# Regarding my forthcoming bandsaw....



## bald9eagle (Oct 20, 2013)

What modifications/upgrades would you make? 

Did you buy or make your own resaw fence? Sled?


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## barry richardson (Oct 20, 2013)

I would just get it and play with it a while before buying any significant accessories. There are a lot of marketers out there happy to sell you all their kit for various woodworking equipment, my experience is that very little of it is necessary, for example, I use and maintain 4 different woodworking bandsaws (my own and 3 at work) and I have never seen the need for a drift fence as long as you have a sharp blade and the saw is adjusted properly. Resaw fence? simply clamp a taller flat board to your existing fence, etc. Like someone mentioned before, get to know the saw, take it apart, put it back together, understand how it all works.... Bandsaws are a bit more fussy that most machines, kinda like a guitar where you may have to adjust the tuning a bit on the fly, but once you get them in tune, they make sweet music.


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## Mike1950 (Oct 20, 2013)

Mine-1951 Rockwell came with the fence rails but no fence. took the rails off and I do a lot of resawing. Saw has the same drift no matter what I do. I use a very sophisticated fence system- multiple 2x chunks of wood-straight and the right length-clamp them on and go to town. Works for me- most would laugh at them. Point is-I agree with Barry- get to know the saw inside and out. If you are going to spend money-buy really good blades-probably won't come with them. Use it for a while -you might find you need nothing..............


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## Mike1950 (Oct 20, 2013)

PS- I do not have a saw that I enjoy more then the bandsaw- the joy of opening up a beautiful bookmatch- you can only get it from that saw.


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## Kevin (Oct 20, 2013)

bald9eagle said:


> ...
> 
> Did you buy or make your own resaw fence? Sled?



I did as Barry mentioned and adapted a fence off a POS Hitachi table saw and added a tall piece of melamine - like it much better than the clamped boards I was using. Didn't know what I was missing before. 

http://i1077.Rule #2/albums/w468/WoodBarter/bandsaw5_zpseaced716.jpg

http://i1077.Rule #2/albums/w468/WoodBarter/bandsaw3_zps9f59439a.jpg


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## bald9eagle (Oct 20, 2013)

That was my first thought on the resaw fence. I've got some 1" nylon sheets that I will probably make into a fence and a sled. Someone had mentioned a zero tolerance insert and that got me to thinking about what mods I might needed to make to upgrade, if any.


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## justturnin (Oct 22, 2013)

Only upgrade on my saw other than the riser were carter rolling guides replacing the blocks. Ohh and a Carter ratcheting tensioner, I keep a 3/8" socket wrench on it. Makes changing the blade a lot faster.

I get my blades at woodcraftbands.com, I have used Timberwolf blades and they are good but for what I do they were not outlasting WCB's $12 blades, they just gave a smoother cut which did not matter to me.


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## Kevin (Oct 22, 2013)

justturnin said:


> Only upgrade on my saw other than the riser were carter rolling guides replacing the blocks. Ohh and a Carter ratcheting tensioner, I keep a 3/8" socket wrench on it. Makes changing the blade a lot faster.



You also added an additional dust port it looks like, or is that a factory addition to that saw? I noticed it in one of your threads and immediately thought that was a great idea.


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## jimmyjames (Oct 22, 2013)

Mike1950 said:


> PS- I do not have a saw that I enjoy more then the bandsaw- the joy of opening up a beautiful bookmatch- you can only get it from that saw.



I agree, I don't know why it took me so long to buy a big band saw..... I just opened up a 12" thick piece of maple this morning that knocked my socks off.... if I didn't have this saw it would have been chainsawed into smaller pieces and wound up as small blanks........ book matching makes things soooo much more exciting!


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## Kevin (Oct 22, 2013)

jimmyjames said:


> Mike1950 said:
> 
> 
> > PS- I do not have a saw that I enjoy more then the bandsaw- the joy of opening up a beautiful bookmatch- you can only get it from that saw.
> ...



Wait until you get your mill running. Now THAT is going to knock your socks off to see a 60"+ wide book match.


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## jimmyjames (Oct 22, 2013)

Kevin said:


> jimmyjames said:
> 
> 
> > Mike1950 said:
> ...



I know I can't wait! I have an appointment with the CNC mill this weekend to make some parts for it


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## justturnin (Oct 22, 2013)

Kevin said:


> justturnin said:
> 
> 
> > Only upgrade on my saw other than the riser were carter rolling guides replacing the blocks. Ohh and a Carter ratcheting tensioner, I keep a 3/8" socket wrench on it. Makes changing the blade a lot faster.
> ...



Ohh yea that too....

Make upgrades and dont even realize it. But most new saws have that port now. Mine just had some dinky 1" port by the cut and it was not doing it.


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## Kevin (Oct 22, 2013)

Mine just has the small one too and it doesn't take much out, I'm gonna make the additional port mod like yours.


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