Bandsaw upgrade

[HopefulSSer]

I'm not so much worried about dust in the saw as I am about dust in the shop & the air

[clemensk]

Hi, can someone enlighten me:
the Shopsmith cover update is just s hole in the cover with a dust hose connector? Are there any other changes with the original one? (except of course the window and the hole to adjust the tension)

[edma194]

Hi, can someone enlighten me:
the Shopsmith cover update is just s hole in the cover with a dust hose connector? Are there any other changes with the original one? (except of course the window and the hole to adjust the tension)

There is this detail in the upgrade description:
"The Cover also has an arrow to take the guess work out of which way your blade should run."

You can get the dust port attachment separately if you've already added the window and hole yourself.

[JPG]

Guess work??????

[edma194]

I guess right every time!!

[chapmanruss]

clemensk,

How original of a Bandsaw Cover are you referring to? The Bandsaw was introduced in 1955. The current cover has the dust port which also came on the previous version both of which are later gray covers. The current cover which has been around for about 20 years now also has the slot and window for adjusting the tension of the Blade without having to remove the cover. The original Bandsaw Cover was green and had neither of the above features. That was followed by the gold cover than the gray cover both not having the above features either. Other than that, the logo and how it was part of or on the cover changed several times. The cover itself has not changed in size. You can put a Greenie cover on a current Bandsaw or a current cover on a 1950's Greenie Bandsaw.

Below is the first Gray Bandsaw made in the mid 1960's by Magna American Corporation.

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It has, what I will call, the plain cover.

For those of you who noticed it is missing the Table Insert but I do have it and once restored it will be in place.

[jsburger]

Another thing that has changed is the method of attachment of the cover to the saw frame.

[DLB]

There is this detail in the upgrade description:
"The Cover also has an arrow to take the guess work out of which way your blade should run."

I never even noticed this arrow. But yes, and the arrow is giant sized.

I've had SS bandsaw covers with three different types of attaching hardware. My favorite is the old knobs shown in the photo above posted by Russ. My least favorite is the latest version which require a tool. That has to be a safety thing, but it isn't intuitive to me how it could be any safer. I haven't noticed any difference in the cover itself for the various attach methods. The 'standoffs' are different for the version that requires a tool. (New standoffs have female threads.)

- David

[clemensk]

Thank you very much. For me original cover is the mid 80s version. I bought an old but never used (in the box, closed) bandsaw. I thought, if I already have it, I can upgrade it as I like. Drilling the hole and 3d printing a dust port is not that big of a deal.

While the experts are already here: I cleaned and greased the upper bearing, the grease was solid in it, but the needles looked flawless. It runs, but it does not run a smooth as a brand new sealed ball bearing, is that normal? And what about the lower bearing, which one is the replacement?

[chapmanruss]

For a 1980's Bandsaw the cover would be the same as the cover in the picture I posted in my previous post except the would say Shopsmith instead of Magna. The Dust Port was added in the mid 1990's. Shopsmith makes an upgrade for covers that do not have the Dust Port. It can be found at the following link and includes the flange, an elbow and the hardware to attach it. Another option would be to upgrade to the current cover with the Dust port and the window plus slot for adjusting the blade tension. It comes up for sale from time to time.

https://shopsmith.com/product/bandsaw-dust-chute/

The Upper Wheel Bearing needs periodic regreasing as you said you have done. Probably not going to turn a smoothly as a sealed bearing. The Lower Wheel Bearing is a longer pump type bearing. There have been posts in the past about replacing it. So far it is not a problem I have had with any of the 11 Magna/Shopsmith Bandsaws I have owned or restored. Others might chime in with more information.