From: muratlanne@gmail.com   
      
   "Bob La Londe"  wrote in message news:10k0mg0$2k4a$1@dont-email.me...   
      
   On 1/11/2026 7:48 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:   
   > What are you using for the wheels? They were the critical components of   
   > mine, the only parts I couldn't make. Motorcycle wheels and tires worked   
   > pretty well for me except that they aren't load rated for nearly the   
   > recommended blade tension, which keeps the blade straight in wide cuts.   
   > 24" diameter is large enough to avoid the gullet cracking my previous 10"   
   > wheel sawmill suffered with 3/4" wide coarse blades. These are 1-1/4"   
   > wide, 3/4" pitch as Timberwolf suggested. They can be lightly sharpened a   
   > few times with a guided file without complaints from the regrinding   
   > service.   
      
   I would think ring rolling flat bar, and welding in spokes would be an   
   answer.  Note: that meat saws, and horizontal band saws do not use a   
   tire.  Instead they use an all metal wheel with a lip, and they   
   typically only use one width of blade.   
      
   Turning a 24" wheel concentric might not be so practical unless you have   
   a really large lathe or a modestly large lathe with a gap bed.  There   
   are ways to get "pretty close" on a mill though.  Mounted to a rotary   
   table offset to one side you can skim a wheel round.  Concentricity is a   
   bit more involved, but if you can center the bore on the rotab maybe not   
   so much.  A close fit stub in the bore of the rotab if you don't have a   
   mill with 12+ inches of column clearance.  It sounds ridiculous at   
   first, but a 24 inch wheel needs to only have a little over 12 inches   
   offset from the spindle and the same clearance to the column.  Depending   
   on the setup your rotab bore doesn't even have to be within the envelope   
   of the machine.   
      
   You know how to balance a wheel I am sure.  Just drill out or add   
   material until doesn't stop at any particular point when setup on on a   
   simple axle, or on an axle across a couple "parallels."  However, is it   
   spinning fast enough that balance is even really an issue?  I haven't   
   seen any signs of balancing on any of my smaller bandsaws.   
   Bob La Londe   
   -------------------------------   
   I sufficiently restored a second SB Heavy 10 headstock that could be mounted   
   on a heavy wood beam frame with an X-Y table for the tool rest as a large   
   wheel lathe. I bought an HF linked belt to drive it through the flat cone   
   pulley and back gears, and a variable speed DC motor. The bigger problem is   
   making the rim strong enough to hold a safe multiple of 1500 Lbs. Usually   
   the rubber rim is a row of vee belts which require fairly deep turned   
   grooves.   
      
   The saw needs some welding repair from the last session, it wasn't built   
   much stronger than necessary for the original 5.5HP design and modifying it   
   for larger logs and higher blade tension cut into the margin.   
      
   I removed the drive wheel tire to smooth a rim corrosion leak and it's now   
   noticeably out of balance when running at some speeds, fortunately not the   
   cutting speed. The 3" channel uprights that support the saw head can't have   
   cross bracing except at the top end and are somewhat wobbly. They were   
   weakened by notches nearer one end and cost me only $5 per 8' length so I   
   can't complain too hard. The shorter cutoffs became their bases.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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