Powermatic 14" Band Saw Lighting

[Kelly Craig]

Powermatic Band Saw Modification`

I found the goose neck light on my Powermatic band saw frustrating to use for several reasons:

1) It had to wrap all the way from the back of the saw to the front. It never seemed to have a long enough goose neck and using it required pushing it to the limits of its flexibility. Try as I might, it never seemed be in quite the right position, or if I got it where I wanted, it moved back a bit when I let go.

2) After I got it in position, or near it, it was in the way of the tension release so had to be moved each time I was done using the saw, then repositioned for the next use.

3) I couldn't open the upper door to change blades without moving it.

Add to the forgoing, I knew it was only a matter of time and the goose neck was going to fail from being pushed too hard, and too often.

It appeared the problems could be solved, if the light could be remounted on the side of the saw, instead of the back. I thought of repositioning it to the upper wheel housing, but that offered its own set of problems. It seemed there was a lot of unused space on the upper blade support bar, providing using the bar as a light mount didn't interfere with the ability of the bar to move up and down.

I and aardvarks have much in common, regarding machinist work. Nonetheless, I gritted my teeth and went for it. After measuring (okay- guessed using a tape) how deep I could drill into the shaft without affecting movement of the blade support, I placed tape on a pilot bit to set the depth I could drill. I then enlarged the hole (again using my disposable depth stop) and threaded it to accept a couple mounting bolts. I then mounted the light on the shaft.

It's been several months of use and the modification is something Powermatic should consider. The lamp now positions with ease and, for the first time, actually offers the light I need to see my cuts. Too, the lamp no longer interferes with the movement of the tensioning arm and only has be be moved a little to allow me to open the door.

I've included a picture showing where I mounted the lamp. Just behind the knob for setting blade support height you can see the upper screw where the lamp was originally mounted

.Powermatic Light-1.JPG

[Michael Peet]

I like it, Kelly. I have the exact same frustrations with the light on that saw. I'm afraid of drilling cast iron, though; never done it.

Does the light interfere with the quick release in the extreme up position?

Mike

[glenn bradley]

That is an elegant solution to the problem that designers seem to think we want to light our cut from behind(?). Just as food for thought, I picked up the same lamp that comes on my scrollsaw for about $30 and attached a magnetic base. As you can see it is quite small so as not to block your view. It not only lights the area BUT, the rubber on the base of the magnet will peel the decals off your saw

[Eric Einsmann]

I just picked one of these up yesterday at Woodcraft and just finished putting it together this afternoon. You might want to consider using a different lamp. I put in a 40 watt halogen R20 flood (Ace HW didn't have a spot) and it seemed to light up the table very well. A CFL puts out light in every direction. The R20 halogen aims more of it at the table. I made a few cuts with the saw to test it out and I don't remember having any issued with the lamp being in the way.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I use a Delta magnetic base goose neck (about $25) on my saw. Attach it to the upper wheel cover door, and add a "day light" CFL.

[Kelly Craig]

Obviously, I've been away for a while. Because of that, I missed your post. At any rate, the answer is "no." The light is never in the way of the tension release and the only time I move it now is changing blades. Even then, I only have to move it slightly.

As to drilling cast iron, I'm far from a machinist. All I did was put tape on a small pilot bit to mark how deep I wanted to drill (I bit farther than the screw you'll use). Next, I drilled to the size called for regarding the tap size I used. Last, I just used oil and a tap to thread the hole. I only taped a little ways at a time (backing it out to clear the debris).

Even had I gone through, I could have deburred the other side. Of course, having the blade support out of the way would have been a good idea, if you went on through.

In the end, month later, the light works so good, I take it for granted now.

[Joseph Tarantino]

is that a threaded hole just below where the blade guide knob is located?

[Roger Feeley]

drilling cast iron is easy if you do it right.

Sharp bit.

NO OIL!!!!!!!

It taps easy too. Just make sure you clean all the cutting oil off of your tap.

Cast iron won't burr. There will be a nice sharp edge that you might want to break but that's about it.

[Lee Schierer]

When I purchased m 14" Delta bandsaw at a wood show in Canada, they included a magnetic base gooseneck light. It sticks to the front cover and can easily be positioned where it sheds light on the cut line. It swings out of the way when you open the upper door for blade changing.25-869_1.gif

[Peter Quinn]

Nice mod there. I owned that saw for some years, and that truly frustrated me too. I took it off and used a magnetic goose neck lamp after a while. I did like that it always reminded me to drop the tension when I went to turn off the light. The first time I used the saw I was stunned, between the light shining in my eyes and the saw dust blinding me from the "line clearing dust blower" I thought I was trapped in a sand storm in the desert at high noon! I got rid of the dust blower quick, kept the light for a while, suffered the exact same problems as you describe. Nice saw in most other ways, except the drive belt alignment. That I don't miss either!

[Kevin W Johnson]

drilling cast iron is easy if you do it right.

Sharp bit.

NO OIL!!!!!!!

It taps easy too. Just make sure you clean all the cutting oil off of your tap.

Cast iron won't burr. There will be a nice sharp edge that you might want to break but that's about it.

I've always heard not to use oil when tapping cast iron, but I've never heard why.... What does the oil do when it's used?

[Lee Schierer]

I've always heard not to use oil when tapping cast iron, but I've never heard why.... What does the oil do when it's used?

The cuttings from cast iron tend to be gritty like sand. Oil can cause them to clog the tap and bind it up in the hole resulting in breakage. Breaking a tap off is not a fun experience.

[Roger Feeley]

I've always heard not to use oil when tapping cast iron, but I've never heard why.... What does the oil do when it's used?

This goes back to my days in college as an industrial arts major. I heard this in a VERY basic metallurgy class, machine shop, and auto mechanics. I can get a tiny bit closer to the why but not all the way.

Cast iron apparently develops this very thin hard layer in the presence of oil and heat. That's what makes it such an ideal material for moving parts. I don't know what they use for piston rings now but they used to be cast iron. Buuut... if you lose the oil film, the hard thing goes away and all creation breaks loose.

The machine shop teacher said to work cast iron dry or you will be sorry.
The auto mechanics teacher talked about how durable it is and how you shouldn't let the oil film fail.
Unfortunately, I forget what the metallurgy guy said.

I love cast iron. I cook on it as much as I can and I get a little extra iron in the diet.
It machines easy.

Don't try to weld it, though. I've done it with a torch and it's like welding oatmeal. Now, my father-in-law used to weld it all the time but he was working on 60 foot natural gas pumping engines where two men crawl into the cylinder and weld in shifts for two days....

[Roger Feeley]

One thing I did that I really love is wire a microswitch to the quick release on the BS. Put tension on the blade and the light go on. I don't forget to tension the blade before I turn on the machine. I also don't forget to de-tension it at the end of the day.

[Jake Helmboldt]

Roger, should you happen to see this post (a bit old..the post, not you), can you elaborate on the micro switch set up you have?

thanks, Jake