Thread: Woodfast Jr Bandsaw Restoration

I've been chipping away at this over the last few weeks - stripped more paint, still a ways to go.

In the meantime I'm slowly picking up some other things I'll need for the restoration;

I have ordered a set of new urethane tyres from ebay:
Urethane Bandsaw Tyres 8"/9"/10"/11"/12"/14"/16"/17"/18" | Set of 2 | eBay

New bearings are from SKF:
2 x 6201-Z
1 x 6202-Z
1 x 6202-2RSH

I also managed to score a brand new Baldor 4p, 1/2HP single phase motor on marketplace for $80. Couldn't believe my luck, the old pulley is a perfect fit on the new motor shaft!!
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Next, I'll order a DOL starter. I think this one will work well with my motor
https://www.directautomation.com.au/...4-1-phase.html

Hopefully I'll have more time this weekend to keep progressing things!

This is great! Keep us informed of you progress. Great score on the motor.

Buy a cheap sandblasting setup and some blast medium for the cast areas, easiest and quickest way to strip them. Or call up a dry ice blasting company and take it there for them to do.

Originally Posted by riverbuilder

Buy a cheap sandblasting setup and some blast medium for the cast areas, easiest and quickest way to strip them. Or call up a dry ice blasting company and take it there for them to do.

Riverbuilder, I did look at getting a sandblasting setup for future projects. I was looking at the Hafco SB-200:
S289 - SB-200 Workshop Sandblasting Cabinet | Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse

The thing that put me off was the volumetric flow requirements, the Hafco cabinet as an example requires min. 12cfm - which means I would need to pair it with at least a somewhat capable compressor (cheapest single phase compressor I can see on the H&F website that can manage that kind of delivery is around $1k). Granted I'm sure I would use the compressor for other things but it's a hard to justify the expense at the moment..

I've not heard of dry ice blasting before, it sounds like it would be more gentle on the soft aluminium castings which is a plus but a quick search doesn't show much in the Brisbane area unfortunately (I considered taking it to a local blasting shop but figured the assoicated labour costs would probably blow out my budget.)

Update, I finally relented and bought the sandblasting cabinet. Ended up spending the better part of my saturday putting the bloody thing together, but eventually we were up and running. It comes flat packed, all the panels are held together with bolts, as such it leaks abrasive grit like crazy. I've put a container under the hopper to catch the abrasive. its set up outside, so not a huge concern but eventually I'll empty it and seal everything up (either taping up the seams or weld it together if I'm feeling up to it)
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I've got it hooked up to my in law's compressor for now. Slowly working my way through everything the poly strip discs couldn't get to:
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I'm almost ready to start priming a few parts. The original aluminium castings are rough as guts so I've been sanding and filing back the casting marks, after priming I'll apply some auto body filler to smooth everything before applying epoxy paint over the top.

That's all for now, still got a ways to go!

Cheers,

Caillan

It's been a minute. I've been absolutely slammed at work the last few weeks, so haven't had a lot of spare time to work on the bandsaw.

I got the bandsaw all stripped back to bare metal. A few coats of etch primer and some body filler to fill the larger voids.
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First coat of Epoxy Enamel in AS2700 G22 - 'Serpentine' down. My first time using a spray gun, the finish isn't as uniform as I would like it. I'll let it cure a week, sand back some of the gnarly bits and give it a final coat.
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I used a hammertone paint in charcoal grey on the wheels, got the urethane tyres on. Was expecting them to put up a fight, but after soaking in hot water they stretched on without too much manhandling.

I've cut a 3.5mm rubber stip from Clark Rubber to fit the channel, which produces a very slight, if any crown. Not sure if this will be an issue, I've read differing opinions on crowning bandsaw tyres so I will see if it gives me any trouble once I have it up and running and look to pack the channel up a bit to produce a more pronounced crown if needed.
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Getting closer!