Old bandsaw questions

J

Justin W

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Jul 30, 2019
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I got an old Powr Kraft TRT-2325 bandsaw, (Montgomery Wards vintage) but no manual. It is really old and I can't find anything online. It is a 9 inch model with 3/4" wide wheels and either 59.5" or 60" blade length. It runs smooth and the rubber wheels are in good shape but it needs rewiring. The motor has variable pulleys but I haven't found the spec plate yet.

A few questions:
1. Is 59.5 inch or 60 inch a standard blade length?
2. Given 3/4 inch wheels, can I run 1/2 inch blades or 3/8 inch maximum? Planning to cut hard woods, stabilized woods, micarta, etc. No steel, or metals planned. Rip and resaw cuts mostly, and some profile cuts.
3. What tpi and wood blades do you like?
4. What is a good source for bearings?
5. It has a janky fence one of the prior owners built on. Should I upgrade, or make a point fence instead?

I have seen some tuneup videos, so I'm going to start that this weekend.
 
Consider putting a 3/4HP 3Ph motor and a VFD on it.
For wood, a 2/3 skip tooth carbide Woodslicer blade is superb. For metal a Lenox 18 to 24 tooth Diemaster blade is good.
 
Found the motor plate. 1/3 hp at 1725 rpm original to the machine. It still runs, so I'll use it until it goes up. The frame is cast iron and nice and stiff, so it may be worth the upgrade down the road. The work table is thin, but seems stiff enough. Maybe I can reinforce it with some angle bars if needed.

Any thoughts on blade width?
 
Looks like my choices are limited for the smaller saw. So far I have only found Lenox tri master as a carbide tipped blade 1/2 inch width and 59.5-60 inch length, 3 tpi. A lot of the favored brands only have larger size limits.
 
Congratulations on your band saw. I have an old Power King and really like it. In my opinion the old American made tools are much superior to the chinese tools of today.
Mine had a 1/3 hp motor which was kind of wimpy . I had an extra 1hp motor on hand. The 1 hp motor works very well.
If you ever need tires for your band saw "Sulpher Grove" sells them and they also have an excellent video on how to install band saw tires.
 
I just got the same model (Powr Kraft TRT-2325). Cleaned it and greased it up. Bought a new Timber Wolf blade, but I can’t find anything on how to adjust it. Any ideas or resources?
 
KarenRita said:
I just got the same model (Powr Kraft TRT-2325). Cleaned it and greased it up. Bought a new Timber Wolf blade, but I can’t find anything on how to adjust it. Any ideas or resources?
Click to expand...
There is no documentation for it. I Suggest, tension first then top wheel tracking to get the blade to ride in a good position on the wheel. Then adjust the blade guides on top and bottom to give a minimal clearance. There are 2 screws for side to side clearance and 2 spinning disks that ride behind the blade, all adjusted by flathead screws. Test it gradually, spinning slowly by hand at first, then when you feel comfortable with it, switch on/off real quickly a few times. After you are confident in the setup, switch in on and check your blade guides for good clearance while running. Then a few scrap cuts.

There are decent YouTube guides out there, but not for this model saw. Just learn what you can and try to translate it the best you can. Be prepared to adjust things regularly too.
 
Welcome KarenRita (Karen and Rita?)
Fill out your profile so we know a bit about you and where you live.

This is a two-year-old thread. New members should be sure to look at the dates of the last posts and the original post before resurrecting and old thread.

Luckily, Justin is still reading it and posted a reply to your post.
 
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