“Operator, There is a Fat Man Under a Saw and I Think he Needs Help”
January 16th, 2009Bought
I decided to buy the Shop Fox bandsaw I was talking about. I am satisfied with the deal. I am sure I could have gotten the seller to take less, but I was pretty sure his business was in trouble, and I didn’t want to be a complete bastard. It turned out I was right. When I got there, he had a bunch of other stuff he was trying to sell, including a gorgeous Powermatic 66. I tried to hook him up with the crew at Sawmill Creek. It’s really disturbing, hearing how businesses like his are tanking. In a country where people live on credit and count on steady income (and where they don’t save and invest), times like these are very, very hard on a lot of people. I pray for better times, but the signs point toward something else.
In case any of you need the information, it is possible to put a Shop Fox 19″ bandsaw in a Ford Explorer. We took the table off, and in it went. Four guys loaded it. One person can hold up the heavy end, although I don’t recommend it.
Sadly, one person unloaded it. And as Dean Vernon Wormer said, that foot is me. I slid it out until the base was on the grass, and then I tilted it upright. I managed to get my handtruck under it, and the rest is history. Which is what I nearly was at several points during the move. A cop who was driving by saw me floundering (second Animal House reference in one post) in the garage, and hollered to see if I needed help, but by then all I really needed to do was set the saw down, so I told him I was okay.
Here’s the crappy phone photo:
I would guess it weighs about 315 without the table and fence (manual says 367 total), so it’s a scary but not terrifying load to move.
I think this was the right buy. The other saw was much cooler and cheaper, but it won’t do what this one will do. I have read that this saw won’t take really thin blades, but it is my understanding that you can fix that by getting some aftermarket parts.
It’s still wired for 220, but it has a stupid plug that will have to be replaced. I may add one or two more 220 sockets just so I won’t have to run around switching plugs when I work. I suppose I should leave it fixed for 220, since it draws 20 amps and is likely to blow my breaker. If I put this on my big 220 circuit, I could actually run the bandsaw and table saw at the same time. Not that there would be any point.
I finally feel like I have some tools. When the drill press arrives, my life will be bearable. It’s hard to think of anything really vital and big that I’ll need after that. AND DON’T HELP ME THINK OF ANYTHING. Enablers.
This should be pretty sweet. Band saws do lots of stuff other saws can’t do, and there are things other saws can do, which bandsaws do easier.
I decided to go with the single-word spelling, “bandsaw.” Google shows it’s the most popular spelling, and it’s easier to type.
I’ll need some blades. I think the one that came with it is 3/4″, and I can’t even guess at the teeth. I believe I want something small, like 1/4″, so I won’t be limited as much when it comes to turning corners. I also need a miter gauge. Dang it. I also need a good one for the table saw.
There was a very nice workbench down there, just sitting by the road. I wish I needed one. I’ll bet this is a good area to forage for scrap.
I think I’ll go strip down and see if I ruptured anything.
January 16th, 2009 at 8:21 PM
it’s a good saw. You’ll like it Does it have a welder? A vsd will make it a good metal cutting saw.
January 16th, 2009 at 8:38 PM
I covet your tools.
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I see nice weather out that garage door. Its 17 out right now, looking for 10 overnight. That’s cold for eastern NC.
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Enjoy, but please hang on to your fingers and eyes.
January 16th, 2009 at 11:37 PM
But you have to have one of these-
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/TD-Industrial-Meat-Band-Saw-with-Meat-Grinder/3439866/product.html
You know you want it!
January 17th, 2009 at 12:13 AM
Thats nice man!!!
Can you mount it on the workmate?????
LOL
January 17th, 2009 at 2:45 AM
OK…I won’t write “Plasma Cutter”…
Oops…
January 17th, 2009 at 8:20 AM
Try the Viking blades, available from many suppliers. Low tension so it stresses the column less. Spendy, but they work better for me than any other I have found. The best price I have found is at Lee Valley.
January 17th, 2009 at 2:36 PM
Yeah but dude, you still don’t have a continuous sander, and large capacity planer, and a jointer.
January 17th, 2009 at 7:08 PM
Nice saw, Steve, congratulations!
Keep it wired for 220 volts, you never want a motor that’s 1Hp or more on 110. You’d need to change out the motor for a 3-phase one if you want to use a VFD, but even that won’t make it go slow enough for cutting steel. It’ll probably do aluminum at the normal speed, if you use a metal-cutting blade.
You’ll want a 1″ ripping blade for resawing, this will be very coarse, probably 3 or 4 teeth/inch, of a ‘hook’ design. Next, you need a 1/4″ blade with about 12 or 14 teeth/inch for close circular work. A 1/2″ metal-cutting blade with about 12 TPI will round it out nicely. As someone else pointed out, any saw shop will weld blades to order, and you’ll not use that many to make it worthwhile to DIY. FWIW:, our PowerMatic has a blade welder, and I don’t even know if it works.
January 17th, 2009 at 10:26 PM
Yes, keep the 220 volt configuration. 220v at 20 amps is 4400 watts. 4400 watts at 110v is 40 amps. Watts = Volts * Amps. Watts is equivalent to horse power… It’s something like 746 watts to create one HP. If you try to run 4400 watts through a wire, you need really big wire, there are look-up charts to figure out what you need, but don’t bother, it would be about a hundred dollars to make a 10 foot wire. (with apologies to Rain Man)
January 18th, 2009 at 9:04 AM
The cord isn’t the problem. It’s made for 110 and 220. The breaker is the problem.
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I already put in a new outlet.
January 18th, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Subscribe to Shop Notes. And Woodworker’s Journal.
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…and after reading these for a year, subscribe to Fine Woodworking (while keeping the above two subscriptions: though you’d keep ’em by then regardless).
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…cast …hook …set ….
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January 18th, 2009 at 6:33 PM
“I finally feel like I have some tools. When the drill press arrives, my life will be bearable. It’s hard to think of anything really vital and big that I’ll need after that.”
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Okay, you can make the box, but what about the hardware? You really don’t want to be a slave to some Home-Depot Stock Buyer, right?
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But you too can make your own box hardware:
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http://www.sherline.com/
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Besides what real box-maker won’t make his own box hardware? 😀
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January 18th, 2009 at 6:43 PM
Okay the double quotes were ‘posed to have Start and End “Enable” tags…
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Still not fully up to speed with this new commenting system…
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Oh, and look at what I found:
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http://tinyurl.com/8gxmh9
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Free shipping too!
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Hey, I take my enabling seriously! 😉
January 18th, 2009 at 6:44 PM
Remind me to ban you.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:59 AM
heh.
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