Band Saw: Upper wheel

The band saw is getting closer to cutting wood.  We ordered two blades from Bandsawbladesdirect.com.

The blades are about 16.5 feet long.  There is some variability because the upper wheel has about a foot of vertical travel.
The one hundred plus year old Silver 32 inch saw is fascinating.

The upper wheel is amazingly like an old timey wagon wheel.  It has a big 5 inch hub that simply rides on a lubricated axle.   It is finely machined and has a simple auto feed oiling design.

It seems sketchy, but after it was all put back together and oiled, you give it a shove and it will spin for over two minutes.

The blades we are going to try first are the following:

1 x LENOX #32 WOOD & CORE BAND Bandsaw Blade (#32) 1/2 inch width
1 x WOODMASTER C-SHARP™ BAND SAW BLADES (c-sharp) 1 inch width

They will stay in the box for a little while as we figure out what tires we will instal on the wheels.

Here are photos of the upper wheel cleaning and reassembly:

Removing the collar.  It has an oil fitting.

Wagon wheel like upper blade wheel.

Upper axle showing the adjustment knob.    The axle rides on an adjustable mechanism.
When you screw the knob in, the axle and the plate it is mounted on pivots up.  This is how you are able to adjust how the blade rides on the wheels.

This is the hole lubricant enters into the axle.  When it is all put back together, the axle can be filled with lubricant.
It then bleeds out of another hole on the underside of the axle.

Spinning for minutes.