Bandsaw Riser

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tgreen
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Bandsaw Riser

Post by tgreen »

What Are Some Thoughts Of Shopsmith Making A Riser Block For The Band Saw So You Can Resaw Up To 12"? Is There Another Manufacturer That Makes A Riser For The Shopsmith Bandsaw?
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Ed in Tampa
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Post by Ed in Tampa »

Tgreen
I don't think it will ever happen. If you look at the Bandsaws that you can install riser blocks on you will see the actual frame of the saw is bolted together just above the lower wheel assembly. Usually four bolt going through horizonatl plates welded to the top and bottom frame sections.

Now look at the SS bandsaw. It is one piece frame. There is no way to add a riser unless you cut the frame in half and fabricate some kind of connection system where you can bolt them together.

The SS bandsaw is pretty much limited to what you got.
Ed
deanthom
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Post by deanthom »

I have to agree with Ed, T. Sadly, that was one of the considerations that I had to face when I bought the machine 20 years ago.

Further, if you WERE able to install a riser kit, you'd then be sad that you had such a narrow width. Heck, I'd be WHINING at that point. :(

What I did figure out, though, was that for a couple of bucks, or a six-pack in some cases, I could get someone or a sawmill to whack my larger pieces of stock down to a useful size for me. The number of times that I've had to do that would definitely NOT have paid for the difference of the purchase of a large-enough bandsaw. And if you buy lots of stuff from the right store who has one of those larger saws, they might be willing to do a "demo" (wink wink, nudge nudge) of a larger saw for you.

But, for me? Maybe SOME day... :)
Dean Thomas
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520, jointer, bandsaw, stripsander
charlese
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Bandsaw riser

Post by charlese »

Bandsaw riser for SS? No thank you! Yes, I've thought about; it would be nice to have the capacity to re-saw 8" boards, but WHY? Only because I don't have that ability now.

Finally, I realized it was more fun to limit my re-sawing to less than 6" and then glue the thinner boards together, if needed. Actually, the part of woodworking I love the most is taking large boards, cutting them into smaller pieces (mostly to select grain) and then putting them back together into larger, more attractive pieces.

If there is a special grain in a wider board that I want to save for 1/4" panels- I rip it in two or more pieces, less than 6", re-saw, if needed, then glue them back together. If careful to match grain, the original pattern will be restored.

Charlese:)
ericolson
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Post by ericolson »

I'm fortunate in that I stumbled across my big 30" bandsaw. It was one of those "I know this guy..." deals when I sold another machine to a fella that lives a couple of miles away and is a toy maker. Anyway, I picked it up for $200 and it was quite the adventure loading into my truck and unloading it into the shop. It was made by the Parks Woodworking Machine Company in around 1890 and was originally run off of a lineshaft in a wagon wheel shop. It now runs off of a 2HP motor and twin V belts which are wrapped around the original oak pulley. Needless to say, I no longer have re-saw or capacity issues when it comes to bandsaws.
Eric
Rock Creek Designs


Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat!
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dusty
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Band Saw Riser

Post by dusty »

Eric

Do you have pictures. This sounds really interesting.

:o
scottss
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Post by scottss »

I too have yet the need to resaw anything bigger than 6". The ss bandsaw does real well at 6" and smaller. The key is slow and use the right blade. I have a neighbor that inherited his grandfathers bs and it takes a 3" wide blade. Needless to say it does a very nice job at resawing. The odd thing is its only about 5' from top to bottom. I'm not sure what the of resawing capacity it has. I know others that have put riser kits on there bs and have never needed it.
deanthom
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Post by deanthom »

I've actually had several occasions where I needed some resawing and pouted for a few minutes that I did not buy a dedicated, MUCH larger bandsaw (not a 30, though, Eric :)) One the stuff that was about 14", I took it to a store here in KC that catered to turners (gone now, sadly) and he whacked it up for me for $1.50 each for 2 cuts. Add $2 in gas to get there and back, and it was a cheapie.

The other one that I dealt with was some mahogany blocks that I got on eBay that I wanted to make plates out of rather than bowls. Grain was not special, but would make a nice utility serving set of four that way. Set up the table saw carefully, with extra high fencing and fingerboards, and ran the two chunks through 4x each. Finished up with a hand saw for the last little bit in the middle. More than sufficient. If that had not been enough, I would have borrowed my buddy's Milwaukee reciprocating saw with a loooooong blade on it. :D

Cats can be skinned in a variety of ways.
Dean Thomas
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520, jointer, bandsaw, stripsander
ericolson
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Post by ericolson »

dustywoodworker wrote:Eric

Do you have pictures. This sounds really interesting.

:o
This link http://owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=5011 should do the trick. If you look closely at the top photo on the upper left, you'll see my two-ton come-along hanging from a rafter. I had to break the machine down into an upper and lower half. The lower half was easy to drag across the concrete floor of my shop. The upper half was a beastie getting it into position by myself. Needless to say, when I get the shop spray insulated, the contractor is going to have to figure something out, because that bandsaw isn't going anywhere!!

Oh yeah, my shop "ceiling" (the height of the lower cross beams) is ten feet, to give you a perspective as to how tall the bandsaw is.
Eric
Rock Creek Designs


Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat!
ericolson
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Post by ericolson »

deanthom wrote:I've actually had several occasions where I needed some resawing and pouted for a few minutes that I did not buy a dedicated, MUCH larger bandsaw (not a 30, though, Eric :))
Dean,

I had always wanted a bigger bandsaw, around 17". I had looked at the Grizzly showroom here in Springfield, but just couldn't justify spending that amount of money for a 17" bandsaw. Like you said, there are many ways to skin a cat. I have always been fascinated by antique woodworking machinery and my 30" bandsaw, especially for the cost, was like a dream come true! Here's a link for my 16" tablesaw that I got for $150.00: http://owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=5010
I fried the run capacitor in the motor, so once I get around to replacing it, the machine will be back up and running. With my SS tablesaw and a Rigid TS, I just haven't been in any hurry to fix it. Ice storm didn't help, either. I guess I kinda go in fits and spurts. On some of my projects, I use primarily my stand alone machinery. My SS gets used in whatever capacity on every project. But, sometimes, I go into total SS mode and the other tablesaws stand idle and I go strictly SS. I do find it convenient to have two table saws, though (3 including the SS). One can be set-up with my stacked dado cutter, one can have a rip blade, one can have a cross-cut blade with my cross-cut sled. Yep, it's overkill, I'll admit it. But it sure can be handy when I've got strict deadlines to meet.
Eric
Rock Creek Designs


Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat!
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