Serious bandsaw use question though maybe stupid too ...

[Sam Murdoch]

THE QUESTION - Can I tip my bandsaw 15° to 20° off plumb in order to make 2 minutes worth of an awkward cut easier?


I need to add a bevel to 2 half circles - 1" thick cherry table halves 54" dia. I have tilted the bandsaw table (a Laguna 14" SUV) to 35° and set up a stop so that I can get a controlled bevel on 3/4 of the thickness of the top. Much better than using a router as I can get any bevel I want with no risk of tear out as I try to bevel through the cross grain of the circles.

Easy to do on the small bench tops and it is possible to edge the table sections too (I've done a dry run with one). Nonetheless, running the table top will be a challenge. I work alone and the top is heavy and the remaining table surface of the band saw is very small. Thought that if I could tilt the saw to a bit so that the table top comes closer to level that I will make this job easier and safer (safer for the work). Would of course secure the saw firmly. Just don't know if I am risking damage to the saw. That is not obvious to me, and so I ask.

Thank you for your considered opinion.

[Jeff Duncan]

I don't see why not? I know of guys who keep smaller saws in their shops so they can actually roll the bandsaw instead of the work on really large pieces. So my feeling is if you can rig it up so it's safe....go for it! Of course I'd prefer a good heavy shaper myself....but in the absence of one....

good luck,
jeffD

[Stephen Cherry]

I would think that the forces involved in tilting the saw would be very minor compared to the tension forces. One thing I would do is tie a rope or strap to the ceiling somehow so that the saw has no chance of falling.

[jack forsberg]

you could always try to find one the theses. They call them chairs saw in the UK

268481

jack
English machines

[Tai Fu]

I googled "chair saw" and all I find are images from the movie "Saw" of people strapped to chairs...

[jack forsberg]

I googled "chair saw" and all I find are images from the movie "Saw" of people strapped to chairs...

Google ship saws in images. your eyes will pop.

jack
English machines

[Sam Murdoch]

you could always try to find one the theses. They call them chairs saw in the UK

268481

jack
English machines

I used a bandsaw behemoth similar to this in the ship yards back in the 70s/80s. Not available to me now though. Would be the answer to my question that's for sure :)
This is my project today, so with your encouragement and some courage of my own I will set up to do the bevels on my tilted bandsaw. I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks.

[Sam Murdoch]

OK, here was my set up -

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Almost all went OK though I had some concerns. I did the 2 table tops, 4 bench tops -2 of those curved, and the ends of the leaves. Near the end of the job I did have a dope slap worthy moment when the blade slipped off the wheel. There wasn't any warning. After I put it all back together I studied my set up and realized that I was running a 3/4" Resaw King which wasn't too happy about cutting the curve - insert dope slap here :confused:. Would have had no problems running a 1/2" blade. This oversight was me needing to remember and rethink bandsaw basics before jumping in to some operations. Lots of handwork to go on these edges but at least the bevel is established.

Thank you for your encouragement. This tilted bandsaw was really my best solution considering my shop set up.

[Brian Kent]

Well Sam, if I had seen this sooner I would have said, "No, you can't." Now that you have done it successfully, all I can say is "yikes!".

I think one of these would be safer (and no that is not a perspective problem, it really is that much bigger than the guy in the picture, and it goes underground too to make room for the bottom wheel):

[Rick Potter]

A little late to the party, but Sears made a tilting head band saw that you can find on CL for $100 or so. Would probably work for occasional use.

Rick Potter

[Buck Williams]

Congratulations on your "necessity is the mother of invention" moment. I would have assessed the potential damage to the bandsaw, the workpiece and my body would have taken up another "hobby".

[Mark Wooden]

Nice. Thinking outside the box get's it done-

(pssssst!- the bandsaw didn't know it was tilted- don't tell it and all will be cool!);)

[Mike Cutler]

That was an "out there" moment. Cool:cool:
I gotta remember that tip for the future.

[Larry Edgerton]

Very cool idea Sam. I will commit that one to memory.

Glad I sold my Oliver 36"!

Larry

[Peter Quinn]

Very cool idea Sam. I will commit that one to memory.

Glad I sold my Oliver 36"!

Larry


Lol rof......mental image of a man tilting a 36" Oliver only to have it crush the bench it's leaning on. Sam, that's a great looking setup, I love the way you made this happen. Very resourceful. I've seen one of those keel saws down at Mystic, short of a gantry they have nothing on you!

[Brian Kincaid]

I like to use a hand-held electric planer to make bevel/chamfers. Glad it worked out for you.

-Brian

[Gus Dundon]

Tilting the band saw in that way sounds like the best solution . It did work. a

[Frederick Skelly]

Folks,
I know Im relatively new here, and I dont mean to offend anyone, but this just doesnt look safe. And just because it worked doesnt make it any safer. Id sure think hard before I did this again.

Fred

[Jim Neeley]

I'm with you, Frederick.. looks too precarious to me. I'd have marked it out and used a hand plane.. perhaps removing some of the bulk material with a jig saw.

To each his own! <g>

[Larry Edgerton]

Lol rof......mental image of a man tilting a 36" Oliver only to have it crush the bench it's leaning on..!

It was heavy. I had to have four guys stand on the back of my forklift to move it, and my forklift would pick up a full size truck by itself. Thats why it is not in my new shop. I bought a Delta 20" that would work well with Sams method. Hmmm.... hydraulics maybe, or...........

Larry

[Sam Murdoch]

Folks,
I know Im relatively new here, and I dont mean to offend anyone, but this just doesnt look safe. And just because it worked doesnt make it any safer. Id sure think hard before I did this again.

Fred

I'm not sure what was unsafe about it except for tipping the machine over by myself. I asked here on the Creek at the outset to see if there might be some compromise to the integrity of the saw but the first responses were suggesting that the machine itself would not be damaged and so I went for it.

I assure you that I was not at all casual about the set up. I have been at this woodworking as craft and business for far toooo long to be casual about safety. The bandsaw was very secure in all aspects of how it might move. It took me longer to set up the saw than to cut the bevels. This set up allowed me to establish a consistent bevel on all the related pieces. I still need to finish up with some hand tools. Had I had a better option I would have used it but I knew that a router was likely to create to much tear out and doing it all by hand - sorry but way to much work. All in all it was a safe and easy procedure, made safer by my prep work and by the fact that I wasn't muscling that 54" dia. top through the saw on a bevel. I surely would have strained some body part. Was it a smart move? I'm still waiting for a bandsaw expert to tell me that I was risking damaging the machine.

No offense taken. Always good to consider the options, know your limits and listen to your little voice before engaging in a suspect operation.

[Peter Quinn]

It was heavy. I had to have four guys stand on the back of my forklift to move it, and my forklift would pick up a full size truck by itself. Thats why it is not in my new shop. I bought a Delta 20" that would work well with Sams method. Hmmm.... hydraulics maybe, or...........

Larry

Yup, when you need a Deer 444 for a mobile base that may be too much saw....I love the whole tilting saw concept, it never occurred to me it could be done on a smaller basis. I watched a video and saw the tanewitz keel saw, it was a Sunday at the mystic seaport, so no actual work happening. Three guys, one working the gantry, the another tilting the saw, a third steering a huge live oak cant through the saw to make that pece at the bow of the ship that seems to hold everything else together. Really quick compound curve on what is essentially an entire tree. I'd love to see a 20" tilting saw, like Jack's chair saws....thing Sam Maloof, he just tilted the wood up off the table, but if he'd had a chair saw.....

[Frederick Skelly]

Sure sounds like we're on the same page about listening to that inner voice on safety. Like a lot of us, I've seen guys get hurt by ignoring it. And its shocking how obvious the unsafe condition was when you look at it afterward, you know? "What the devil was he/I/they thinking?"

Anyway, thanks for the reply. Im glad you were able to find a safe way to do it.

Fred

[Jeremy Hamaker]

When I saw your pictures, I was very impressed with your solution. The mount looked secure enough to me. Since I've seen band saws in all sorts of orientations before (sliding across the top of a log in a bandsaw mill, rotating down onto a metal piece in a horizontal bandsaw rig) I would not have been concerned about whether the saw could handle a different orientation. Great solution, to me!