Take the time to actually setup your saw.
We bought an AF50 nearly 3+ years ago and have been using it for our Machining department to cut blanks. We have constantly battled with breaking sensors, the screws coming loose and so forth.
It came to a head for myself when I learned my team was using the Bandsaw as a Manual machine and a guy was basically spending all day cutting blanks instead of machining.
I took it upon myself to realize that nobody actually went thru and adjusted air flow and settings. They just let it run as it was out of the crate.
Well, after spending a whole 10 minutes, adjusting air lines and just going thru it. The Saw runs like a champ. I had to replace some parts due to it slamming back and forth over the years, but now it is smooth and we are back on course.
TLDR: DONT BE LAZY
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II learned not to trust a single bolt, nut, etc has be tighten, or in place. Approach it like a puzzle. Agree, don’t except it to ready out of box without adjustments, etc.
I like to go over a new machine and Color code all the bolt heads , make sure they are all tight and put a witness mark across the bolt onto the frame. That way the mark stays on and if anything is loose I can tell by sight.
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Adjusting the bandsaw vise was the only ‘crucial’ adjustment we had to make out of the box; the fixed jaw was out of line with the hydraulic, causing the vise jaw to dig in to the bar stock and jam up the show. Ours took a pretty nasty hit in shipping (one anchor bolt was even ripped out of the pallet), so I can’t say if this is the norm. However, thanks to the error code and a calibrated eye, it wasn’t hard to find the issue. Also, the appropriate Allan wrench was included (special ‘thank y’all’ to Tormach, because I would never find the correct one in my own collection when that pallet arrived). The AF50 is easily one of my favorite machines, mainly due to its reliability!!
I guess the reliability is why you haven’t posted in 8 months.
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Correct!! I am a really loud, annoyingly squeaky wheel if I pay full price for an item and it doesn’t live up to my expectations. Paul and I have built a business on the right to repair, but there’s a whole lot to be said for something working well right out of the box (or right off the pallet, in this case). The AF50 has performed exceptionally well for the nearly three years we’ve had it, so I spend my time making our flashlight parts instead of maintaining/tending a manual saw (something I spent four years doing prior to its purchase).