Yard sale SCORE

[ErikH]

One Hitachi cb75f bandsaw in EXTREMELY good shape (8/10): $300. Oh yeah, and they threw in a Stannley #6 joiner plane for the hell of it, also 8/10 condition.

:)

Sorry. Had to boast somewhere.

A question, though: The table is darn low. Does anyone have one of these? Did you buy a stand, build a stand, or make one out of wood?

[Kim Whitmyre]

Cool! I put my little 14" Grizzly on a birch plywood box that also serves as a blade and accessory cabinet. It has casters so I can roll it out for longer pieces in my tight shop.

[ssor]

Just dig a hole in front and stand in that. ;)

[ErikH]

Yeah, I keep forgetting that bandsaws don't vibrate too much. I was scratching my head thinking of how to bolt it down to a super-rigid stand but I suppose that probably won't be needed.

How beefy do you think the base needs to be? This saw is VERY low IMO--table height is only 27 inches. So I'd want to raise it a good 18 inches or so, at least.

I'd like to put it on casters, too, if I can. I'm wondering if I can just use locking casters, or if I need to rig up a system where the casters "lift" during use.

I have experience using other bigger bandsaws, but the only thing I've ever *owned* is a small 12" Sears on spindly little legs, from some decades past. This saw is REALLY overkill for my uses, but I'm not complaining. If I really ever want to resaw a lot, it is apparently one of the only smaller ones which will really accept a THREE INCH (!!!) blade and also put the required 15,000 PSI on it. Oy.

And I don't need a table saw now. Heh.

[Kim Whitmyre]

My cabinet stand is 3/4" shop Birch, with a central vertical partition dadoed in: it's more than stiff enough for the purpose. I can't remember if I biscuited the corners together or did my older method: dado and rabbet. I'm using the lockable casters with 2 1/2" rubber wheels.

[Tom Lathrop]

First off, you should not be posting here snce theft is a serious matter and someone may turn you in.:D

A great tool. I had the Ryobi version but sold it several years ago and now wish that I had not. You absolutely need a substantial base for this machine. It's main thing is resawing big wood and making planks out of logs. Rollers on two corners, yes, but you need a locking method also. Locking wheels are not always good enough for pushing a long 12" high piece of lumber through. I had two fixed wheels in back and folding lift handles in front which I think works better.

Be very careful in checking your lumber for metal. Those blades are very expensive, nearly what you paid for the saw.:eek: You can run smaller blades for general work although the guide blocks are not the best for them. One drawback is the universal type motor. Very loud and high pitched screaming. Ear muffs recommended.

[Wild Dingo]

Yep bolt it down somehow... the box thing works for the smaller ones... Ive got a mate here who made one like what Kyms saying and its a bottler of an idea... arent they a tad light to be doing much resawing with?... with my 18in bandsaw I first found the best spot for it to be located (I do not want to be moving it very much at all) and then got a square of converyor belt and cut to fit the base then run dynabolts through and to the concrete of the floor of the shed ... now watch that bloody thing work!! :cool: oooh yeah ;)

But definantly try to secure its footing somehow especially if your going to be resawing

[ErikH]

"First off, you should not be posting here since theft is a serious matter and someone may turn you in."

Yeah: I love it where I live (Martha's Vineyard). Not so long ago that I picked up one of these, for free:
http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=5041
but in better shape. Resort towns are fun!

I haven't set the lathe up yet... but couple that with my new BS and I can make some fun stuff! Now I only have to keep my eyes out for a planer... :)

Thanks for all the tips. It sounds like I should/will bolt it down. And that will make building a riser even easier of course.

"arent they a tad light to be doing much resawing with?"
Dunno; reviews look good though. I didn't realize the motor was a universal but that explains why it's so darn small. Apparently they run into trouble with 8" plus black walnut, at least for some owners ;) I won't be doing much so I don't really know--still, it's designed to cut 10-11" resaws so I have trouble believing that I will realistically have a problem in my typical limited use.. And I suppose I could always just put on a bigger 220v motor, as some have done.

"Its main thing is resawing big wood and making planks out of logs."
I was wondering about that. Can I really saw green wood into lumber with this thing? Will it damage the machine? I'm considering taking down a couple of oaks and I'd be more inclined to do so if I could slice and use the wood instead of burning it. I don't have enough to bother with a local mill but I'd be psyched to go solo and try to cut the logs into planks myself.

"Be very careful in checking your lumber for metal. Those blades are very expensive, nearly what you paid for the saw."

Yeah, I'm beginning to realize that. The 3" are about $150 each.

Though seeing as I will mostly be doing hobby use of the kind I think of as "better than using a jigsaw" I suspect I'll start with a 3/8 or 1/2" blade instead of the fullblown 3" version.

[Tom Lathrop]

"First off, you should not be posting here since theft is a serious matter and someone may turn you in."

Yeah: I love it where I live (Martha's Vineyard). Not so long ago that I picked up one of these, for free:
http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=5041
but in better shape. Resort towns are fun!

I haven't set the lathe up yet... but couple that with my new BS and I can make some fun stuff! Now I only have to keep my eyes out for a planer... :)

Thanks for all the tips. It sounds like I should/will bolt it down. And that will make building a riser even easier of course.

"arent they a tad light to be doing much resawing with?"
Dunno; reviews look good though. I didn't realize the motor was a universal but that explains why it's so darn small. Apparently they run into trouble with 8" plus black walnut, at least for some owners ;) I won't be doing much so I don't really know--still, it's designed to cut 10-11" resaws so I have trouble believing that I will realistically have a problem in my typical limited use.. And I suppose I could always just put on a bigger 220v motor, as some have done.

"Its main thing is resawing big wood and making planks out of logs."
I was wondering about that. Can I really saw green wood into lumber with this thing? Will it damage the machine? I'm considering taking down a couple of oaks and I'd be more inclined to do so if I could slice and use the wood instead of burning it. I don't have enough to bother with a local mill but I'd be psyched to go solo and try to cut the logs into planks myself.

"Be very careful in checking your lumber for metal. Those blades are very expensive, nearly what you paid for the saw."

Yeah, I'm beginning to realize that. The 3" are about $150 each.

Though seeing as I will mostly be doing hobby use of the kind I think of as "better than using a jigsaw" I suspect I'll start with a 3/8 or 1/2" blade instead of the fullblown 3" version.

I cut hundreds of feet of 8" to 11" ash veneer with mine. That is what it is intended for. The pitch is 1 1/2" with a regular steel tooth in between which says it was meant for wide cuts. It did trip breakers a couple of times until I put it on a separate circuit from the vacuum. Never have found an effective dust pickup for a bandsaw and have tried many. I would not want it bolted down permanently unless you have gobs of dedicated room for it.

The stellite (tough form of carbide) teeth have little if any hook so you have to feed with some force. That is one reason you need it rigidly fixed in place.

[Kim Whitmyre]

Completely forgot to mention that the casters are located on hinged stock: they can be flipped up so the saw sets on bottom-mounted skids.

[ErikH]

did you cut your veneer from green logs or from dried boards?

[ErikH]

...and did you try a smaller blade from a different source than hitachi? A 3/4" WoodSlicer is only $36, not $150.

I'm not really clear what the advantage is of the 3" blade is. Other saws seem to be much smaller. Even expensive resaws--the laguna "resaw master," for example, which costs $3500--max out at 2". Can you explain it? Is it just a tracking issue?

I'm also curious what the smallest blade is that you find reasonably useful on a good size bandsaw. 3/8"? 1/2"?

[Tom Lathrop]

When you have the saw set up properly with the 3" blade, tracking is just about automatic. You can not make it take an arc even if you try. Whether it is fundamentally better than another saw with a narrower blade is arguable but one thing is certain. You have a very good resaw for very little money. It is not as good as many other saws for general purpose sawing. If you want to stand at the end of a 10 foot long, 10 inch wide board and hope the cut is proceeding as you'd like, it's very good. If you have an unskilled volunteer in a museum boatshop who is incapable of cutting thin (or even thick) veneers on a narrow blade saw, they can do that much easier with the 3" blade.

[Paul Girouard]

Erik step back from the saw , ship it to me it is very dangerous $300.00 you should be ashamed did you hold a gun to their head:eek:

Ok seriously that is one great saw , we had one at the last cabinet shop I worked at , they still have it . We made a simple base out of 4 x12 each side IIRC using threaded rod and 2 x4 stretchers the rod holds it nice and tight and you can if you have to slide the saw around the shop the base becomes a skid .

For resawing we used the stelite 3" blades like Tom talked about , the stock fence we bolted a wide Maple brd to , flush put the bolts by recessing the head and nut , one thing we did was use a dry teflon spray when resawing just spray the blade while the saw cuts , when needed , cuts way down a drag , you'll hear the motor load up when you feed to fast or the blade needs the dry lube. Also I'd cut quick wedge and use that to open up the fall off joint , once past the blae ,if , the lumber has tension and wants to bind up the blade.

Once we built that base you'd have to pull really hard , almost have to try , to tip the saw over. The 3" blades IMO , althought we never tried the other resaw blades you mentioned , is the way to go for resawing , almost no drift , ya some one will now say will you can correct for the drift by standing on one foot while patting your belly and head etc etc etc , Why :D the 3" blade will stop that drift.

So in closing , if you ship that piece of crap to me I'll take er off your hands , You'll pay all shipping fees and just be glad your concience will be clear in known you've done the right thing :D