instrucctions on their website, or could be persuaded to do so, so some enterprising chap could translate them into legible coherent english. Would be doing us all a service. I like the saw though! B"W Andries
keithmart	04/10/2011 15:21:48
165 forum posts	Hi Check the blade tension. If it is not tight enough it will not cut straight. I always ping the blade and you get used to the note for the correct tension. It may well be the blade, as often the cheap blades supplied are pretty rubbish. regards Keith Leeds UK
wheeltapper	04/10/2011 18:48:51
424 forum posts 98 photos	Hi I bought one of these saws. the first thing is to get a decent bimetal blade. I won't bore you with all the things that were wrong with mine, except that it leaked oil from the gearbox from the getgo, had the machine replaced. the second one kept breaking the guide rollers on one side until I discovered that the mounting bolts for the ball races were drilled squiffy and the space was 15 thou smaller than the width of the blade. then when I fitted the replacement blade it wouldn't fit because the adjuster wouldn't go down far enough, 10 minutes with a file soon sorted that out. what i did find was , it would not cut true vertically, I could get a 90 degree cut left to right by adjusting the swivel vise . that turned out to be the pivot pin for the arm not being parallel to the base, the arm was swinging away as it went up. try this, hold a square in the vise with the edge against the blade in the down position, then raise the arm and see if the blade stays the same distance from the square. I must say that now I've got all the kinks out it's not a bad saw but Warco, never again. Roy
ChrisH	04/10/2011 19:46:55
1023 forum posts 30 photos	I purchased a Warco Economy Mill/Drill a few weeks ago - like John's CY90 bandsaw the instructions were in I suppose Chinglish. John, you have my sympathy! Actually, they were so bad that the majority of the instructions made no sense at all and one was relying on one's engineering experience to make it mean anything at all. Basic questions which I should have got from the manual I ended up having to ask their service department. I phoned Warco and complained, and got a hand-wringing reply that the Chinese were a law unto themselves etc and would not listen etc etc, nothing they could do to change them etc. However, as they had been selling the Economy machine had been for 30 years as I believe they claim, I would have thought it would not have been beyond the wit of some bright spark at Warco to have knocked out a decent set of intelligible instructions written in English. The same should apply to all their machines from the Far East where the instructions are so naff. Are other suppliers Far Eastern stuff supplied with such rubbishy instructions? ChrisH Edited By ChrisH on 04/10/2011 19:48:07
John Hinkley	04/10/2011 19:57:58
1545 forum posts 484 photos	Thanks, one and all, for your input. I tried slackening off the blade tension a tad, as it felt like it would break if I didn't. Result - the blade fell off! However, on remounting it, I did find that it wiggled like a snake as it made its way past the guide rollers etc. So, I think I'll take it to bits tomorrow and see if I can't align everything properly and get it to cut a bit more accurately. John
Bogstandard	04/10/2011 20:47:28
263 forum posts	I know your bandsaw may not be amongst this lot, but I have found that US engineering retailers supply downloads of their manuals, written in very good English. I downloaded ones both for my lathe and mill from here and they tell me everything I ever wanted to know. Even though yours may not be here, find one that is similar and it may give you some good hints how to set yours up. Bandsaws John
Billy Mills	04/10/2011 20:59:52
377 forum posts	The blade is twisted into the vertical when it passes through the roller guides. If the clearance between the rollers is not set correctly then the blade will not be vertical over the length between the rollers. The adjustment is not obvious, one roller has an off centre mounting which is very well hidden! It is inadvisable to make a deep cut until the alignment of BOTH guides is sorted out. There are several other very well known issues such as errors in the position of the wheels, blade throwing, excessive wear, the floppy stand, swarf and the stand wheels. Once these are sorted out the machine is a very useful workshop tool, it is greatly improved with a bimetal blade. The fixes have already been described in detail on many workshop websites such as www.gadgetbuilder.com and www.mikesworkshop.weebly.com . Both of these sites are brilliant. These kinds of metal cutting bandsaws look very much the same as those sold by Draper, Clarke, Axminster and loads of other people in different colours and with different vices. Some people think they are made in India. They have been around for about 20 years. Hang on in there with the adjustments and the mods, the ugly duckling with attitude turns into a beautiful workshop swan. Billy.
Terryd	04/10/2011 21:02:14
1946 forum posts 179 photos	Posted by ChrisH on 04/10/2011 19:46:55: . Clip................ . However, as they had been selling the Economy machine had been for 30 years as I believe they claim, I would have thought it would not have been beyond the wit of some bright spark at Warco to have knocked out a decent set of intelligible instructions written in English. The same should apply to all their machines from the Far East where the instructions are so naff. Are other suppliers Far Eastern stuff supplied with such rubbishy instructions? ChrisH Edited By ChrisH on 04/10/2011 19:48:07 Hi Chris, Grizzly in the USA supply marvellous manuals for these Chines machines and make them freely available on their website, perhaps others do also. The manuals are well written in plain English, obviously commissioned by the company. It seems that suppliers in the USA are more customer service oriented than in this country where profits are king and service is way down on the priority list. I always heard that the service in American hotels, restaurants etc was far superior to the surly attitudes of the staff in the UK, it seems the same applies to machine suppliers also. Regards Terry
Billy Mills	04/10/2011 21:40:45
377 forum posts	The Grizzly model number could be G0622. The manual has some very good advice, the "Chip Chart" and the adjustment details are as clear as clear can be, the guide adjustment is at the back of the book. I would agree with Terry that these manuals are very much better - chalk and cheese- than the junk we get from most vendors in the UK. If you are supplying a machine tool then you should supply the information needed to make good use of the machine. Setup and running adjustments and essential information on lubrication and consumables ( blades) should be included with the machine. Much of this stuff is generic- it applies over a large range of machines so there is not that much original writing for each machine. Grizzly have shown how it can be done, they are a much bigger Company than the UK vendors but they are spending a little income on ensuring that they are out performing the other vendors, a wise investment, a great service to their Customers and - lucky for us- on the web. I go to the US quite often, I would not say that their Hotels or Restaurants are better, however the waiting staff get most or all of their income from tips so they do try to earn them.
Gone Away	04/10/2011 23:20:58
829 forum posts 1 photos	One thing you ought to check on these Chinese machines is the grounding. I have probably the same generic saw here in Canada and the power cord ground was terminated where it entered the main base. The motor and it's wiring is on the other side of the pivot however. While there is nominally a ground path between the two halves of the frame, the pivot is not the best connection for a safety ground. My machine is getting on in years now so perhaps that's been addressed but if you're concerned about such things you might want to check and strap the two halves together with a decent ground wire.
dcosta	04/10/2011 23:32:43
496 forum posts 207 photos	Hello Mr. Hinkley! I have a saw like the one in picture below. It is a quantum S 91 G labeled machine. I have the manual for it (in fact it's for 2 machines: the S 91 G and the S 121 G). The english used in it it's not the worst I've seen. Also the printing quality of it lets a bit to be desired. You can compare Your band saw with mine using the picture in one of my albums http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/albums/member_photo.asp?a=14817&p=294310. There's also a picture of a scanned page in the same album showing the quality I can get from scanning http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/albums/member_photo.asp?a=14817&p=294309. In case You are interested just let me know your personal mail address to: [email protected]. Regards Dias Costa
Douglas Johnston	05/10/2011 09:42:34
814 forum posts 36 photos	Thanks for the link to the Grizzly site, I have just downloaded the manual for my 6 by 4 bandsaw and it is really superb compared to the one I got with my machine. You would think the UK suppliers could have done something similar years ago to help their customers. Thank goodness for the internet and broadband speeds! Doug
John Hinkley	05/10/2011 10:18:57
1545 forum posts 484 photos	Thanks, again, to all who have responded. I downloaded the Grizzly manual and, although its not exactly the same as mine, there are enough similarities for me to make the necessary adjustments, I'm sure. Regards to all, John
ChrisH	05/10/2011 10:46:16
1023 forum posts 30 photos	Many thanks to Terryd and to Bogstandard for pointing me in the direction of Grizzly. I have now downloaded a superb manual for a mill/drill which is so close to being the Economy Mill/Drill that makes no odds. It is excellent and clearly written, well illustrated with very clear drawings and photos. This is the manual Warco, and others I suspect, should have produced and supplied with their machine. And I full agree with the sentiments expressed by Billy Mills in paragraphs 2 and 3 in his post above - my thoughts exactly! ChrisH
Michael Cox 1	05/10/2011 11:42:02
555 forum posts 27 photos	One other source of information on setting up bandsaws is the Yahoo 6x4 bandsaw forum (http://groupsyahoo.com/group/6x4bandsaw/). In the files section are some articles on setting up and faultfinding for bandsaws. Mike
Stub Mandrel	07/10/2011 21:22:19
4318 forum posts 291 photos 1 articles	Am I the only person in here to have the Chester version? I didn't suffer any teething troubles. I'll echo the advice to get a good bimetal blade. Neil

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