Kalamazoo H9Aw repair question

I've got a couple of e-mails out to places claiming to carry parts, but I have a feeling this will not be a service item. I have a broken 3-phase rocker switch, part number 9A-221 , the switch actually still works but plastic wish-bone shaped rocker lever is broken. Anyone dealt with this before? My saw is 1975, my prediction is the switch went obsolete when OSHA started requiring " emergency off" red crash buttons in the 80's?

Also, while looking at parts, I saw someone sells a polyuretane " band saw tire" for $26. This saw just has plain steel pulley wheels, and sometimes the blade with catch and stall, slipping on the pulleys while motor is still turning (tension is correct on idler pulley). Has anyone tried one of these tires, they claim better performance. I'm guessing you stretch it over the drive pulley? All feedback appreciated

switch.



tire

switch

well looks like no-go on the tires, guide-lip on band-pulleys is only 3/32" tall, and most of the tires are .095" thick. Not sure i want to re-machine the pulleys to make the lip taller, although blade-stalling is a huge problem and probably no.1 cause of chipped teeth

I have a similar saw, a bit newer, the blade issue sounds like the alignment of the drive or tension wheel are not correct. The manual has a pretty good description of how to align them. You can get the manual from Kalamazoo for free.

As for the switch you will probably have to buy a new starter assy. I have one that I bought on ebay, it is for 480volt 3phase systems and I would sell it to you for $400. It is new in the box, I bought it on ebay but realized that the old one was still working and decided not to use it.

Charles

CBlair said:

I have a similar saw, a bit newer, the blade issue sounds like the alignment of the drive or tension wheel are not correct. The manual has a pretty good description of how to align them. You can get the manual from Kalamazoo for free.
Charles

Click to expand...

thanks, i do have a green book called " Service manual and parts list", january 1974. there is nothing in there about aligning the pulleys, just about blade changes and tension. The all caps are copied from their book, not my emphasis

Kalamazoo said:

"Tighten blade until it won't fall off , then turn motor on. Tighten blade further until there is no flutter or vibration and then ADD 1 FULL TURN OF TENSION HANDLE". As tension is added the blade travels up the faces of the band wheels until nearly against the flanges because the the wheels are slightly canted or tilted.

Click to expand...

In looking at the machine, i do not see any provisions for adjusting the band-pulleys?

CBlair said:

As for the switch you will probably have to buy a new starter assy. I have one that I bought on ebay, it is for 480volt 3phase systems and I would sell it to you for $400. It is new in the box, I bought it on ebay but realized that the old one was still working and decided not to use it.

Charles

Click to expand...

thanks, I'll keep it in mind. I was able to do a repair yesterday and will see how that does.

for anyone wishing to try this and wanting to save some cash, here are the steps. Proceed at own risk with machine unplugged, this is a high voltage assembly , not responsible for injury or death associated with this procedure

1) remove pieces of broken plastic switch and unscrew /remove the front plate of switch from rest of assembly
2)drill and tap existing hole in metal rocker for 10-32
3) get a 1.75" metal cap screw, partially threaded, and cut off head
4) install in switch 1/4" deep with loctite and jam-nut
5) cut a strip of rubber .75 x 1.5" long, and slot on center .2 x .75 long, slide over stud to act as dirt shield
6) machine a Delrin bushing (or other suitable plastic, do not use metal), .63 x .3 x 1.0" long, step one end down .07 deep on the .63 wide side about halfway back (1/2")
7) drill .193 thru-hole centered on .23 thick section
8) slide into factory switch bracket adapter and onto 10-32 stud, use Silicone grease
9) re-install on/off plunger rod

Horizontal saws don't use tires, just steel wheels. Tires are for vertical saws where different blade thicknesses are used. The tire allows the teeth to run on the wheel without destroying the set.

Like I suggested contact Kalamazoo and they can email you a newer manual, cost you nothing and the instructions are in there. Pretty simple really you dont actually need the instructions but it might be helpful.

Charles

still curious about trying out a set of tires, this is the reply i got back from a vendor about a set of Uretheane tires, apparently need to be glued on since I use water soluble coolant on this machine (as sold by manufacturer, model number H9AW , with the W denoting wet-blade). If anyone has done this on an old Kalamazoo please let me know. My concern would the blade running up and over the lip of the band-pulley as it's only .093 tall, despite the instructions saying the blade shouldn't touch the lip.

Blue Max said:

if you want to try a set of tires I can list a set in our 1/8 thick urethane and they will have to be glued on. Wheels must be clean of any oil/ This is how we glue a tire on. Mount the tire on the wheel first. Then pry out the tire and put a 1/2" dowel or pipe between the tire and wheel. Then brush Weld wood contact cement or comparable laminate cement onto the wheel behind the dowel as you twist the dowel around the wheel while brushing the glue in until you make it all the way around to where you started. Then pull the dowel out and let dry for 24 hours. I find this is the easiest way to glue a tire on and it also evens out the stretch as you go.

Click to expand...

gbent said:

Horizontal saws don't use tires, just steel wheels. Tires are for vertical saws where different blade thicknesses are used. The tire allows the teeth to run on the wheel without destroying the set.

Click to expand...

ok, i just posted before seeing this .

any other suggestions then, short of removing the band-pulleys and knurling them ? : )

CBlair said:

Like I suggested contact Kalamazoo and they can email you a newer manual, cost you nothing and the instructions are in there. Pretty simple really you dont actually need the instructions but it might be helpful.

Charles

Click to expand...

thanks , will do so

just got quoted $1730. for the switch, an no offer to either give or sell me a copy of the manual. Can someone please be so kind as to post a copy of the page detailing the band-wheel adjustment?
there's a manual offered for sale that looks like mine but is 12 years newer, same machine part number, 14 printed pages versus my 12.

I buried my saw a month ago and it isn't coming out for a few months for sure.

We made a modification to ours. But ours didn't fully break off. Since it is a nice saw, I would just add in a separate add on switch just for the auto shut off. This way your not snacking the breaker switch every time.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

draganm said:

just got quoted $1730. for the switch, an no offer to either give or sell me a copy of the manual. Can someone please be so kind as to post a copy of the page detailing the band-wheel adjustment?
there's a manual offered for sale that looks like mine but is 12 years newer, same machine part number, 14 printed pages versus my 12.

Click to expand...

Is this the manual you need?

Kalamazoo Industries Inc. - Publication Reprints - Metal cutting saws operating and maintenance manual | VintageMachinery.org

crrmeyer said:

Is this the manual you need?

Kalamazoo Industries Inc. - Publication Reprints - Metal cutting saws operating and maintenance manual | VintageMachinery.org

Click to expand...

thanks!
that looks like a newer manual and it definitely covers more stuff. The electrical breaker box/on-off switch in that manual is a newer design than what i have.

Edit: just found the pages (which didn't load at first), on band wheel adjustment, awesome! Looks like my drive-wheel is just a little on the negative-canted side. Have a .09" gap approx. between blade edge and band-wheel lip. Will adjust accordingly.

gbent said:

Horizontal saws don't use tires, just steel wheels. Tires are for vertical saws where different blade thicknesses are used. The tire allows the teeth to run on the wheel without destroying the set.

Click to expand...

thanks, i did read your post and skip the tries, all that makes sense.

Just to wrap up this thread, i did read and follow the procedure for aligning the band-wheels. One very important thing to note is it says to remove the blade guides before doing this. Now I really did not want to do that, so for a quick test i just completely loosened the big black locking knob on the back which locks them onto the position slide. Remarkably, my blade now runs perfectly true against the band wheels.

With the machine running, i tighten the guide assembly closest to idler wheel, still runs true. Tighten the one closer to drive wheel and i see it push the blade out, now it runs too far down on the band-wheels like before.

I could have messed with it further here, but i never move this guide. The one that gets pushed back and forth for longer stock or blade changes is the one closer to idler wheel. So what to do, i grabbed a .005" thick Brass shim, cut it to size, and slipped it in between top of slide and guide. Blade runs perfectly and it will stay this way.
thanks to everyone for the help, the switch is working great too.

My 9AW has a one hp motor, and the rest of the electrics looked tired. I decided to add a VFD to it, now everything is fine, only low voltage inexpensive switches are needed. Bonus: it runs on 120v single phase, I roll it out when needed and plug into nearest wall socket, no muss no fuss. Cheaper than a single phase 1 hp motor too.