Cast Iron Bandsaw Table Extension
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 4:57 pm
I bought my Bandsaw 25 years ago. It came with no fence system and no provision for attaching one.
I recently became interested in resawing veneers. I wanted an industrial bandsaw, but it is not in my current budget. So I turned to my SS Bandsaw to see what I could accomlish with it. I needed the ability to add a fence and move it in exact increments toward the blade so that each cut would reference the same smooth, flat and square sides of the stock.
I discovered the Incra Jig — a simple two piece jig with molded interlocking teeth forming sawtooth racks. The jig by design moves in 1/32" increments. I bought it on sale for $40.
While making an extension table to hold the jig, I realized that if I made the jig removable, the extension table could be used to support stock and patterns that I cut on the bandsaw.
I did a complete tear down and overhaul of the bandsaw. This included cleaning the pitch and built up dust from the housing. The bearings were still pristine as I had used the bandsaw for little more than a few hours since it was new. The tires were showing signs of deterioration, so I replaced them. I also added a set of cool blocks which I purchased from Bill Mayo. Finally, I added a new 3 tpi blade.
After alignment, my blueprinted bandsaw was ready for testing. Drift measured amazingly 0°.
I wanted to see how thin of veneers I could consistently cut. The kerf for this blade is about 1/32", so I had to use at minimum 1/16" increments (two-teeth increments). This produced veneers at 0.020" thick — too thin for practical use, but amazing that I could accomplish this on a 25 year old Shopsmith bandsaw. Using every three teeth, the jig moves the stock 3/32" into the blade. This left the veneers at 0.045" thick. The resulting veneers with parallel cuts and fairly smooth faces. I will go with a little thicker cuts to make it easier to joint and edge glue these before attaching them to a substrate.
I was amazed at the results. I have ten photographs so I'll add 5 here and post another message with the other five.
I recently became interested in resawing veneers. I wanted an industrial bandsaw, but it is not in my current budget. So I turned to my SS Bandsaw to see what I could accomlish with it. I needed the ability to add a fence and move it in exact increments toward the blade so that each cut would reference the same smooth, flat and square sides of the stock.
I discovered the Incra Jig — a simple two piece jig with molded interlocking teeth forming sawtooth racks. The jig by design moves in 1/32" increments. I bought it on sale for $40.
While making an extension table to hold the jig, I realized that if I made the jig removable, the extension table could be used to support stock and patterns that I cut on the bandsaw.
I did a complete tear down and overhaul of the bandsaw. This included cleaning the pitch and built up dust from the housing. The bearings were still pristine as I had used the bandsaw for little more than a few hours since it was new. The tires were showing signs of deterioration, so I replaced them. I also added a set of cool blocks which I purchased from Bill Mayo. Finally, I added a new 3 tpi blade.
After alignment, my blueprinted bandsaw was ready for testing. Drift measured amazingly 0°.
I wanted to see how thin of veneers I could consistently cut. The kerf for this blade is about 1/32", so I had to use at minimum 1/16" increments (two-teeth increments). This produced veneers at 0.020" thick — too thin for practical use, but amazing that I could accomplish this on a 25 year old Shopsmith bandsaw. Using every three teeth, the jig moves the stock 3/32" into the blade. This left the veneers at 0.045" thick. The resulting veneers with parallel cuts and fairly smooth faces. I will go with a little thicker cuts to make it easier to joint and edge glue these before attaching them to a substrate.
I was amazed at the results. I have ten photographs so I'll add 5 here and post another message with the other five.
Thanks for the post and the pictures.