Help bandsaw not tracking

[anonrights]

I picked up an old black and decker 3-wheel bandsaw really cheap, and it works perfectly except the blade wanders towards you pretty quickly. The maddening thing is that it tracks perfectly backwards? I think maybe the bolt that tilts the top wheel is somehow not long enough(?) Any help is good!

 

[anonrights]

I checked and the blade is flat(planer) and if it matters it is belt-driven.

 

[Sealeveler]

Could a bearing be allowing 1 of the wheels to tilt out of coplanar.
Tony

 

[MagGeorge]

Check the guides and rubber tires on the wheel. Proper installation of rubber tires enables the blade to track properly.

 

[Joe Scharle]

I seem to remember a complaint like this was fixed by pulling sharply with one hand on the bottom of the top wheel while simultaneously pushing sharply on the top of the wheel. Seems that the frame would allow the wheel to 'lean' over time, especially if the tension was mleft on. YMMV

Shopsmiths have this problem too.

 

[MagGeorge]

http://bandsawblog.com/band-saw-tracking-procedures/. This link might help you. It talks about blade tracking procedures.

 

[anonrights]

Fixed it. If anyone's interested, the top wheel is set up with metal tags that run along slots which are used to guide in tensioning and fixing tracking. What happened is the tags on the left somehow got bent more than the right side, so it would tilt crookedly. I banged those flat and it works