UK Mitre slot?

[JOSHUA HART]

Hello,

I posted a while ago about a 1998 16" Laguna (Made by Meber) bandsaw I purchased. I found some great info here on that bandsaw. But now I have a new question: miter slot is this? And how do I get a miter bar for it. I need to make a circle-cutting jig for this saw and want use of the miter gauge for it. But I have no idea about this slot. Can someone help me out here please?

Thank you,
Josh

[David Buchhauser]

Is your tape measure in inches or metric? From the size of your thumb, I would think it is in CM. Looks like 18mm. But - many of those inexpensive flexible tape measuring tapes are know to be inaccurate. 19mm = 3/4".
Please use a dial caliper or some other more precise measuring instrument and let us know what the actual width of the miter slot is.
David

[glenn bradley]

It's like a sliding dovetail slot, right?

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, just make one out of hardwood, it can even be rectangular.

For Felder saws I use a 15 X 4mm piece of hardwood for jig runners, your looks a bit larger..............Regards, Rod.

P.S. Some circle jigs don't use the mitre slot, they mount to the side extension table

[Jim Becker]

What Rod said...hardwood is your friend. I tend to use scrap oak with reasonably straight grain for this kind of thing.

[Erik Loza]

What Rod and Jim said. Or, if you "really" want to do it up, purchase a piece of Delrin (generic name: Acetal) from a specialty plastics place, then machine it with your router table and drill press. Can be tapped just like metal and is self-lubricating.

Erik

[Doug Garson]

As an alternate to hardwood you can use left over engineered hardwood or laminate flooring or the plastic from an old cutting board (HDPE). These eliminate any issues with hardwood expanding and contracting with humidity changes.

[Erik Loza]

...or the plastic from an old cutting board (HDPE). These eliminate any issues with hardwood expanding and contracting with humidity changes.

I actually would advise against HDPE for this particular application. It's pretty soft and actually moves A LOT with temperature changes, plus cannot be tapped (I worked in specialty plastics for a while). OK for workbench tops but for a tiny, dimension-critical application like this, I would use Delrin or one of the phenolic resins. Just my 2-cents.

Erik

[Doug Garson]

I actually would advise against HDPE for this particular application. It's pretty soft and actually moves A LOT with temperature changes, plus cannot be tapped (I worked in specialty plastics for a while). OK for workbench tops but for a tiny, dimension-critical application like this, I would use Delrin or one of the phenolic resins. Just my 2-cents.

Erik
Thanks Erik, didn't realize HDPE moved a lot with temperature.

[Erik Loza]

Thanks Erik, didn't realize HDPE moved a lot with temperature.

No worries, Doug. One project I worked on during my stint in the plastics biz was with a manufacturer of pre-fabbed building trusses. Basically, they wanted us to CNC out some bench tops that had inch scales and such engraved part way through. There's a type of HDPE called "Color Core", which is like an oreo cookie of various colors. Their idea was to CNC through and show the yellow core for inch markers on the blue surface. We did some prototypes and there was something like a HALF AN INCH of movement between a hot day and a cold night on these HDPE tops. They eventually abandoned the project and went with steel tops, even though it was like 10X more expensive.

Erik

[Derek Cohen]

I had a similar issue with the mitre slot for my Hammer N4400, which was both slim and shallow. I discovered that the steel runner/bar that comes with the cheap Chinese F-clamps was a very close fit. A few swipes on a belt sander, and the fit was perfect. Square is fine in a dovetailed slot.

https://i.postimg.cc/7h6ZNWkQ/Hammermitregauge2.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek