Mike Cruz
01-25-2010, 6:29 PM
Well, as you may or may not know, I recently got a 20 year old Grizzly 18" Band Saw. After all sorts of clean ups and parts replacements, I am pretty satisfied with it. I must say, even with the wheels balanced, I noticed that the machine still had a bunch of movement. No way I could do the nickle test. The culprit was definitely the rickety base. Just a (stock) sheet metal base. Even with tightening down the 4 bolts as tight as I could, I still couldn't get rid of the movement. The feet of the rickety base are even bolted down to a mobile base! Upon a really close look, I found out what the problem was. The top piece of sheet metal bends. It is about 14" or so wide, and the feet of the lower cast iron unit are only about 7" or so long.
The solution? A piece of 3/4 inch plywood about 12" long and 3" wide UNDER the top piece of sheet metal. 4 new bolts (1 inch longer) and voila...the vibration/movement was DRAMATICALLY reduced.
The real solution is to build a new base and get rid of the sheet metal one...but this did the trick in about 15 minutes!
The solution? A piece of 3/4 inch plywood about 12" long and 3" wide UNDER the top piece of sheet metal. 4 new bolts (1 inch longer) and voila...the vibration/movement was DRAMATICALLY reduced.
The real solution is to build a new base and get rid of the sheet metal one...but this did the trick in about 15 minutes!