Do it yourself Bandsaw Riser Block

[Ralph Barhorst]

I have a 14" bandsaw that is a Chinese copy of the Delta bandsaw. I want to add a riser block so that I can resaw wider material. The connection between the top and bottom is not the same as a Delta. I am considering making my own riser block out of hard maple or oak. Has anyone done this and if so what problems did you have?

I know that I will also need to make a new blade guard to cover the blade near the arm but that should not be a huge problem.

[Jamie Buxton]

There was a recent thread on Knots about this. The poster has pix of what he did and how he did it. (He started with a 4"x4"x6" block of aluminum.) Search for discussion 18820.1

[Wes Bischel]

Ralph,
I recently added a riser kit to my Chinese copy as well. I picked up the kit at Home Depot - a Ridgid kit on close-out for $35 or so. I did need to locate and drill for the roll pins, but you would need to do that on a home built one as well. Plus the kit comes with the blade guard. Last week our local HD had two left.

Food for thought,

Wes

[James Carmichael]

If you can't find the Ridgid, the Grizzly or Harbor Freight riser blocks may fit right out of the box. I believe both are around $50.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?ItemNumber=H3051&&DID=6
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=9645