Thread: Tippy saw

Looks like a lot of trouble. I've never levelled a bandsaw, as long as the table is square to either side of the blade, does it really matter?

On band saw mills its easier if everything is level because the timber sits on bunks (piece of steel)l between the mill rails which is what the saw rides on. Levelling all this up can be a PITA, especially after someone backs into it with a truck and leaves it slightly bent.

Richmond 60mm x M12 Ball Jointed Levelling Foot - Bunnings Australia

@BobL
Doesn't really matter I suppose, but just a lot handier for initial setting up, as I've made some changes to the machine, and now that I have a spirit level not such an issue to do...should I actually be able to get a good reference from it, BTDT with the plumbobs for two weeks, not easy whatsoever without those blocks!
(had few bits of welding to do, so things needed to be spot on)
But even still, I'll mention that anything less, be it spirit levels, plumb lines or laser lines used, is careless to not initially do for inspection, and asking for a unwelcome surprise.

But apart from that... I suppose it's an excuse to make me reinstall, or make a new protractor tag for the table tilt plate
(An improvement to the original fix for broken trunnion casting, which had raised rib with threads for clamping table)
@Pippin88
I have a base with hefty threads, but the base needs to be quite off for machine to be level,
hassle to move and have reasonably sound, and makes having it as low as possible a bit of an issue, it's quite a tall table and I aint so.

That big table makes it very tippy, two fingers back and fourth would be enough to knock it over,
I was hoping it would settle into the base, but not so... (tried swapping end for end with no joy)
hopefully things will be better, bit more filing to do yet, interested to see how things go after a rudimentary going over the high corners.
Not expecting miracles, as I don't wanna take too much off, and may well shim or at least attempt to shim the machine from the base, but that proved to be more difficult than it sounds without a crane to lower it down.
Don't really wish to make a metal insert and tack it on, think I'd rather properly fix the base instead, but hopefully i don't need to go cutting and welding.

SAM_5046.jpg

Not much to see yet.
Just some filings with a line approaching, and shooting my eye on those corners.
Haven't went beyond dimensions yet, as those corners were slightly wider.
Near ready to tip up again to see, tis sweaty business!

All the best
Tom

Getting some degree of levelness makes sense if the saw is tippy.
When I put wheels on my BS I made sure they added to the stability especially while being moved.
I leave the wheels on the base and even though they are just up off the ground they would still reduce the possibility of tipping.

Most of the band saws that I had experience with are "tippy" and rather top heavy because they have fabricated frames, a cast iron table and a rather small footprint creating a high center of mass.

The behemoth cast iron frame machines are simply not "mobile."

The mobility kits offered don't improve the footprint significantly and in fact make them more "tippy" due to the 3 points of contact design (2 fixed wheels on an axle LHS and a single pivoting wheel assembly RHS) to improve articulation / steering while moving. Add in an uneven floor surface & it becomes scary!

My 20" BS is mobile. I keep a supply of packers on hand to level / stabilize the BS as the floor in my workspace was finished by amateur "professional" concretors who left considerable undulation in the slab.

The mobile base wheels on my are located a bit like outriggers so there's less chance of tipping.
I moved it a fair bit in the first few years but its lucky if it gets moved about once a year these days.

baseup.jpg

Yes the wheels do get in the way but after a couple of stubbed toes (shouldn't be wearing thongs in the shed anyway) my feet have worked out where they are and haven't stubbed any toes for more than a decade. I've also upgraded the motor from a 2 to 3HP which together with the motor adapter plate added ~2.5kg to the base. I've also added a foot brake to the base which added a further 3 kg.

Well it seems I got an improvement, probably as much as to be expected.
I can relate to @Mobyturns comments about uneven floors,
This one seems OK compared to the shed at the folks with tapered floor which I suppose was a possibly "round to it" kinda job, which never got done.
Not got around to buying an angle grinder yet, so plenty of sweating with a file or two instead,
It's a file job anyway for the most part of the job making slight improvements which takes the time.

Braced the saw at both sides
SAM_5900.jpg
SAM_5905.jpg

This was a first for me, tilting the saw by the front end.
Seems about the same effort (wheels removed) but has potential hazards!

Having done this a few times, I was likely getting too sure of myself, and I ended up rolling the machine whilst nearly set down on the ground!, say at knee height, sorry I cannot remember the exact details, but can tell you why....

Concerned with keeping the machine off the ground/ clearing bits like the trunnion
I placed a chok (one of those bed posts) at the very bottom of the machine, so as to make clearance...
(not sure if I had been doing this beforehand)
When that bedpost took the fulcrum leverage, the machine rolled, motor side down and had some cushioning from me bench, which rubbed a cable, and tried pulling me VFD exit sign enclosure off also, so its a bit bellied at the back, not to worry.

I'd noticed it hinting favouring the motor side before whilst moving in it, when donked upright totally assembled (bar table obviously)
it shook quite a bit, and it was a bit dodgy, well, lesson learned...or so I thought on the halfway decently levelish floor.

Thankfully the machine rolled when tilted at knee height, so only about 20something degrees
but was impossible to stop as I had no horizontal way of countering forces. must have been when I was switching grip.

I guess this is because there is also a hump in the centre of where the slot for the foot brake is.
So lesson learned, no fulcrum choks/risers when tipping!
I will be happy to clarify what I mean should I have explained this terribly?
SAM_5910.jpg

Back to the file for just a few rubs
SAM_5911.jpg

Now, I think things were best here, but it may be my imagination,
as the floor is not good enough to progress further with any sort of surety,
and moving the machine an inch makes a difference,
I should have marked a spot on the floor around the machine to be sure, but anywhere close
I'd guess now, will give an entirely different result.
Just a tiny spot I'll take off (30 seconds of filing)
and that was when the incident with the rolling occurred
SAM_5912.jpg
Checked again twice afterwards, lust to tease that bubble to make machine plumb in both axis, less than 30 seconds filing each time, and seemed to get to a point where I had to stop.
Maybe if I had a level floor I could have continued, but the machine felt a lot better than it did.
Still unsure if it is as good as before that "straw that broke the camels back" situation in above photo,
the floor is too uneven, maybe I should have tried placement of the saw in the same spot whilst looking at above.

It could well be the case that that little bit of filing did nothing atall
but to my eyes the machine was feeling better, and possibly looking so also...
Have to remind myself I was a bit fatigued by now.
I'm guessing that in that spot it was sitting level, but moved it would have favoured leaning out of plumb in both directions,
since I did test it in various locations whilst doing the last few rubs.
If I hadn't put the base back on, I would be trying to line it up with that photo again. bit of OCD on my part.
SAM_5916.jpg
I'll bet with a bit of weight added from the table and wheels,
those last few filings will not make the slightest bit of difference, as it is only thin enough sheet metal.
It's likely possible that a bit of leaning and jumping on the base whilst totally assembled, could likely move it a bit also.
Could that possibly be the best approach to this, (beyond rudimentary tidying up)
SAM_5917.jpg

Got the thing back on the base, bottom wheel on, and plumbobs on top again, left to strech out for tonights efforts to level up the machine.
Seems the column isn't good enough to get any accuracy with a spirit level for the final touches,
I had the impression from using the line and blocks, that the column flexed a bit when getting levelled,
but it may be just the convexity of the column which may have been making my blocks look a bit off, but only sometimes?

Not that these were made to machinist tolerances, but close enough to split a hair.
I won't be putting the table on yet, as I have to finish making a spacer and setting up the machine again afterwards,
but keen to see what it will be like even at this stage.
Might post back with my findings, should the thing still be as unwilling to settle down whilst plumed,
but won't be doing more attempts at remedying until at least the table is back on, and settled for a good few days,
and even then, I would likely need to go to much effort moving machine in various locations to have any idea.
I just hope it'll be good enough, as it's only when the table is on things becomes a bit boaty.

SAM_5920.jpg

Tom