Budget Band Saw Rebuild DONE! ....... for now (W/ PICS)

[Craig Stueve]

I want to thank everyone who gave me their thought and input on my purchase and updating of my new saw. Originally I planned on repainting the saw ASAP but the more I began to clean the saw the more I liked the look and feel of the well used 50+ year old saw. I have thoroughly enjoyed the process of both cleaning and updating the saw. Now that I am almost done (still waiting on some small mail order parts) I thought I would go ahead and post a before and after photo.

Before:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v133/HawkeyeStoob/band%20saw/IMG_0896.jpg

After:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v133/HawkeyeStoob/band%20saw/IMG_0933.jpg

The breakdown:
band saw from local add $180
cleaning products $5
bearings - main shaft $48
misc nuts, bolts, and wire $10
Woodhaven fence $64
Iturra roller guides $34
Iturra tension spring $15

Grand Total $356

The saw is smooth and quiet. The motor seems good and strong. Even with the blade being about as dull as it can be the motor doesn't even hesitate at all while feeding 3/4 oak in as hard as I can. The real test will come later this week once the new blades get here and I can give resawing a go.

Thanks for looking,
Craig

[Doug Shepard]

Nice cleanup job! I think you made the right choice keeping the original finish. It would have lost it's personality with a new paint job.

[Jim O'Dell]

I like it a lot!! Looks good. I agree with you about not repainting it. The finish doesn't look in bad shape, and speaks volumes about it's history. What else besides blades are you waiting on? Jim.

[Craig Stueve]

What else besides blades are you waiting on? Jim.
I actually just got my spring from Iturra yesterday and am on my way to install it shortly. The other parts I picked up from a local WWing store that was closing one location. That's why I got such good prices on the rollers and fence.

The problem is that now I have the catalog from Iturra I need a bunch more stuff!:) His catalog is incredible.

Craig

[David Stonner]

Craig,

What do you think of the roller guides? I have been thinking about getting a set for my vintage delta bandsaw (the steel blocks were pretty chewed up when I got the saw) but would like a user's feedback on them. Any issues with blade twist or trouble keeping the blade well supported while cutting? What do you think about the new spring? Nice looking saw.

Dave



I actually just got my spring from Iturra yesterday and am on my way to install it shortly. The other parts I picked up from a local WWing store that was closing one location. That's why I got such good prices on the rollers and fence.

The problem is that now I have the catalog from Iturra I need a bunch more stuff!:) His catalog is incredible.

Craig

[Craig Stueve]

Craig,

What do you think of the roller guides? I have been thinking about getting a set for my vintage delta bandsaw (the steel blocks were pretty chewed up when I got the saw) but would like a user's feedback on them. Any issues with blade twist or trouble keeping the blade well supported while cutting? What do you think about the new spring? Nice looking saw.

Dave
Thanks for the compliment on the saw.

I have not been able to cut much with the saw yet since the only blade I have is a verrrrrry dull 3/8" that came with the saw. I will be picking up a couple of Lenox blades tomorrow and giving them a try by this weekend. I will give you more feedback at that time.

I had not planned on getting the rollers, but when I found them on sale for $34 last weekend I couldn't pass them up. The spring was a no brainer for me since the spring that was on the saw had seen better days. My cousin had put one of the Iturra springs on his Grizzly G0555 and absolutely raved about the difference it made when cutting thick stock or resawing. Whatever decide do yourself a favor and call Iturra Design (866-883-8064) and ask for their catalog. Or you could just go ahead and order the spring from them and they will send it out to you with it. The spring is only $14.50 and the catalog has so much useful info that it alone is probably worth that price. He has a very complete explanation of how his rollers work and what the benefits as well as the shortcomings are when using them.

Craig

[Brett Baldwin]

I'll join in with the others in saying you did right in cleaning up the original finish. It looks like a machine that has been around the block and knows a few things, but with the cleaning, that is taken care of. Hope it takes care of your needs for its next 50 years.

[Craig Stueve]

What do you think of the roller guides? Any issues with blade twist or trouble keeping the blade well supported while cutting?

Dave
I got a couple of blades this morning and was able to give the saw it's first good workout. I started with the 1/4" 6 tpi and some 2X pine. I could easily make straight cuts with no blade deflection at all. I then started to do some scrolling the blade started to twist slightly so I brought the rollers in a little tighter and all the twisting went away. The thing that I noticed was just how quiet the guides were even when I pushed a little too hard while turning. Not a sound out of them. They just held the blade very stable no matter what I did. I then grabbed a piece of 3/4 oak and it worked just as easily as the pine.

After my initial success I got brave and switched to the 1/2" 3 tpi blade. I got a piece 4/4 oak 8" wide and decided to give resawing a try. I had read that with wider blades you could bring the Iturra roller guides down onto the blade for resawing. With the guides adjusted again I set my fence at a 1/4" and hit the switch. This was my first attempt a resawing so I wasn't certain what to expect. Much to my surprise everything went smoothly. The blade tracked straight and seemed to cut easily. The only blemishes were caused by operator error. I have to admit that I am excited at the thought of trying some other types of wood to see what the results are.

The one slight problem I did discover was that when I got too agressive trying to feed the board while resawing I could get the drive belt to slip. As problems go this is a simple one and one that I had thought might come up when I got my belt installed last weekend. This will be a quick fix this weekend.

As for the spring I am not certain what to say since I really don't have anything to compare it to. The spring that was on the saw when I got it was in sad shape so replacing it was a must for me. The spring did what it was designed to do in my opinion with no problems.

I hope this helps,
Craig

[John Miliunas]

Sweet!!! You done good, Steve! :) I don't think I could handle huge restorations like Dev and those guys get into but, smaller projects like your "new" BS are neat! :) Nice job! :) :cool: