Bandsaw dilemma

[Mark W Pugh]

OK, I have an old Grizzly G1012 18" bandsaw. I was just getting started on really trying to get it set up square. I have tried everything that I could imagine to square the table, to no avail. Finally, I got out the straight edge, which should have been my first step, and looked at the flatness of the table. Imagine to my surprise the ocean like wavy scene I saw in all quadrants. This thing is way out of kilter in every direction. Sigh!!

Options.

1. New table top at $200 + shipping.

2. Try to build a replacement top, or at least one that I can cover the old one with. Something with adjustable screws. Mind you, I have not done this before, but hey, how hard can it be?

3. Or, by a new bandsaw.

Anyone want to think out loud and let me know what you think??

Thanks

[lowell holmes]

Have you condsidered contacting Grizzly?

[Mark W Pugh]

Have you condsidered contacting Grizzly?

I did for a price on a new table. This thing is from the 90's, I think. Maybe not that old, but you get my drift?

[Richard Coers]

I have a friend that uses epoxy to level surfaces. He lubes up a piece of 1/4"glass with vasoline, he then mixes longer setting epoxy and spreads on a layer. Then he lays on the glass, lube down, and then wiggles it around a little to extrude out the excess epoxy. I don't know what you would then do, maybe lay on a piece of 1/4" aluminum? Just throwing out the info like you requested. Consider you will have the money in the epoxy, glass, and maybe the aluminum. That may get you pretty close to the replacement cost.

[David Kumm]

Sometimes adjusting the bolts that hold the table will relieve the stress and help your situation. For a small saw like yours I prefer a second table that is larger anyway. MDF and formica. I put a subframe the size of the existing table under the new one and just C clamp the table frame to the sides of the cast iron. The rip fence bar is then attached to the sub frame and you can cut a slot with the table saw for the blade entry. An aftermarket miter slot is a good thing too. Dave

[Joseph Tarantino]

does the table have a table pin and if yes, is it in place?

[Mark W Pugh]

does the table have a table pin and if yes, is it in place?

Yes and yes.

[curtis rosche]

get the top reground locally?

[John TenEyck]

I had planer bed with a pretty significant belly in it. I applied Bondo with a straight edge until I got it flat, then glued on a piece of Formica. Three or four years later it's still working fine.

John

[Julie Moriarty]

Yes, I'd check out local machine shops and see what it costs to have the top machined flat. Usually, older tools are beefier and that new top Grizzly wants to sell you might not be as hefty as what you now have.

[Brad Olson]

Yes, I'd check out local machine shops and see what it costs to have the top machined flat. Usually, older tools are beefier and that new top Grizzly wants to sell you might not be as hefty as what you now have.

With Grizzly, the opposite is likely true. Grizzly was not known for quality in the 90s, it was more known for being cheap imports.

More recently, Grizzly has gone for both quality and value, and likewise their fit and finish of their products is significantly better than 20 years ago. I have bought enough used machinery to know that anything from Grizzly from the 80s and 90s is probably a pass.

[David Kumm]

Before you go too far down the road, how does the table affect the cut? It is far more important that the fence be parallel to the blade than the table be perfectly flat. I still like a large secondary table but you can get away with some wavy and still have a functioning saw. Dave

[Mark W Pugh]

Before you go too far down the road, how does the table affect the cut? It is far more important that the fence be parallel to the blade than the table be perfectly flat. I still like a large secondary table but you can get away with some wavy and still have a functioning saw. Dave

I can get it square on one side of blade, but not both. And it depends on what part of the table, around the blade, the square is sitting. So, you can imagine how it cuts.

I think the secondary top will be my first attempt to correct the problem. Thanks for all the inputs. This will be my second project after getting my out feed/work top for my TS finished.

[david brum]

Before I proceeded any further, I'd do as David K suggests and loosen all of the hardware holding the table on. Check the table again (with pin in place) and see if it's any flatter. It's pretty easy to pull cast iron out of alignment, so a few carefully placed shims might help.

[glenn bradley]

I agree on releasing the stress on the table and checking for flat. It would be easy for someone to work heavy material without additional infeed and outfeed support and simply abuse the table out of flat. If the deviations are not too great to prohibit re-milling the top, I would look for a local shop to do that and get a price. As seasoned as that cast iron is, having it machined would probably get you a superior top to a replacement from Griz.

[Mark W Pugh]

Before I proceeded any further, I'd do as David K suggests and loosen all of the hardware holding the table on. Check the table again (with pin in place) and see if it's any flatter. It's pretty easy to pull cast iron out of alignment, so a few carefully placed shims might help.

Everything loosened, still looks like the North Atlantic. Going to build a top for it.