Companies that do Servicing/maintenance for Sip Bandsaw

[danbrown89]

Hi all,

This is probably the wrong place to post, but I’m keen to find a company that services Sip bandsaws.

I need to make sure ours is checked annually as we will have an ongoing requirement going forward, so I want to ensure it’s set up to cut correctly etc but only by a professional company. Can anyone recommend a company that would travel to Watford?

Thanks

 

[winchman]

Whilst looking for Startrite as I know they refurbish and service saws I found this
https://www.sawsuk.com/machines/vertical-bandsaws/

 

[winchman]

This is who I was thinking of
http://www.altsawsandspares.co.uk

 

[Brad93]

Dear god a service requirement on a cheap band saw. Certificate required or some nonsense too?

Get an Amada auto cut auto feed and then yes I can imagine having a company out but I doubt a SIP is capable of holding the precision you obviously require.

 

[Richard.]

Dan I’m struggling with the logic around this.
To get anyone to come out and service the saw would probably cost more than the saw is worth.
Tbh they really are not difficult things to work on.
Service wise it’s an oil level check and possibly a bit of blade tracking. This is just standard in house maintenance stuff.

 

[fizzy]

This is who I was thinking of
http://www.altsawsandspares.co.uk

Lee is a brilliant chap but I am worried as I have tried to ring and email him many times with no response. I hope he is ok?

 

[Turbo]

We have an sip band saw at the mens shed & it is a piece of crap. If you want an outside company to keep it serviced & correctly set up they will never leave your premises as they are impossible to keep right! We should have spent the extra few ££ & bought the Record Power version that is fettled by them in the UK, has a better blade guide set-up & works properly when you get it.

After a few broken blades only 2 people are allowed to adjust our saw, myself & another guy who was an aerospace engineer. A while ago he stripped the saw down & rebuilt it, aligning both wheels perfectly and it has been much better since but you still have to do a lot of fettling every time you change a blade.

What I could suggest is to get 2 staff members trained to set the saw up & let them do the servicing. There are courses for changing grinding wheels so there are probably ones for saw blades - how do saw mills manage or anywhere a band saw is used industrially.

 

[daleyd]

Pic of the saw or model type would help, sip do a lot more than the cheap diy models, so it could well be one of their bigger models in which case it’s a fair question - though I’d suggest even the bigger ones can be done in house.

 

[Hopefuldave]

What I could suggest is to get 2 staff members trained to set the saw up & let them do the servicing. There are courses for changing grinding wheels so there are probably ones for saw blades - how do saw mills manage or anywhere a band saw is used industrially.

That's because there are Grinding Wheel Regulations, due to the risk from an exploding wheel if they're abused - they can go off like a grenade, and having been close to one when it did I'm all for having a Trained and Competent person change wheels, particularly where someone else might get hurt...

But I digress... the book of words for the saw can probably be downloaded and *should* have the setup and maintenance info?

Dave H. (the other one)

 

[Keith 66]

One reason to have something like a bandsaw or other machinery professionally serviced is if it is in a school or educational establishment & this is usually stipulated by the service provider & then contracted out.
In my personal experience the technician is usually far more skilled than the contractors & the contractors are often verging on the incompetent. But its all about box ticking these days!

 

[Hitch]

Surely just a PAT test or electrical safety test, and a regular recorded inspecton checklist to ensure guards and interlocks are present and working...
Everything else is pretty much sort it if it breaks i'd think.

Theres a couple of places i can think of that do this sort of thing, one is a more local saw specialist, deals with most things from drill/cutter sharpening to chainsaw gear.
Another specialist is https://www.accurate-cutting.co.uk/saw-spares-repairs/ Getting an engineer out will probably be half the price or the saw.

Like most of these things say 'Maintenance must be carried out on a regular basis, and by a competent person'
I've never had any formal training on maintaining and changing bandsaw blades, yet managed to change blades, guideds, diagnose problems and replace/adjust main bearings and tensioners and hydraulic components in industrial saws without any isses... like most people with a bit of sense about them could.

Who has stipulated this requirement then Dan, liability insurance by any chance?

 

[Keith 66]

Some years back at a college where i worked the head caretaker was told he could not use the bandsaw & circular saw because he was not DATA trained he pointed out that he had done a full apprenticeship in a sawmill & had city & guilds qualifications in such things, after much huffing & puffing he was left to get on with it as usual.

 

[Turbo]

Pic of the saw or model type would help, sip do a lot more than the cheap diy models, so it could well be one of their bigger models in which case it’s a fair question - though I’d suggest even the bigger ones can be done in house.

https://www.sipuk.co.uk/sip-14-heavy-duty-bandsaw.html

This is the so-called 'heavy duty' piece of junk we bought & a real pita to set-up.

But I digress... the book of words for the saw can probably be downloaded and *should* have the setup and maintenance info?

The supplied manual is rubbish, just shows you where the adjusting screws are but is very vague info on how to set it up & adjust the blade. We learned more from this great video on you tube.

Our saw was miles out of line from the factory, the blade came off the wheels randomly, wrecking 3 blades. Both wheels were miles out of line & the adjusting mechanism on the bottom wheel had so much free play it could change alignment itself. Bernard spent 2 days stripping it down & setting it up properly. The adjustment of the roller bearing blade guides is a joke requiring 4 different sized allen keys & fingers like ET!

Record Power sell a nearly identical saw but they fit a much better blade guide system that's a breeze to adjust & they go through the saw thoroughly in the UK setting it up perfectly. One of the members just bought one & he said it ran perfectly out of the box, the SIP is junk by comparison. It costs a few ££ more but money well spent!

https://www.scosarg.com/record-powe...MI0K--xv_w4QIV6LXtCh1ftAWJEAQYBSABEgJ2RPD_BwE