4x6 bandsaw not playing fair

[thehomeengineer]

Hi All
I have had issues with my 40 year old 4x6 bandsaws throwing blades and not cutting square, which got to the point where I didn’t want to use it for the last year or so. My last project needed some larger size stock to be cut, so it was time to investigate the issue. All the normal checks had been made so there had to be something more serious. On inspection there was plenty of of side play which appeared to be wear in the casting where the bandsaw pivots. The saw was stripped down and there was 0.035” of wear in the casting. To overcome this problem I decided to machine the casting and fit bronze bushes. The following photos show the setup and the final result.
12mm diameter bar not cutting square.

Base clamped to angle plate.

Checking alignment with a square.

Extended boring head bar.

Both holes bored out to accept bronze bearings.

Bearings and saw put back together with no play.

25mm diameter bar, saw is now cutting square.

Hope this will be of help and interest to others who have the same issue.
many thanks for viewing
The Home Engineer

[ductape]

Excessive wear on the pivot is a common issue with these saws after a lot of use. Nice work!