Jet 14" BS spring not so springy

[Tom Miller]

I had a little re-sawing to do the other day, enough that I actually changed to a blade meant for re-sawing. I put on a 1/2" 3tpi Timberwolf blade.

I recently made a jig for measuring blade tension with a dial indicator (measures blade stretch over a known distance), so I thought I'd test it on the re-saw blade. I kept cranking on the tension knob, and couldn't get any movement in the dial indicator, until the point that the spring was fully compressed.

That just didn't seem right, so I went back to the "flutter test" that Timberwolf suggests for their blades. And, lo and behold, I pretty much cranked back to a fully compressed spring. I went ahead with my re-sawing, and got very good results, though operating at the very end of the spring's compression probably isn't the wisest thing to do.

So, I guess my next course of action will be to get a stronger spring, but I'll have to be careful not to take it past the tension required for a 1/2" blade. Here's the spring I'm looking at. Anyone have any comments or suggestions on this plan of action, or this choice of spring?

Regards,
Tom

[ChrisD]

Tom, for what it's worth, this is the brand that John White recommended in one of his bandsaw tuning articles (FWW shop manager and pretty much the resident bandsaw expert).

[MBG]

I have a HF BS - probably not the quality of a Jet but was told by (I forget the name) a guy that sells lots of BS upgrade parts that you need to be careful applying a stiffer spring to a BS not designed to take the load. He actually refused to sell me the spring.

BTY I have a 3/4" TW band in my BS and can tension w/o bottoming the spring.

[jarhead]

I have a HF BS - probably not the quality of a Jet but was told by (I forget the name) a guy that sells lots of BS upgrade parts that you need to be careful applying a stiffer spring to a BS not designed to take the load. He actually refused to sell me the spring.

That would probably be Luis Ittura.

[LarryG]

Yup.

Tom, that's the spring I have in my Grizzly G0555. It allows me to properly tension my 1/2" Wood Slicer without fully compressing. Great upgrade, highly recommended. IIRC, Iturra recommends it for your band saw (for virtually all the imported 14" band saws, in fact) in his "catalog."

And, of course, it's yellow ...

[RichG]

That's exactly the spring I have in my 14'' Jet BS. I bought the BS used and it had this this in it allready. One thing that was a problem when I bought this saw was the tension rod had worn a hole through the upper arm. I suspect that the guy who I bought it from had over tensioned the blade with the Iturra spring. I just plugged the hole with a cut off hex head bolt and it's working fine for me but this is something I'd watch out for.

[SARGE..g-47]

Tom, Luis Ittura sells and in some cases has manufactured probably the most quality band-saw component parts available. And he is a wealth of knowledge on those components as he has been doing it for years. Sort of when Luis speaks, it would benefit you to listen as what he says is not a guess but derived at by front-line testing.

The Iturra springs are quality. If you have any questions about them or other things he sells, you can contact him on his web-site or call. I'm sorry I can't provide the site or phone, but a google for Ittura and band-saw will most likely get you there.

Regards...

[LarryG]

It's actually LOU Iturra. That might help with that Google search.

Although, last I heard, his company STILL didn't have a web site. Phone number I have is 888-722-7078.

[SARGE..g-47]

Thanks Larry as you may be correct on the web-site. I thought I remembered going to the site a year of so ago from a link on Knots (FWW forum), but it could have been a link that just carried the Ittura Design products? Perhaps like me as a hold-out on modern technology. I don't even have a cell phone at this point and one is not in the immediate future. ha.. ha...

I have spoken to Lou (and you are correct he goes by Lou) in lenght a while back on reccomendation from many and he is extremely knowledgable of the band-saw. He does (or at least did) have a catalog of products that he would send out from his base in Jacksonville, Fl. (I believe JAX from memory). Again, very sharp and very helpful!

Regards...

[Popeye]

Let me toss something else out there before you buy another spring. I had the same issue with my HF saw. Found out that when changing blades I needed to get the blade on the tires and lift the upper wheel and screw the tensioner down through the nut and bring it up to the point where it was squarely engaged in the housing and continue till the tensioner made contact on the upper arm. Then start tensioning the blade. For some reason before I had gotten this all out of wack and ended up with exactly what you describe. Now that I know, it hasn't been an issue. Good luck, Pat

[Tom Miller]

Thanks for the feedback and confirmation, guys. I don't plan to ever go beyond a 1/2" blade, so I'm not too worried about stressing my bandsaw past its limits.

Now I have to decide if its time to try a Woodslicer, as long as I'm paying shipping from Highland....

Regards,
Tom

[LarryG]

Now I have to decide if its time to try a Woodslicer, as long as I'm paying shipping from Highland

I like Highland, bought my Iturra spring and Wood Slicer (and many other items) from them, but FWIW ... if you order the spring directly from Iturra Design, you can also get their version of the Wood Slicer for about 2/3 the cost. Of course they can't come right out and say that the blade the sell (I forget its name) is identical to the Wood Slicer, but there's no doubt about what blade they're talking about when they coyly mention how it is "the same blade that was selected as best by a major woodworking magazine", or however it is they put it ...

Wherever you get it, and under whichever name, it's a superb blade. Mine stays on my G0555 all the time, except when I need to cut a tighter curve than a 1/2" blade will allow.

[kwgeorge]

I will say this Tom, the Woodslicer is the finest Bandsaw blade I ever bought and will continue to buy. I just sliced up a bunch of wood into 1/16” pieces 3” wide and 50” long and it just cut like butter. The surface of the wood after the cut can be cleaned up with a light sanding so I don’t waste a bunch of wood like with other blades I have used.

I am one very happy customer for that blade and anyone who owns one I think you will find the same opinion.

Ken

[AlanWS]

Quoted from my absurdly long post on bandsaw blades the other day:

Another excellent resource is free: the Iturra catalog. There's no website, but calling Iturra at (888) 722-7078 will get you the catalog, and any bandsaw stuff.

[Tom Miller]

...if you order the spring directly from Iturra Design, you can also get their version of the Wood Slicer for about 2/3 the cost.

Thanks for that tip, Larry! I was planning to order from Highland, but decided to go directly to the source. Based on the great recommendations, I ordered the Iturra version of the Woodslicer ($20 vs. $30 at Highland), in addition to the spring.

I also ordered their replacement tensioning rod & nut, which have acme threads, so I'll sidestep that little "stripped rod issue" that I've heard of, as well.

Regards,
Tom