A Free Bandsaw...

[Conductor562]

Well, kinda. Dad bought this Delta 28-276 back in the mid-90's. Didn't use it much, and eventually it got moved into storage and forgotten about. He's tried to get me to take it forever, but I just never got around to it.

 

A couple weeks ago I finally dug it out to have a look. The belt was missing, which I knew, but the ridiculously shitty trunions were busted to the point the table was about to fall off. Table was a solid sheet of rust ?

 

So I sanded the table down starting with 220 and working all the way up to 2000 grit, ordered a link belt at Comp's suggestion ($23), found some upgraded trunions ($35). Once I got it running and played around with it, I was actually surprised how well it did. Great cuts, smooth, and not very loud either. I liked it well enough that I ordered a HTC Mobile base ($60), and a Kreg Fence ($107), because for some reason that is totally lost on me, the 28-276 was sold without a fence or miter gauge. 

 

So the free bandsaw ended up being a $225 investment, but it's hard to bitch. It's still less than half of what a comparable bandsaw would have cost me to buy and I can finally quit fooling around with the little bench top model that I hate. Once the fence and mobile base arrive, I'll be in business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Atlas2000]

Looks brand new! Nice save.

[ChrisK]

That is quite the deal dude. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the Kreg fence.

[rrmccabe]

Looks great. Once you get used it having it you will wonder how you got by without it.  I use mine more and more every day.

[comp56]

sweet dixie that looks good...now that you got it to this state, it should last you the rest of......

[Conductor562]

45 minutes ago, ChrisK said:

That is quite the deal dude. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the Kreg fence.

 

I looked at bandsaw fences for what seemed like days! There were some pretty nice fences available, but most were pretty high rent for a 20 year old Delta. I didn't want to get into it to the point where if the motor went, I'd be into it more than I could have bought a new saw for.

 

Looked at some mag fences, but I just don't like the idea of not having a scale. The Kreg seemed like a good fit. It has good reviews, didn't break the bank, and is a direct bolt on for this model, so no drilling and tapping. I'm also fond of Kreg products, so I went with it. 

 

My previous unit was a little 9" Delta BS100 I got used back when I was in a single car garage. It was fine for little shit, but now that I have space for a bigger unit, it just feels like more a pain in the ass to drag out and set up than it's worth. It'll be nice to just flip it on, make my cuts, and shut it off. 

 

[Conductor562]

12 minutes ago, comp56 said:

sweet dixie that looks good...now that you got it to this state, it should last you the rest of......

 

It's practically New Old Stock. He bought it around 1996-97, used it for about 6 months, and literally never fooled with it again. I'm guessing the trunions got busted when it was moved to storage. Other than that, it was in awesome shape aside from the table, and after sanding and waxing, it's smooth as glass. 

[comp56]

ya lets face it, your not going to start up a small saw mill and start cutting 6" quarter sawn oak with it but it will do a lot of things over the 9" not sure what your has for HP mine is a 2 HP and I'm able to resaw 16/4 paduak and that is no easy task.....if you ever cut paduak it is like glass and can eat through a good diablo blade real quick on a miter saw and that is only if the miter saw has enough jam to give. 

[Conductor562]

No fence yet, but the mobile base did arrive today. 

 

All in all I like the base. It's super easy to use and seems pretty solid. Not sure I'd want to have 500 lbs. on it for an extended period, but at 200 or so pounds it's great. 

 

I will I'll say that the instructions were by no means straightforward. Aside from the diagram, they were pretty much useless. The first page stated I needed an M6 wrench, M6 Socket, and M10 wrench for assembly. What I actually needed was a 10mm wrench and an 11mm wrench. I have no idea where they got that I needed M6 anything. I'd venture to say that a lot of people don't even own a 6mm wrench and the only one I had was a stubby. 

 

The unit did use M6 bolts, but they had a 10mm head and 11mm nut. I guess maybe that's where they got crossed up. Being somewhat mechanical, I was able to figure it out pretty easily on my own, but Joe Homeowner who's old lady organizes his toolbox may have struggled.

 

Mandarin-Chingrish instructions aside, I do like the base and wouldn't have any reservations about buying another.

 

 

[comp56]

great stuff just about the same base I have

[Conductor562]

Mrs. Conductor calls me about noon and says "UPS dropped off your tool" meaning my bandsaw fence. 

 

I was was excited all afternoon. Couldn't wait to get home and tinker. I ran in the door, straight to the garage, open the box, and it's a damn picture she forgot she ordered ?

 

Talk about heartbroken!

[comp56]

funny how grown man can get so excited over a cardboard box that a delivery person brings them.....and all this knowing (most of the time ) what is in the damn thing!

[JimboS1ice]

Mrs. Conductor calls me about noon and says "UPS dropped off your tool" meaning my bandsaw fence. 
 
I was was excited all afternoon. Couldn't wait to get home and tinker. I ran in the door, straight to the garage, open the box, and it's a damn picture she forgot she ordered [emoji31]
 
Talk about heartbroken!

Wow talk about a let down!


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[Foneguy]

8 hours ago, Conductor562 said:

Mrs. Conductor calls me about noon and says "UPS dropped off your tool" meaning my bandsaw fence. 

 

I was was excited all afternoon. Couldn't wait to get home and tinker. I ran in the door, straight to the garage, open the box, and it's a damn picture she forgot she ordered ?

 

Talk about heartbroken!

????DAMMITT!!!

[rfwjr]

On ‎3‎/‎15‎/‎2017 at 11:45 PM, Conductor562 said:

No fence yet, but the mobile base did arrive today. 

 

All in all I like the base. It's super easy to use and seems pretty solid. Not sure I'd want to have 500 lbs. on it for an extended period, but at 200 or so pounds it's great. 

 

I will I'll say that the instructions were by no means straightforward. Aside from the diagram, they were pretty much useless. The first page stated I needed an M6 wrench, M6 Socket, and M10 wrench for assembly. What I actually needed was a 10mm wrench and an 11mm wrench. I have no idea where they got that I needed M6 anything. I'd venture to say that a lot of people don't even own a 6mm wrench and the only one I had was a stubby. 

 

The unit did use M6 bolts, but they had a 10mm head and 11mm nut. I guess maybe that's where they got crossed up. Being somewhat mechanical, I was able to figure it out pretty easily on my own, but Joe Homeowner who's old lady organizes his toolbox may have struggled.

 

Mandarin-Chingrish instructions aside, I do like the base and wouldn't have any reservations about buying another.

 

 

The restoration came out great.

I just got this same mobile stand in from Amazon today.  I am also putting my band saw on it. 

[Conductor562]

Well, the fence came. Got it installed and tuned up, and ran a few boards through it. I really like the fence. Of course I fiddled with it for hours until I got it exactly where I liked it. It's well built. Pretty ridgid, smooth adjustment, couldn't really ask for more from an aftermarket fence. 

 

Now for a confession. I didn't exactly adhere to the instructions. I glanced at them and went with it. I should have paid more attention. I set up my square and very meticulously set up the zero on the scale with the blade like you would a table saw. Even checked it with a caliper to ensure absolute accuracy. Just when I was about to pat myself on the back for a job well done, I reinstalled the fence and realized I didn't account for the offset between the fence and the sight glass ☹️

 

Probably could have salvaged it, but I'd already trimmed it off. I called Kreg, asked for the parts department, and very honestly explained what I did taking full responsibility for having not payed attention to the instructions. Dude I talked to was extremely nice, said he appreciated my honesty, and sent out a new scale free of charge. From the time I googled the number to the time I got off the phone was seriously less than 5 minutes. I talked to Americans, and was shipped out a new scale free of charge despite being completely at fault, that's top notch customer service. I was already a fan of Kreg products, but I'm now a full supporter. 

 

May be out of guilt, but I went ahead and ordered the micro adjuster and the 4-1/2" resaw guide for the fence. Don't think I really need the micro adjuster, but I guess it's worth $16 for the added function so why the hell not? I've wasted more money for less. 

[Nordraw]

On 3/16/2017 at 9:10 PM, Conductor562 said:

Mrs. Conductor calls me about noon and says "UPS dropped off your tool" meaning my bandsaw fence. 

 

I was was excited all afternoon. Couldn't wait to get home and tinker. I ran in the door, straight to the garage, open the box, and it's a damn picture she forgot she ordered ?

 

Talk about heartbroken!

Now that sucks

[rrich1]

Been looking for one of those. Congrats.

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[JimboS1ice]

Dude you did an awesome job on that table, couldn't even tell there was rust on it

[Conductor562]

3 hours ago, JimboS1ice said:

Dude you did an awesome job on that table, couldn't even tell there was rust on it

 

Thanks Jimbo. I hit it a time or 2 with Barkeepers friend and a Scotchbrite pad. Then I started with 220 grit on the air sander I bought from Grizzly. Went 220, 400, 600, 800, 1200, 1500, and 2000 using WD-40 in place of water for each step. Then I put a coat of paste wax on it and buffed it out. I could have taken it up to 3000 and worked it out with rubbing compound to give it a little more pop, but it looked so damn good after the 2000 I just went with it.

 

There's 1 very faint rust stain left on it, but you'd never notice it if you weren't looking for it.

[Conductor562]

Micro Adjuster came today. Pretty neat little gizmo. Did I "need" it? Nah, but I like it. 

 

I also dug an old 5/8" Proto combo, a generic 1/2" saltus wrench, and a couple Allen wrenches out of the random piles of surplus tools, gave them a coat of Delta blue on the handles, and dedicated them to bandsaw service. 

 

 

I do this all the time and to me, it only makes sense. I have a bunch of random surplus tools. Wrenches, ratchets, sockets, etc, that I've accumulated over time. They're usually unneeded excess that came in lots I bought to complete sets or something. They are typically quality tools that missed the cut into my daily rotation, but still have years of service left in them. So, rather than leave them to rust in the drawer, I toss out the shitty stamped steel crap that typically comes with tools and equipment, and assemble purpose built sets that stay with the tool/equipment so as to allow me to do whatever I need without making a trip to the toolbox and somewhere along the way I got in the habit of color coating them to the tool they belong with for ease of identification. Does anyone else do this, or am I just strange?

 

To house the tools, resaw guide, etc, I found this sweet little magnetic tray at Rockler for $15

 

 

I thought it was a nice touch. This will put my total investment up to around $275, but I've enjoyed fooling around with it and being that it was my dad's, I'll be obligated to it forever. 

[JimboS1ice]

That's a good idea, why not if you have extras I may have to start doing this


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[Conductor562]

The new scale came today. Didn't call until Friday afternoon, so they get an A+ for shipping speed. 

 

I first squared the fence as it was about 1/16 off from end to end. I used an Empire  T-Square because it was the only square I had that spanned the entire width of the table. To set my scale (the right way this time) I zeroed the fence against the blade, and very carefully matched up the zero points. Everything lined up perfect...or so I thought. 

 

When I moved the fence to 1" and checked the gap against the square, the square was reading 1-1/8"! I immediately started to panic trying to figure out what variable I must have overlooked. I knew the fence was square, I knew the zero was dead on, and I made sure the blade was good and tight beforehand, so either the scale or the square was off. It's entirely possible. It's not like they're building nuclear reactors with either of these devices.

 

 

Checked it again with a combo square and got 1" on the money. To settle the discrepancy, I broke out the Starrett No. C404R. They do build nuclear reactors with these things, so I knew it was right. 

 

 

Not only did it reveal my T-Square to be what I consider ridiculously off, but also that my scale is aligned with a level of precision entirely unnecessary for a band saw.

 

 

[Grumpy MSG]

11 hours ago, Conductor562 said:

The new scale came today. Didn't call until Friday afternoon, so they get an A+ for shipping speed. 

 

I first squared the fence as it was about 1/16 off from end to end. I used an Empire  T-Square because it was the only square I had that spanned the entire width of the table. To set my scale (the right way this time) I zeroed the fence against the blade, and very carefully matched up the zero points. Everything lined up perfect...or so I thought. 

 

When I moved the fence to 1" and checked the gap against the square, the square was reading 1-1/8"! I immediately started to panic trying to figure out what variable I must have overlooked. I knew the fence was square, I knew the zero was dead on, and I made sure the blade was good and tight beforehand, so either the scale or the square was off. It's entirely possible. It's not like they're building nuclear reactors with either of these devices.

 

 

Checked it again with a combo square and got 1" on the money. To settle the discrepancy, I broke out the Starrett No. C404R. They do build nuclear reactors with these things, so I knew it was right. 

 

 

Not only did it reveal my T-Square to be what I consider ridiculously off, but also that my scale is aligned with a level of precision entirely unnecessary for a band saw.

 

 

A lot of drywall squares are an 1/8 or 1/16 short so that they hang off of the top of the drywall when used as a cutting guide. I never realized it but a friend who does a lot more drywall than me actually looks for it when he buys one. It keeps the sqare from hitting the floor and bowing the opposite direction that drywall is bowing.

[Conductor562]

@Grumpy MSG: That makes sense, but I'm still miffed that the markings are that far off. They can make it however long they like, but you'd still expect the markings to be right. 

 

So the fence is done, the tray and resaw guide arrived, and after a couple weeks of fiddling, tuning, cleaning, and polishing, I've done all I'm going to do to it. Despite the simplicity, it was an unusually fun project. Before I threw in the towel, I did take a few minutes to put a coat leftover Delta blue paint on the raised logo on the top door. Kinda gave the project a nice finishing touch IMO. Never seen one done like that, but I thought it looked kinda cool.