HF 32208 Bandsaw Assembly...

[GaryA]

I know this was a pretty well covered topic a couple of years ago, but I can't locate the post where someone put up corrections to the instructions on the Harbor Freight 32208 4 speed 14" bandsaw.

I'm ashamed to say that I bought it over 2 years ago when it went on sale (and before I had a dedicated shop) and it sat in a corner of the garage. Now that I have a shop, I'm spending a lot of time getting it set up. I just started back on the assembly of this BS. I started the assembly, but stopped at the point of mounting the motor.

Does anyone know if there is a post with the corrected assembly??

Thanks

[eddy merckx]

Hi Gary

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=4066


This should help some, although the photos don't seem to come up. When I built mine last year, I didn't have a difficult time after I figured out that the owners manual shows the motor mounted backwards on the motor plate.

If you don't have the manual, you can download it from HF on the same page as bandsaw is listed.

Eddy

[Lonnie in Orlando]

EDIT: Eddy slipped in a reply while I was fumblin for the "post" key. The linked post was posted after the "JR" post. It may have more up-to-date info (?) Both posts are good.

===

I believe that the post you are looking for was by JR in March 2004. It's good, with photos and diagrams. Looks like it fell off. I had saved it -- but file is too large to post. I sent you a PM.

Also, see photo below of a solution to the flexing motor mount - not sure who posted it. Note: I haven't needed to do this to my HF BS.

Finally, here is text of a post I made re: motor mounting in 2002 ...

Forget the instructions about mounting the motor -- they are totally bogus.

I’ll use these terms for the two open sides of the base:
* The opening near the switch is the "SWITCH SIDE"
* The other opening is the "NON-SWITCH SIDE"

1) Attach the Motor Plate Bracket -- Key #9, p. 20 -- to the underside of the top of the base on the "switch side" as shown in the diagram on p. 20.

2) Attach the Stiffening Plate -- Key #8, p. 20 -- to the underside of the top of the base on the "non-switch side" as shown in the diagram.
NOTE: The mounting holes are offset. You should be able to see through the two holes near the middle of the Stiffening Plate and the top of the base after you attach it. Same for the Motor Plate Bracket. Later, you will bolt the frame of the saw through these holes. If you can’t see though them, you have flipped the brackets.

3) Attach the two Support Plates -- Key #7, p. 20 -- as stretchers between the side panels near the bottom of each opening. The diagram is pretty clear for the Support Plate on the "switch side". Do the same on the "non-switch" side.

4) Attach the end of the Motor Plate -- Key #10, p. 20 -- that folds back toward itself to the bottom of the Motor Plate Bracket on the "switch side". The flat side of the Motor Plate faces down, the lips on the edges face up.

5) Attach the other end of the Motor Plate to the top of the Support Plate on the "non-switch" side.
The diagram kinda shows this, but not too well.

Try to scoot the Motor Plate as close to the switch side of the base as you can. When you mount the motor, move the pulley on the motor as close to the motor as you can. Attach the motor thought the slots on the Motor Plate that are closest to the switch side of the base. Even then, the motor pulley will probably not be coplanar with the middle pulley. You may need to rack the base to help pull the two pulleys closer to coplanar.

The motor hangs below the Motor Plate.

Dab some LocTite on all the threads before you tighten everything for the final time.

- Lonnie

[JR]

It looks like my original thread is missing. I was able to find the pics, though, on an old JR home page. HTH.

http://users.adelphia.net/~johnandna.../homepage.html

[GaryA]

Excellent...thank you guys. JR - just got some additional inspiration from your shop setup.

Side question - why on earth did they have the power cord exit from the front???

[GaryA]

HELP!!!!! OK...this #$%^ saw is going to be the death of me!!!!! (I honestly considered if its worth it today vs. buying another saw (Grizzly, Jet, etc). Anyways, I'm struggling with setup (and apparently my mechanical ability) on the blade guard & guide rollers...there is a really bad diagram (with no instructions) in the manual (who the h*ll wrote that thing????), and its driving me insane. .

Do you guys have any pictures of close ups of this area on your saw. Here is where I am so far (see pics)...

[Uncle Cracker]

The absence of micro-adjusters (it is an HF, after all) looks like it will make setup a real PITA (and you sure don't want to change blades much). Those thumbscrews are a bad omen. Rather than trashing a new saw, you might want to investigate if there's anybody making an aftermarket upgrade kit for the HF's yet. Sure looks like there's gonna be a market for them.

[JR]

Ok, Gary, let's just put the tools down for a few minutes, shall we?

How about a coke?

A little stroll around the outside of the shop, maybe?

Coupla deep breaths, now...



It looks like you've got everthing assembled. I can't tell exactly from the pics what's giving you so much trouble. What exactly is hanging you up here? (Apart from the easy pickings of docoumentation, drawings, non-intuitive mechanicals, etc.) Is something rubbing or not rubbing as you expected?

JR

[GaryA]

Ok, Gary, let's just put the tools down for a few minutes, shall we?

How about a coke?

A little stroll around the outside of the shop, maybe?

Coupla deep breaths, now...



It looks like you've got everthing assembled. I can't tell exactly from the pics what's giving you so much trouble. What exactly is hanging you up here? (Apart from the easy pickings of docoumentation, drawings, non-intuitive mechanicals, etc.) Is something rubbing or not rubbing as you expected?

JR

Well, the guide roller is supposed to be behind the blade, correct? it seems the the blade has to "wrap around" the roller too much (for lack of better term) and not allowing the blade to spin freely?? Also - should the blade be right in the middle of the guide blocks?
Not sure I have the blade guard installed correctly...should it go under the top cover?

[JR]

Hmm, let's give this a try. Just working on the upper blade guide:

1. Remove the blade guard. This is the least of your problems right now.
2. Loosen all the bolts on the upper blade guide assy, including the one that mounts it to post.
3. Tension the blade to the 3/8" marker.
4. Raise or lower the post to comfortable height. (You might put a little piece of 3/4" stock under the blade guide assy, to give you an idea of where you need to be). Secure the post.
5. Adjust the blade guide assy so that the blade will cross the bearing to right side (as viewed from where you would stand to feed stock through). Secure the blade guide to the post.
6. Adjust the guide block assy so that the blocks will be just behind the gullets of the blade.
7. Adjust the depth of the guide blocks. They should each be the thickness of a dollar bill away from the blade.
8. Adjust the bearing so that it is the thickness of a dollar bill away from the blade.
9. Repeat for lower blade guide assy.
10. Install the guard assy.
11. Try a few test cuts.

You may find that blade will stretch, or the tires will compress, or the frame will adjust, or whatever happens to bandsaws when first set up. This may require some tweaks to the blade guides and/or bearings before going into production mode.

This may sound like a lot of steps, but once you get used to it it's not too bad. Bandsaws do take a little adjusting before each session, it's the one drawback to this otherwise extremely useful tool.

JR

[messmaker]

It looks like the upper thrust bearing is out too far. It is keeping your blade from lining up. Everything else looks OK.

[mpc]

What JR said. Follow his instructions to the letter and you'll be fine. What's not explained in the HF manual (or many bandsaw manuals for that matter) is that the guide assemblies must be totally moved out of the way when installing the blades. Before installing the blade, loosen the adjustments and push the rear bearing back on both the upper and lower guide assemblies... then loosen the side blocks and pull them away from the blade.

Now go through the process of centering the blade on the bandsaw tires, tensioning the blade, etc. Spin the wheels by hand, adjusting the tracking, until the blade rides correctly on the wheels/tire: centered on each tire. If the wheels are adjusted correctly, the blade will be perpendicular to the table both side-to-side and front-to-back - assuming the table is set to the 0 degree point. Now set up the upper and lower blade guides with JR's instructions. The blade must be installed/tensioned BEFORE the guides are set up... that's what's missing from some instructions. And you have to go through the guide adjustments each time you change blades - the positions of the guides depend on the actual thickness and tooth-to-back-edge size of the blades... and exactly where on the wheels/tires the blade rides. On many bandsaws, as you move the upper guide block up/down (for thicker or thinner work pieces) you have to re-adjust the upper guides... the post that supports the guides isn't 100% vertical on many bandsaws.

If the blade isn't perpendicular to the work table, adjust/shim the table or check the wheels. Ideally the upper and lower wheel should be directly above each other but sometimes they are not quite aligned vertically - not "co-planar" How to adjust this varies on each saw. A straight stick of wood as tall as the saw, with either 4 screws inserted or two shorter blocks makes a good test/alignment jig. You want two screws or the lower wood block to "rest" on the edges of the lower wheel, and the upper ones to rest on the upper wheel when everything is lined up. No part of this alignment jig should be touching the saw frame - just line the wheels up to each other. When building the jig, you want to make sure the 4 screw heads or 2 wood pieces are lined up. For my bandsaw jig, I used the front rail of my BT3000 as a straight edge - I just hold my jig against the BT rail and adjust the screws in/out (they stick out about 1 inch from the wood stick) until all 4 screwheads just graze the BT rail. Hold that up to the bandsaw wheels and hopefully all 4 screws just graze the wheels. If you find you can only contact 2 of the 4 screws... the wheels are not quite co-planar. This makes blade tracking difficult. Usually the lower wheel axle is mounted to some sort of adjuster mechanism: a threaded bolt with a nut on the inside (wheel side) of the saw and a big fat cylinder portion on the outside, clamped by 4 little screws. Those 4 screws adjust the tilt (up/down and left/right) of the lower wheel, and the big nut moves it in/out when the 4 screws are loose. Once the wheels are truely coplanar, you'll find it's easier to get the blade to track properly and the blade should end up perpendicular to the work table. Do the co-planar adjustments with the tension released... but check the co-planer with a blade installed and tensioned. Takes a while but only has to be done once when the saw is assembled... and maybe every year or two if it bends/sags with age.


mpc

[Uncle Cracker]

What may be throwing you is that the back edge of the blade is supposed to ride almost against the face of the thrust bearing. Looks weird, but that's the layout. Many other saws use a design where the back edge of the blade rides against the rim (outside edge) of the thrust bearing, which looks more logical. Not so on this saw. Also, you'll probably want to get a better blade than that stock one, and you'll have to readjust when you mount it.

[JR]

What may be throwing you is that the back edge of the blade is supposed to ride almost against the face of the thrust bearing. Looks weird, but that's the layout.

That's right. I failed to describe that clearly.

The blades going to run vertically in the space between the rim of the bearing and its center nut.

Thanks for catch, Cracker.

JR

[GaryA]

Thanks guys. I'm going to dive into it tomorrow morning. If anyone has a picture of that area...that would be GREATLY helpful.

Otherwise...the instructions look great JR, thanks in advance. I'll let you know how it goes...