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Walker-Turner 14-in bandsaw

RODELU

Aluminum
Joined
Dec 31, 2010
Location
Uruguay
I have a 14-inch Walker Turner band saw for cutting metal and wood and I have a problem with it which is the reason for this message.
This band saw is a recent acquisition, was rebuilt by me and has been used only in wood and at the lowest speed without the use of the gearbox.
There is a part connecting the 4-step pulley at the saw side to the shaft through a spring-loaded pin. This part is held in place on the shaft by two 5/16”-18 grub screws mating with two flats in the shaft. The flats were originally mangled, the screws had slipped in the shaft scoring it; I removed the ridges and reworked the flats in the mill but the part keeps on becoming loose. No amount of thightening will make it stay in place. There´s what feels like adequate free play between the pin, the part and the pulley when rotating 360 degree by hand, I made a new pin and a steel part inserted in the pulley for the pin to sit in when connected, there´s what I believe to be the original non-steel washer between the part and the pulley and everything is kept properly lubricated.
So, the problem is this part becoming loose after 15 minutes of use.
I’ve tried the Vintage Machinery website, also postings in YouTube about Walker Turner band saws but found nothing useful. I got an exploded view of the saw from the Vintage Machinery place and all the parts are there.
I´m attaching a photo of the troubled part.
Has anyone had this problem ? does anyone have any ideas that would help?
Best regards and thanks for your attention.

001.JPG
 
No firsthand experience with your 14" model, but one of my saws is the next size up, the 16" W-T. One feature that differs on my saw and on what your show of your saw is the fact that the rounded hubcap on mine does not have a - what? 3/4"? - length of shaft protruding outboard as shown in your photograph. In normal operating mode my pulley cluster (4-sheave) does not have any of the shaft showing, as seen in the photograph below. Something about that excess length on yours doesn't look right to me. Is the pulley on your 14" saw in fact a "4-step" pulley?
W-T16"pulley.jpg

Since you evidently have the "exploded view" of your saw, the following photograph may be superfluous. It is a poorly photographed page from the Walker-Turner Div. of Rockwell Manufacturing Co. publication PM-1930 (419-01-651-0001) dated 10-7-59, titled "Walker-Turner 14" Metal Cutting Bandsaw". It may be worth noting that these saws, in all sizes, underwent modifications and model number changes over the years, so the component parts and their ID numbers may vary for any one size saw and from exploded view to exploded view.
W-T 14".jpg

-Marty-
 
It has been a long time since I had anything to do with a Walker Turner band saw and I think the one my father had was for wood only so I don’t think it had the transmission .
There are a couple of things that occurred to me that could be causing the problem .
I am wondering if the bore in the drive pin hub is loose on the shaft and so when the set screws are tightened up it isn’t square with the shaft and the drive pin is acting like a tail on a lathe dog trying to wiggle the hub as it goes around especially if the hole in the pulley is now a good fit .
If it was worn before that may be a indication that there had been a problem there for a long time.
Perhaps a piece of rubber or plastic hose in place of the new steel part you put in the pulley would make it act like a type of flexible joint coupling .
The other thing I was thinking it could be was if there was a slight bend in the shaft between the pulley and the drive hub or some were else on the shaft or if the bearing seats on the shaft aren’t concentric with each other it might cause a similar problem .
I would suggest you check the gap between the hub and the pulley with some feeler gauges or shim stock and see if the gap is even all around or if it binds the shims in one spot and they are loose on the opposite side when rotated by hand.

Another quick way to check the shaft is to remove the belt tension and loosen the bolts on the outer support bearing bracket .
If the shaft is bent or the bearing seats aren’t concentric you will see the support bracket wobbling slightly as you rotate the shaft by hand.
A quick patch job to keep it running might be to lock the hub in position with one setscrew and then spot the shaft with a tap drill sized drill through the other set screw hole and then insert a cone point set screw tight into the bottom with another short flat point set screw on top of the first one to lock it in.
Then take out the setscrew from the other hole and do the same thing with it .
This might get you running for a while but I would suggest you do some more investigation and find the real cause of the problem before trying this.
Regards,
Jim
 








 
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