bandsaw build
Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / Tools and Tool Maintenance/Restoration / bandsaw build
Tagged: bandsaw
- This topic has 12 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 10 months ago by mike forbes.
-
AuthorPosts
-
Hello,
A few months ago, I’ve seen some hints on this site that the only power tool one may need is a bandsaw. I wanted to buy one with big resaw capacity and they are nearly impossible to find in Belgium, or very expensive. I discovered this site https://woodgears.ca/bandsaw/homemade.html and I started to build a bandsaw following those plans.
I’m very glad to have gone that path because it works!!!
See this picture, I sliced a log collected from a fallen tree:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8_hkIRtZSShQkVvSExkMlBfNHMThe log was not very thick (about 12-13cm) but it cuts through it like in butter.
Building it using only manual tools (+a power drill) improved a lot my sawing and planning skills.
For the materials, I used some wooden pallets collected from trash and bought cheaply from ebay an oak beam for cutting smaller blocks.
The more expensive parts were the 1.5HP motor, bearings and shafts; in total they cost me about 200 Euros which is the price for a small, cheap and probably not very good bandsaw.I started woodworking about one year ago. I think this is a good path to follow by a novice:
1. build Paul’s workbench
2. build Paul’s saw horses
3. build woodgears.ca bandsaw
4. start building projects that can leave the shopAfter I finish the bandsaw (I still have to make the cover and a proper table), I think I can finally start a real project…
Have fun!
nicolae9 May 2014 at 5:59 pm #56948Nice work!
I was thinking the same thing and discovered the same site. I am still holding out hopes that I can find an older saw that can be reconditioned but haven’t seen any 17″ saws come up unless they are industrial (meaning expensive).
Did you build the 14″ or 17″ and how much time/effort was involved?
I’m building the 16″ bandsaw: https://woodgears.ca/bandsaw/homemade.html
I started in January working some evenings and some weekends. The frame is made by laminating more than 70 pieces and I had to manually cut and plane each and every of them out of two wooden pallets and other scrap I found.
After each layer, I planed the frame flat so I can start the next layer (5-6 layers in total). This took me more than 3 months (time in which I learnt to sharpen the plane as well as the saw I was using). If you buy already dimensioned lumber I think it will be much easier.The built is more or less straightforward. I was afraid of the adjustment needed for the blade to track properly but being out of wood there is nothing that a good sharp plane cannot do.
good luck!
nicolae9 May 2014 at 10:52 pm #56958Fantastic work! Such determination! You’ll find the saw incredibly useful. Plus, you’ll be able to make new parts if required as it’s all hand made.
I’ve got a 15″ Scheppach bandsaw and use it for dimensioning components to almost final sizes. With a good quality blade you only need a few passes with a smoothing plane to finish them up.
Let us know how you get on with it.
George.
Well Nicolae, congratulations.
You have quite some stamina to make this out of scrap wood. I’d find it hard enough to make one out of dimensioned lumber.
Mow I’d definitely want to come by and see it when it’s finished.Finally found some tools did you.
Greetings
DiegoHello Diego,
You are more than welcome to come to see it (and everyone who is in Leuven/Belgium neighborhood). In fact I’m quite curious to know from someone who has used a bandsaw in their life, how mine performs.
I mounted the covers and the blade guards so it’s safe to operate. I’m currently making the stand to bring it up to a comfortable height. The stand also works as a dust collector.
I see now that the machines are very effective at producing dust… If a bandsaw with a thin blade makes so much dust I’m horrified even thinking what a tablesaw does.
nicolae
30 June 2014 at 6:47 am #58946Well done! It looks great! And you have an extra 1/2hp than I do.
I made one you can find here: http://mikeofallthings.com/2014/06/23/wood-bandsaw-from-woodgears-ca/
I have not cut a log with it yet though I have resawn maple.
The stand as the dust collector isn’t bad. I have pondered putting a hole for my festool vac but so far have not got around to it.
It works much better than my benchtop ryobi and it fits in my tiny attic.
I have to put myself together to finish the cover. So far I only finished the front. And I see there is quite some fine dust escaping at the back and at the top.
I also have a Festool MIDI vac but at 5Euros/bag, and with the amount of dust produced by the bandsaw, it will not be cheap to operate.
I have seen a guy who installed a brush to remove the dust off the blade as it goes up (the brush is mounted under the table). Have you considered that to reduce the amount of dust climbing up on the blade?
I’m thinking that a combination between the brush and the vac will allow the maximum amount of dust to be collected in the drawer underneath and the remaining dust in the vac (such that the vac doesn’t fill up very quickly).
nicolae
2 July 2014 at 5:46 am #59031My dust escapes at the back generally I think , leave a little on the floor. I just vac it up when I am done. I forgot about the brush, I’ll have to look at that again and maybe adding the hole for the vac.
What wood did you use for your guide blocks? Mine keep getting cut up a bit, I think I need to adjust it better.
I have the midi as well. The bags aren’t cheap but my shop is in the house up in the attic and I need the best dust collection I can get. So I buy them by the box and hopefully I don’t get too lazy and vac up plane shavings :). It can stuff that bag pretty full.
I made my guide blocks out of some beech I bought to use as firewood.
I’ve seen that European beech is rated with one of the highest Janka Hardness among domestic hardwoods:
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/european-beech/So far I have only used a wide 18mm blade but I don’t understand how the blade can cut through the guide. The way I set it up, the teeth of the blade are not touching at all the wooden blocks part of the guide. Just the body of the blade which is narrower than the teeth (due to the teeth set) is sliding between the wooden blocks and I don’t think it can cut them. The back of the blade is rolling on bearings.
Question: how much dust do you produce with one blade before having to change it? I think I filled up a drawer (about 20 cubic decimeters) full of dust and already the blade feels a little dull. I bought the blade at tuffsaws.co.uk.
2 July 2014 at 7:33 pm #59060My narrow 3/16 blade ate them up, I need to work on setting the guides right. Larger blade is easier to setup, and I can’t say I have had a bandsaw before. I would call it user error 🙂
I have not dulled a blade yet and have about half the drawere filled. Though I don’t think I use it as much as you. I used timberwolf blades. I think Matthias has a video on how to sharpen a bandsaw blade with a dremel I think.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.