Aligning bandsaw wheels on Norwood LM29

In this video, we run into a little bit of an alignment issues with the blade wheels when changing a blade on our Norwood LM29. There are 2 techniques recommended for adjusting the alignment of the wheels. We cover both but had to do a little modification to the mill.
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[@dianaarmitage43]

We didn't look through all the comments but we used a hole saw to make a 7/8" hole where the alignment string needs to pass instead of cutting out a section of the cover. It lets us align the saw without cutting away very much of the safety cover.

[@daviddromaine]

Omg so frustrating to align my 2000. The old guy says it's a 4 min job and 4 hours later after several very loud expletives.... here I am watching your video. The wheel loses all alignment and positioning when tensioner is loosened , every freaking time. Since I have a 2k and 6 foot straight edge, I'm gonna attempt that method. Thanks for your help 👍

[@traviskelly5480]

Man you are not alone about that blade jumping off. I got a woodlands mill and I’ve been having trouble with the blade jumping off it’s like you’re shell shocked after it happens so much

[@toddhutchins8877]

Travis Kelly I found between the belt being loose and wheels being slightly out of line was the key factor

[@dwb1943]

move the carriage to the far end , not so much walking back and forth, Much easier

[@RJM1011]

Great to see thank you for the video. This is the main thing I don't like about these Norwood mills.

[@TheWadetube]

you should be able to shrink that rubber belt by putting it in the oven at around 200. I would test temps on some old tire rubber to make sure you don't over heat it, but heat shrinks rubber.

[@Woodruffsawmill]

Great video demo. Thank you

[@jamesmcgregor9491]

I had the identical problem with this exact sawmill. My solution was a little bit easier, I made a jig. I took piece of plywood long enough to span the two wheels, jointed one edge of the plywood dead straight, then notched the plywood where the plastic guard interfered. Adjusted the wheels under full tension and never another blade coming off.

[@dwb1943]

I did the same thing and it worked great

[@billyingram3492]

James, is the cover a hard plastic or metal? I'm thinking of purchasing this mill.

[@parallelburrito]

I would think the average Norwood customer is the type of problem solver that can figure out how to make a little notch to allow the string to be straight. I mean come on, you are making your own lumber.

[@1hynes1]

Great video, easy to make those adjustments. Going forward, Norwood should have those Notches cut out. Great video, keep them coming.

[@RedToolHouse]

Thanks, will do!

[@joemc111]

Nice presentation, questions. Can you take the tool out once you tighten the blade? How do you tell the blade is tight enough? How often do you Change the rubber on the blade wheels? I would think the blade wheels could be milled flat,so when you did the string test the string would touch the arms that fan out from the center. Also maybe use a black marker on the adjustment screws so you could tell if they are moving.

[@SR-fl6do]

Hopefully this helps me also. Troubleshooting now. My blade actually contacts the guard on the non-drive side.

[@davewygonowski984]

Have the Norwood rep come out and go through the whole deal. Good for you and great for Norwood to show they care and they are a real customer support team!!! Win / Win!!! If not, then I would look at the competition... Sawing into something you spent $$$ into sounds like a jury rig and time to find a different company.

[@fiskfarm]

Check out Woodland Mills. Stellar reviews. None of these alignment nightmares. This only touches on blade alignment but blade to track alignment is even a bigger problem with Norwood with no adjustment provided.

[@Chris-qf9qm]

Monday quarterback much?

[@bobcole9274]

Good idea on norwoods part, (to have you do the mod), Would a piece of flat (machined flat), metal with the notch on it (3 two for the zerts) , which could be stored on the frame be logical? just wonder how that might work? good video and good luck. Bob

[@jorjepereira321]

muy bien explicado ,es bueno aprender muy bueno ,.felicitaciones por la explicación lo que no escuche de cuanto mm es el volante

[@denisd4050]

Could the blades be stretching cock eye from tampering or weld when they made the blade? Great video

[@gardentiger69]

Make sure your belt is tight. Can cause some vibration.

[@pmessinger]

Thanks for the demo, Troy. I was also noticing how the new wood on the (somewhat) new building was taking on that nice natural grey to match all the rest. Looks good as is, but I'm wondering if you plan to have the boys roll/brush on a nice traditional reddish wash or something else. Seems that wood should have some sort of protection and I doubt treating it with motor oil might not be so widely accepted. What's up with that? That could provide another short (or long) series of videos in discussion and application. What'll it be, Compadre?

[@kencornelius9584]

West Virginia boy myself. Not to slam Norwood but, you should have bought a Cook's sawmill. I don't have the issues you go through in this video, I spend mere minutes on blade changes. Enjoy the videos.

[@keithstringer6865]

Enjoy your videos and your homestead.I have mn26 stationary got it ready to Mill middle of January 2020.Trouble keeping rails straight and then broke 2 drive belts within two weeks! Norwood is going to send me another belt but I need to figure out what causing it!! I thought they were supposed to know that.watching your video.alining your wheels with string, thanks now I know how to do it!

[@RedToolHouse]

Is the belt getting chewed up or just snapping at one location? That is tough to break one of those.

[@keithstringer6865]

@@RedToolHouse yes both belts snapped identaly and I guess it's possible the blade is cutting it.

[@RedToolHouse]

@@keithstringer6865 make sure your blade rides "proud" of the wheels. This will keep the teeth from contacting the blade at all. I usually flush the back of the blade with the back of the wheel and that makes the teeth stick out far enough.

[@keithstringer6865]

@@RedToolHouse ok

[@keithstringer6865]

Took 2 hours to load my hog for processing! Took my mind off the sawmill.

[@stevejohnson1313]

Did you have full recommended tension when doing string alignment? Thanks

[@sandraworkman2946]

How much tork do you put on the adjustment bolts thank you.

[@gerardmcclelland6198]

Very helpful thank you. Not having a nut on the tensioner arm makes it a little hit and miss!! You need to use a torque wrench to adjust it to correct tension otherwise you can break the blade if over tight! I found out the hard way on this! My mill (A Woodlands H26) has only one proper wheel adjuster on the tensioner side the 'drive wheel' side can be adjusted but it is difficult! Cheers.

[@RedToolHouse]

Norwood tensioner "bottoms out" before over tension (at least they say that). Woodland is a good mill too.

[@463656]

@@RedToolHouse bottoms out at 5 turns after that you start bending stuff not using the same tension each time is what messes with the alignment

[@TheWadetube]

Sorry I am late seeing this. I think your problem is that each time you tighten the blade tension you are pivoting the axel from a fixed position and if the new blade is not the same length and tensile strength of the old blade then it will go further or shorter while tightening and the angle will not be the same because the other end of the shaft FROM the wheel is anchored against the set bolt. Seems to me that this design calls for testing your alignment each time you put a new blade on. You could use a laser level while tightening.

[@tangle70]

I cannot talk and do things at the same time. Same here.

[@sydmarty1]

Make the notch a little larger and you could use a steel or aluminum straight edge

[@paulnovak833]

Having issues with my Norwood I just got and Norwood never returns my calls

[@fiskfarm]

Woodland Mills baby all the way. I did serious comparisons for weeks before choosing Woodland. Long wait time but worth it from all reports.

[@fiskfarm]

Well from what I am seeing on YT in regards to Norwood I am very grateful that I ordered another brand. This is rediculous and the other problem I am seeing is the very poor alignment between the blade and the track causing the cut to dive and with no fix or ability to even perform any such alignment other than a "hack". RECALL time😎

[@mrmulticraft5149]

The reason you think things are going out of adjustment when you change a blade is because no two blades are exactly the same length so when you put it under tension the perpendicularity will be affected. ALL blades made from "mild" carbon steel back will stretch with age. Only the teeth are "induction" hardened so when you give that tensioner an extra nudge because you think vibration has made it loose that's not the case. The blade has "broken in" and grown slightly. The final issue is temperature. You can expect the blade to grow slightly when the temperature variation is significant in the Spring or Fall. If you want to explore the science you can go online and look up the thermal expansion of steel coefficient to figure out how much it's going to grow but if you aren't running water as a coolant and friction heats your blade from 45 degrees (night time temp) to 100+ working temp because of friction which also causes your blade to grow. Do yourself a favor and buy an aluminum flat bar 3" x 3/16" x 6' as a straight edge.

[@linzierogers7479]

Where are your gloves?

[@RedToolHouse]

In my tool box beside my safety glasses 😀

[@alanvaleandthelazyfarmer1930]

Bad luck! Every blade will need a slightly different alignment. Back off the thrust bearings and spin the blade as you tension it. When you are happy, bring in the thrust bearings so they just clear the blade. With an electric motor, you can give the wheels a short blip. They should only touch the bearings under load. Next time, the thrust bearings should be ok. I have also had issue with the rubber tyres being out of round causing a pulse in blade tension and many broken blades. I had to have one skimmed. Also when the blade snaps, never touch it until the wheel stops spinning. It can grab and flip around like a whip.

[@shedasaurus]

If the frame expanded/ contracted instead of the wheel you would not have this problem- every blade is different length

[@chrissnyder4144]

Your finger nails suggest that day was the 1st time you've ever touched heavy machinery

[@RedToolHouse]

Ha! Not quite. Been turning wrenches for a long time. Finger nails are very handy to have

[@gardentiger69]

WoodMizer.

[@r.p.strange7671]

I’ve run everything from frics to every bandsaw mill except Hudson. I got the opportunity to set up and run one of Norwood clones, frontier ,made in China to Norwood specks. To keep wheel anchors in line,they told me to ptfe tape on the adjustment screws to keep them from loosinging. I think this is retarded. We machined a locking sleeve to lock the blade adjustment bolt.piss poor design.our company is in the market to buy 1maby2 40 in. Mills, at this point,Norwood is not on the list.

[@RedToolHouse]

I had the alignment issue just that once and have never had it since. Weird. Yeah, not a fan of that technical advice idea