Mods to MiniMax MM16

[Chas Richter]

It's a nice sturdy machine. I bought it for re-sawing. I have dealt with a few deficiencies: the fence, the mobility kit and an outfeed table. Dust collection is the next mod.

Pics below:
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x275/c2rower/100_2870.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x275/c2rower/100_2832.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x275/c2rower/100_2833.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x275/c2rower/100_2841.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x275/c2rower/100_2864.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x275/c2rower/100_2865.jpg

[Jim Becker]

Looks some nice work on your part, Chas. The mobility mod is very nice as is your fence setup. (although my factory cast iron fence has been dead on since I bought the machine in 2004 or so) I also like your outfeed table. Very nice!

[Bruce Page]

I second what Jim said. I looks great.

[Chas Richter]

The outfeed table is a piece of scrap corian, 1/2" x 24 x 32 on a steel frame.

The fence is your classic T-Square with cam lock and adjustable flexures to square things up in two axis. The 80/20 Extruded fence is real sturdy and allows for easy re-positioning and attachment of auxiliary fences to make it taller.

Another thing I did was increase the width of the slot for the blade on the column to make 1 inch wide blade changes easier.

[John Thompson]

Very.. very nice, Charles.

May I ask what is the mobile base and where did you get it? I have decided to put my 18" on a mobile base and was considering the Jet large universal as it supports my 8" jointer well.

But... your base is low and has an open end which would be an advantage for me to get the BS on alone. Everything at my shop is usually done alone and I have to resort to some clever field engineering. But that open end attracted me and it looks to sit about 1 1/2" lower than the Jet... so!

Thanks for any help you can provide...

Sarge..

[Brian Kerley]

Very nice looking. I imagine you constructed your own fence?

[Joe Mioux]

oooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuu....

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAA...........

MY MM16 is jealous.


very nice, I especially like that outfeed table!
joe

[Chas Richter]

It's all home made using a mig welder and drill press. I fabricated the base and outfeed table frame from square steel tube. The casters are available from places like McMaster Carr. The Corian I got from a counter top fabricator for $35. 80/20 extrusions are availble on ebay from the 80/20 Garage sale vendor.

[Larry Fox]

Very very nice. I look forward to your DC mods as I have considered some for mine as well. Trying to figure a good way to get a 6" port in there somehow.

[Dick Sylvan]

Very good work, but I've got to wonder why it is necessary to modify a bandsaw that costs $2500!!

[Chris Padilla]

Chas, that is some nice work...gives me some ideas to try on my MM20! :)

[Larry Fox]

Very good work, but I've got to wonder why it is necessary to modify a bandsaw that costs $2500!!

Same reason some people begin to modify $30,000 vehicles almost immediately after driving them off the lot. Not strictly necessary but changing something to better fit your lifestyle / work habbits is certainly reasonable.

[Chas Richter]

Some people are never quite satisfied.

[John Thompson]

Thanks for the reply on the mobile base, Charles. I thought you had possibly made it as I have never seen one quite similar. I don't have a MIG, but my BIL who is a machine shop foreman at Delta Air Lines does. We do trade-offs for machine work to wood-work.. So....

Thanks again....

Note to Dick... the MM is a $2500 machine indeed. But that $2500 is pretty much for cast iron and mahining. The MM design is basically a scaled down industrial model as the "baby boys" of the industrials start at 24" with 36" the most common. So... even though expensive, it does not come with all the frills.. whistles and bells that we need for certain operations and conveniences we have become accustomed too.

On the other hand, an industrial was made to work 24/7 without recess for a long time as "retirement" is not a word that was included in their vocavulary. :)

Sarge..

[Steve Milito]

I really like the fence. My only concern is that the rail is in front of the emergency off switch.

[Warren Clemans]

I know next to nothing about welding, but to my eye that looks like extremely good, clean work. One question, though--what keeps the whole machine from moving when you feed stock through the blade? It looks like the large caster on the left side of the machine doesn't lock. Doesn't it want to rotate away from you? Or is the mass of the machine enough to keep it still?

Have you been happy with the saw, other than the stock fence and mobility kit?

[Tom Court]

I guess I'm in the minority here but I think you've compromised the nice ergonomics of the MM16, and possibly made it more dangerous to use, with your modifications.

While the extension table is a nice addition, the fence rail partially blocks the on/off switches on the left and it creates a hazard on the right side. I would think the fence rail is going to limit how you can maneuver around the machine while sawing and also be something you smack into everytime you walk by the saw. The mobile base looks like it will work great, but I wonder if it might also get in the way when using the saw. I'd hate to be tripping on that as I shift my stance while sawing.

I realize everyone has different expectations from their machines, but I found my MM16 exceeded my expectations right from the factory.

Tom

[Chas Richter]

If you look more closely the base can be removed quite easily by removing the dowel pins. The fence on the right side is sized to allow use of the fence on the right side out to the edge of the table. If I tend to just use the fence to the left of the blade then I may trim it. You can always cut things shorter; it's tough to make them longer. Actually my planer is going to go on that side. As far as the tube being infront of the Red stop button, I am in the habit of using the brake to switch it off. On a table saw, it would be a different matter. We have all been in those situations on the TS where something starts to bind and you get that scary feeling and you want to shut things down quick. The BS does not have the same kind of kickback potential, although it must be treated with respect. Appreciate your thoughts.