BS1402 Wheel Balancing

[Ronald]

Hello
I just spent the better part of Saturday balancing my upper bandsaw wheel. Not sure if it is the right way, but I took the wheel off and plcaed it on an arbor (same size that holds it on the bandsaw) and started hand spinning it and marking where it stopped. If it stopped on the same spots all the time, I would remove it and drill a little divet (is that a word?) on the backside and spin agian. After countless spins, I finally got it to stop on random points and when I spun it fast, there was no vibration or wobble. Let me say that it took alot of small divets completely around the wheel to completely balance it. It is a shame that this balancing can not be done at the factory. You would think Ridgid would be concerned after so many complaints about vibration!
Ron

[ironhat]

I balanced mine while on the machine and it got scary how much I was removing. At the base and on either side of one rib I through-drilled 6, 3 at 1/8" and three at 1/4", on each side. The factory had their divets drilled along the edge of the rim on the adjoining space between ribs. How pathetic! This, a link belt and urethane tires calmed the vibration down to almost nothing. I doubt the tires had much to do with it. Mine were so bad that they wouldn't stay on the wheels from the first start up.

[ironhat]

Allan, you have no clue how frustrated I am with Ridgid's pathetic customer service. It started with the infamous 3650 arbor fiasco. I called them in April of last year and after 4 phone calls and just as many e-mails I received the arbor in November. Personally, I think that they should have equipped the local stores to come to the owners homes and make the repair since the 'authorized shop' was nearly two hours away and not everyone is equipped with a truck or a strong back. I got it on but it was no picnic. Also, I chalked up my issue with the bandsaw to buying a re-certified (then, why is it only warrranted for 1 year?) which I only paid $249 for. Enough griping. I like the equipment. As far as the old Delta TS goes it's the way to go if you have the room. There a lot them around when you start looking and they clean up better than I do on Sunday morning!