# Band Saw Build



## david_de (Jun 3, 2013)

Having a Band Saw Stand I needed something to put on it.

I built the band saw using the plans by Matthias Wandel available on his Woodworking for engineers website. The plans were well done and easy to follow. He has done all the hard work.

Being new at this I was a little concerned about being able to do this project. Since I was doing it for fun and the wood was scrap and free I decided I really did not have a lot to lose. Worst case the wife would have some more nice wood for the fireplace. Started by ripping 4 x 4 scraps that were used for packing some sort of equipment. Ripped those in half and ran them through the planer. Then ripped those in half and planed them down to a thickness of 17mm. From those I made up the components for the frame. I saw one fellow posted something about 72 pieces. I did not take the time to count them. To make assembly easier a letter was assigned to each group of parts with the same letter added to the cut list. With so many parts it made it a lot easer to keep track of things. I think the letters went from A to V.

The frame glue up was a process over several days and nights. It takes a lot of clamps. I thought I was going to have to invest in more clamps until I found a 5 gal bucket full of large C-clamps that I forgot I even had. I do have a lot of bridge clamps but did not want to use them as it would be over kill. I tried to be very careful that everything was perfectly aligned. The first layer was started using a 1:1 print out of the frame taped together.

The hardwood parts for the tensioner, axle mount blocks, etc. were cut from scrap Oak blocks used for shipping equipment. The wheels were cut from some 1 1/8 T&G plywood left over from repair on a sub floor. The wheels have a slight crown. For that the lower wheel block was held in a vice, with the weel mounted on the axle. Set up a router on the same axis as the axle but off 5 degrees for the crown. Cutting half the crown at a time. Turning the wheel by hand and feeding the router into it until the correct diameter was reached. Flipped the wheel and did the other half. 

The driven pulley on the drive wheel the outside diameter was cut with a circle cutting jig on a 10 inch band saw. A router was used to cut out the center to go over the wheel bearing and to cut the V groove for the belt. For the V-belt notch a 45 degree bit was used for the sides and a 1/4 inch straight bit for clean out. The wheel was mounted in the same way as previously but this time the router bit was fed straight into the surface of the pulley, the pulley was attached to the wheel. That pulley was made from scrap 3/4 plywood. The guards were made using frames of scrap pallet boards and skinned with 1/4 inch plywood. The table trunions were made from layers of scrap 3/4 plywood with 1/4 inch plywood sandwiched between. I made one of each of the two types parts of the trunion cutting them out with a smaller band saw. They were sanded smooth and accurate then used as templates to make the remaining parts with a router. The table and sub table were made from more scrap 3/4 plywood. The metal for the blade guard on the upper guide mount was made using some left over J channel from a pellet stove install in the shop. Guide bearings are from roller blades, the blocks for the guides are hardwood. Tires for the saw are 14 inch bicycle inner tubes stretched over the 16 inch wheels. They were about $7 each. Guess the price went up since I was a kid some 50+ years ago. The motor was cannibalized from a contractor saw found for free on Craigslist. I think I have another saw located for a replacement motor on the table saw as it is set up as a second saw with a dado blade and it is a good saw.

The saw tracked perfect under power after initial set up turning the wheels by hand. It cuts very well so far. Much better than the 10 inch saw I have made by a major manufacturer. Of course it is a lot larger too. I have not done any real re-sawing yet but did cut out the "required" reindeer then did a swan and giraffe just to make sure it was OK. It was a lot of fun to build. Well, it was fun between the times I was fixing up mistakes. I have not added up the hardware to get an idea on the actual cost. The bearings were the big expense, outside of the blades of course. I shopped around and found the wheel bearings for a few dollars each and the roller blade bearings were around $8 for a pack of around 7 or 8. I will probably do some experimenting with full roller guides later. For that the guides will probably have to be in a metal mount. The blade is 105 inch common to the 14 inch saws with a riser, so they are easy to find.

I know another member of the forum is also working on one of these. We have talked back and forth a bit in private messaging. He is planning to post his build and should be done soon. Looking forward to that. The nice thing about building it is I should also be able to fix it if there is ever a problem. Grab the yellow glue and patch it up.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Glad it turned out well, Dave and you are happy with it.

One of the forumites we met on our 2012 trip had also made one. He was very satisfied with his and it was also green, from memory.


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## twcustoms (Oct 26, 2013)

My son and I just started our's as well. After this one, we plan on taking on the 12" jointer.

Looks great


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## majnun (Nov 28, 2013)

very nice


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## rwl7532 (Sep 8, 2011)

My Jet 14" has the 6" riser.
When I can I specify 105 1/2" length blades.

93 1/2" + (2x6") = 105 1/2"

I still can't figure why they drop the 1/2". 

Nice job on the DIY band saw!!


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Very nice indeed Dave.


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## david_de (Jun 3, 2013)

The saw was much easier to build than I ever would have thought. It turned out to not really be very technical at all. The wheels were my main concern and they turned out to be the easiest part. The wheels are turned with the pulley while on the shaft so everything ends up being trued to the shaft and bearings. The way I did it turning the wheel by hand and feeding the router into the wheel did the same thing. 

For the bearing retaining pieces of plywood I made one perfect with hole saw and drum sander (hole saw wrapped in 80 grit) then used it as a template to make the other three with a router. Using the router and template sure make things a lot easier. One problem is the size of the hole. It is not a standard hole saw size. At 52mm all I had or could find were one size too large or one size too small.

I clamped an old router plate with router to some 2 x 4s clamped to the bench with boards clamped to keep it in line as I fed it in. Not being a turner that looked safer to me than sticking a chisel into the wheel while it was spinning driven by the motor and pulley. If anyone else tries that wearing gloves is a good idea. Welding gloves might be better. The wheel can take off and start spinning pretty fast sometimes.

People have come up with better ideas on how to do different parts of the band saw and Matthias has that information on the site as well. Fortunately I had a smaller band saw to cut out some of the parts. If a person does not have one the instructions cover that by making a temporary table and using the one you are making to cut out the parts. 


twcustoms said:


> My son and I just started our's as well. After this one, we plan on taking on the 12" jointer.


Will, the big jointer really looks good. Problem is they are junking out thickness planers that are probably better than the one I use. With the planners if the motor and cutter head are good most people probably repair them? I did find one thru craigslist for $65 that the guy said it was no good. I flipped the knives to the unused side and it worked great. Maybe some day I will get lucky again and find another one and make a big jointer too.

I will probably do the Multi slot mortising machine next. I don't really have a use for one but it looks like it would be fun to build. If I have one I can probably find something to use it on. At least enough to convince the wife I had to have it.


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## whimsofchaz (Jun 6, 2013)

Dave thanks for posting this. I have wanted to start one ever since I saw the sight for woodworking for engineers. I thought the wheels would be the hardest part also. I guess now I will have to build mine. I don't have a band saw now so I will have to try to build it without. I had thought about getting a 10 inch saw to learn on and then build a bigger one for re-sawing. Just my thoughts, but thanks a again for posting yours.

Chuck


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## david_de (Jun 3, 2013)

I would be happy to share what little I learned on this one with anyone. Just send a private message. It helps if there is someone who has done it or is doing it. Another member is making one too and it really helped to be able talk about problems and solutions.


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## Blooch58 (Jan 1, 2014)

That looks great! Interesting project for sure.


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## Jack Wilson (Mar 14, 2010)

Ok, I'm impressed! Despite what you say, that looks like a lot of work and patience. Congratulations!!!


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