Thread: Current bandsaw recommendations

Originally Posted by Dave J

I just suggested the cheap roller stands as they are adjustable and can be used for other things on the wood work side as well.

Sure I understand, I'm just a bit of a nutter that tries to make way too much stuff for myself whenever I can.

Just one safety cation, make sure you hold the top part of the saw when lifting, as it has a tenancy to fly open and flip the saw on it's back. I have read of a few people doing this and have come close myself years a go.

I noticed that already - so I tied the saw to the bench with a bungee cord.

OK guys.... I ordered my saw - the BS-4A. should have it on Friday. I'll order some spare blades in the meantime to keep the credit card warm.

Originally Posted by Dave J

make sure you hold the top part of the saw when lifting, as it has a tenancy to fly open and flip the saw on it's back.

Yeah I can imagine how that wouldn't be good. Another good reason to beef up the stand I guess (or go for Bob's bungie strap).

Originally Posted by Dave J

If you want to go all out, this is a nice stand and simple to build.Stand for bandsaw

Nice... I might just follow something like this.

Originally Posted by Big Shed

There is a reasonably active Yahoo 4x6 Bandsaw group that has lots of pictures of mods, including stands, for this machine.

Wow - who would've known! I can see me spending days exploring the little gems on that site. thanks for the heads up.

Cheers

- Mick

Originally Posted by WelderMick

OK guys.... I ordered my saw - the BS-4A. should have it on Friday. I'll order some spare blades in the meantime to keep the credit card warm.



Cheers

- Mick

You wont be disappointed.
As for the blades remember the buy 10 get one free deal and you can pick any combination of TPI.
I like having the extra blades on hand because I know if I only have one it will break on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of a job when nothing is open. And the fact I like getting something for nothing.

Dave

Originally Posted by Dave J

I have broken a couple of bearings on mine over the years and I think it is old age and being Chinese bearings to start with.
Did you order your bearings through VXB bearings?
Ceramic,Miniature Ball Bearings

I ran my saw for probably 6-7 years without coolant and after adding it I found the blades lasted longer, but it cut a little slower for some reason, which I have heard from others as well after switching to coolant.

I run my coolant nozzle on the blade after the cut to wash away the chips and find the coolant gets carried around the blade, as it runs down the face of the job on the infeed side.
I just used a piece of down pipe with one side cut out and it needed a small gutter on the end to catch the drips coming off the blade as it goes around the wheel. I also put a piece of sheet metal under the vice slot to catch any drips.
For the stand I used 2 pieces of angle and they hold the coolant tank as well. The original shelf is now used as a coolant catch tray which just clips on and is held by a piece of wire off the length stop. Other than the angle I didn't need to drill any holes and the gutter is held on by the stand bolts.
I mounted a switch in the motor switch cover so I can either have coolant on when the saw is running or coolant off.
To catch the swarf I mounted a round magnet near the hole in the tray and fly wire as well as another round magnet in the funnel. I also put one in the tank but find nothing seems to get down that far. The fly wire is mainly to catch aluminium and plastic shavings.
These pictures where just on my computer and it was filthy dirty at the time.

Dave

Yes thats the place! Only ordered them last night. Are these bearings up to scratch?

My saw came without a shelf and all there is of the stop is the bare rod. Your lever to hold the saw up appears to have a handle. Is this right? Mine could be improved.

I will remember the magnets when I get it set up properly. They are a good idea.

Place I worked at years ago had a big auto bandsaw. It had a rotating wire brush in front of cutting area to knock chips off straight after the cut.

Dean

Big Shed

The Mini-Lathe site is the one I was thinking of back in post #8.

Dave J.

Stand for bandsaw

Thats the stand I am going to make as mentioned in post #8

Lots of good ideas.

Dean

Has anybody had experience with the BS-7L or BS-912... I have been considering getting a band saw but I want something that I can use to cut some larger structurals... I have been looking at these 2 but can't understand the $800 price difference.

Originally Posted by Oldneweng

Yes thats the place! Only ordered them last night. Are these bearings up to scratch?

My saw came without a shelf and all there is of the stop is the bare rod. Your lever to hold the saw up appears to have a handle. Is this right? Mine could be improved.

I will remember the magnets when I get it set up properly. They are a good idea.

Place I worked at years ago had a big auto bandsaw. It had a rotating wire brush in front of cutting area to knock chips off straight after the cut.

Dean

Hi Dean,
I was going to order off them for all the bearings for my mill, then after I went to my local SKF dealer he gave me a great price and they had a special on at the time which made it even better, so I bought them all their. I am still kicking myself for not buying all new bearings for the saw at the time, but it's still running good on the old one's
A few guys have bought from them including Ray from here for his CNC conversion and I have not heard anything negative about them at all.
The standard bearings these saws come with are cheap Chinese and last for years, so I think the new ones will be at least as good if not better. Some of the bearings on mine are still original and I think this saw was a 80- early 90's model and has done a heap of work for me and it was second hand when I bought it.

Mine came with out a stop as well and at the time of adding coolant I felt bad about not doing anything to it since I bought it 10 years before, so I spent some time making things for it. I made it up from 2 rods and another piece of bar with 2 holes drilled to suit and a couple of knobs I had laying around. The hole in the base was off set so I re drilled it strait and used a larger rod. I also made up a longer stop rod and made a couple of brackets to hang from off the other side to store it. (Picture below) Again I didn't drill any extra hole and just used the stand bolts.

I welded the handle on the piece to hold it up and it also has a notch that holds it up off the job enough to reposition work. The knurled handle was off the lathe from when I changed over to the QC tool post that I had laying around.
I did have a spring on it so it pulled down, this way when I lifted the saw a little off it, it would automatically return and let the saw come down for the next cut. Not sure where it's gone in the picture.

Another mod I recommend is the extended vice handle. The standard one will jamb your finger or hand on the saw body. this was just a male to female adapter to go from the standard shaft to the standard handle.

As for the shelf it was only a sheet metal one and a coolant catching tray could be made out of anything.
I have thought about the wire wheel, but with the coolant nozzle after the cut it washes away the chips and I don't really need it. I think you will find the same when you add it to yours.
This saw has one directly under the blade. (scroll down to the pictures and it's on the right.
https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/Pr...tockCode=B008A

Dave

Originally Posted by gallegos

Has anybody had experience with the BS-7L or BS-912... I have been considering getting a band saw but I want something that I can use to cut some larger structurals... I have been looking at these 2 but can't understand the $800 price difference.

Stuart has one equal to the BS-7L I am pretty sure.
The BS-912 is heavier, has a larger capacity, has a 1hp motor instead of a 3/4hp, has a wider speed range (faster) and is heavier.

Dave

Mine must fall in between some where. It have a 1hp motor.
I've always thought the cutting size specs on those three bandsaws (bs-7l, bsd-7ds and bs-912) were a little strange. They don't seem to be consistent.
If you have something in mind as the max size you want to cut I would make sure it fitted before buying it. They may well have to take it back if the specs are out but that would just be a pain and it may also make up your mind for you.

Stuart

Hi Dean,
I was going to order off them for all the bearings for my mill, then after I went to my local SKF dealer he gave me a great price and they had a special on at the time which made it even better, so I bought them all their. I am still kicking myself for not buying all new bearings for the saw at the time, but it's still running good on the old one's

I will see when they get here! The one that broke was replaced locally for around $5.80. The ones from VXB are costing about $1.50 each including freight.

A few guys have bought from them including Ray from here for his CNC conversion and I have not heard anything negative about them at all.
The standard bearings these saws come with are cheap Chinese and last for years, so I think the new ones will be at least as good if not better. Some of the bearings on mine are still original and I think this saw was a 80- early 90's model and has done a heap of work for me and it was second hand when I bought it.

I reckon mine is pretty old too. Was bought at a clearing sale from a guy who did a lot of work with redgum. I don't remember details but I think he was retiring. Was an enormous quantity of redgum slabs, table tops etc. Upwards of 100 lots I would guess. Sigh. My saw only has one simple toggle switch for operation. Most of the ones I have seen on net have modern safety switches. Yours I notice has a switch on the motor. Isolation switch I guess. I will think about the advantages of this.

You are right about the bearings. The new SKF was like chalk and cheese in comparison. One of the reasons for the bearing failure was probably from that bearing resting on the edge of the moving vise jaw if the jaw is allowed to sit out too far. There is a noticable wear mark from this.

I welded the handle on the piece to hold it up and it also has a notch that holds it up off the job enough to reposition work. The knurled handle was off the lathe from when I changed over to the QC tool post that I had laying around.
I did have a spring on it so it pulled down, this way when I lifted the saw a little off it, it would automatically return and let the saw come down for the next cut. Not sure where it's gone in the picture.

Handle and spring sound like a good idea. Will try them out.

Another mod I recommend is the extended vice handle. The standard one will jamb your finger or hand on the saw body. this was just a male to female adapter to go from the standard shaft to the standard handle.

My vice handle is a plastic wheel. I keeps coming loose. I will make a new metal wheel and think about extending it but I haven't noticed a problem so maybe mine is further out. I have thought about a crank handle for the blade/work pressure adjustment tube.

As for the shelf it was only a sheet metal one and a coolant catching tray could be made out of anything.
I have thought about the wire wheel, but with the coolant nozzle after the cut it washes away the chips and I don't really need it. I think you will find the same when you add it to yours.
This saw has one directly under the blade. (scroll down to the pictures and it's on the right.
https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/Pr...tockCode=B008A

Dave

Started marking out a piece of sheet metal tonight. Am going to make it fit full coverage of saw and build a new stand under it. Will try coolant after the cut as well to compare. Currently have feed from suspended bottle so need to organise a pump system first. I have lots of very fine stainless mesh. I am thinking of a rectangle box with mesh, suspended from tray. Depress the area around it and have tray on a bit of a slope to encourage flow. Lift it out to empy. Catchment under box directing flow to reservoir.

Dean

I think the bearings will work just fine.
Mine just has a simple 240v on off toggle switch on the side, I just made sure the base was earthed.
The small switch on the motor is one I added for the coolant on/off when the saw is running. It was just a 240v one I had laying in my box of electrical bits that fitted the spot. You can see the extra cream coloured wire coming out of the box, it's a cut up cheap extension cord and it goes down under the saw and has a the molded female plug on the end for the coolant pump to plug into so it can be removed without having to disconnect anything.
I saw a switch guard on the Grizzly saws and decided to copy it. I made it out of the side wall of some 25x50mm RHS and it protects the switch from knocks and accidentally switching it on.

Don't forget to post pictures of yours so we can see/copy your ideas.

Dave

Talking about coolant on bandsaws. Since I moved the cooling from the front bearings to the back bearing the coolant runs out of the hose when the saw turns off and then spits as the air is pumped out when it restarts. Think I'll add "spring loading one way ball valve" to the list of things to make. Unless someone know a cheap source of a valve that would work?
Has anyone had the little shocker apart? I'd like to add another valve that bypasses the restrictor as its a pain to have to open it and close it again or wait as the saw comes down slowly. Yes all my problems are huge! lol

Stuart

Mine spits air as well, but it doesn't take long to come up on mine.

I thought those hydraulic units had a one way valve in them as well? All the ones I have read about and people copy and make have.

Dave

Alrighty... got the saw (Hafco metalmaster BS-4A) yesterday and set it up this morning.

First impressions?

well seriously, it wouldn't be too hard to put some assembly instruction in the box with it would it? There is a really poor exploded parts diagram - but that's about it. The closest I've come to one of these things before is a photo on the internet, so I had to spend some quality time with the bits and pieces to work out what did what... probably not a bad thing, but still....

the little stand made out of sheet metal is pretty much hopeless... definitely will be making up a replacement. Nice colour though. The little bolts that are supplied to help reinforce the stand seem to be designed to hand tighten only. The threads will strip if you apply any sort of enthusiasm during the assembly.

One of the holes in the belt guard didn't quite line up, so was rubbing against the motor spindle. Had to cut a bit out of that to make it fit.

Anyway, I got it all together - feeling a little bit deflated . Thought I'd run a few test cuts before adjusting anything. So I tightened up the band and went for it. First test was some 45 x 4mm aluminium tube. Ran 2 parallel cuts to cut out a 5mm wide ring. Ran perfectly - only 0.08mm variation in the thickness of the ring. Then cut some 90x8mm mild steel. Perfect 90 degree cut. Same with some 50x25x2 RHS. That's more like it - nice cuts straight out of the box.

So happier now... I wouldn't say it was the fastest thing I've seen in the world, but I definitely like the set and forget approach.

I think I'll get a bi-metal blade or 2 (anyone like to suggest the best mail-order supplier? H&F don't sell them) as well as a bunch of $10 cheapies - H&F seem as good as any and buy 11 pay for 10 (thanks Dave). While I'm on it, H&F sell the 6, 14 and 18 tpi blades for this saw - which I think will be fine according to their blade selection chart, but I will have to chase elsewhere for anything different.

I'll make up a stand with drip tray and next step will be to trial some coolant drip feed and see if it's worth setting up a pump.

Cheers

- Mick