Benchtop Bandsaw

[Donut Man]

I kind of bought it by accident actually, I put a bid on it expecting to be outbid. It's a small 10" benchtop bandsaw, obviously won't to the bookmatching that I want, but for the price of a cheap jigsaw, I can't complain.

I haven't actually tried cutting anything with it yet, but I hope to be able to rough cut 25mm neck laminates and maybe bodies or cut MDF templates for routing a body shape.

Can anyone give me some advice setting it up since it seems to be pretty old and I can't find a manual for it on the internet. There is a wheel on the top for adjusting blade tension and a height adjust for the little guide thing, and there is a sticker on the side explaining setting up the belt for different blades (and a belt sander?!?) but there doesn't seem to be much else in the way of adjustments.

Edited July 19, 2008 by Donut Man

[Bmth Builder]

Why did you bid on it if you wernt trying to win? lol

[carousel182]

he probably bid like 10 or 20 bucks on it just for the heck of it and thought that he'd definitely be outbid but ended up not being outbid

[Donut Man]

he probably bid like 10 or 20 bucks on it just for the heck of it and thought that he'd definitely be outbid but ended up not being outbid

Exactly. And if it turns out to be completely useless for everything, I could probably sell it for that much too.

Neil, have you got that huge bandsaw from Axminster yet?

Edited July 20, 2008 by Donut Man

[fryovanni]

I have never had a chance to use or look closely at a three wheel bandsaw, so I am not much help. On two wheel, (without power hooked up)you want to first be sure the wheels are aligned, that you have the belt properly tightened, that there are no loose parts. You should have some sort of upper and lower guide adjustment, loosen them up so they are well away from the blade. The upper wheel should have both tension adjustment and tilt adjstment, you want to set the tension so the blade(likely the machine has some sort of markes indicating blade size by the tension adjustment), then spin the wheel and watch where the blade is traveling on the wheel. You can adjust where it travels with the tilt adjustment. After you have the blade traveling correctly, you can adjust the guides so that they are almost, but not quite touching the blade(you do not want to deflect the blade, by having the guide touch the blade). You can us a machinist square to check the blade vs the tables squareness. just adjust the table to square(I am again assuming the table is a tilting adjustable table, if not you may want to shim the bolts that hold it till it is square). Spin the wheels one more time and make sure all looks good, then place the covers and try starting it up. You don't want to hear the blade grinding on guides(check your guide adjustment again), and you don't wnt blade flutter(blade is not tensioned enough). If all is going well try cutting a piece of 1" scrap and see how it goes. If it seems to work well, take a flex able tape measure and figure out how long the blade is. You will likely want to pick up a fresh new blade.

Rich

[Bmth Builder]

Neil, have you got that huge bandsaw from Axminster yet?

Yeah Ive got this beast

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Axminst...dsaw-364409.htm

Jelous? haha

[Donut Man]

Neil, have you got that huge bandsaw from Axminster yet?

Yeah Ive got this beast

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Axminst...dsaw-364409.htm

Jelous? haha

Do you think you could start ripping neck/body blanks for people? Too bad you're in Bournemouth, that's about as far away as you can get!

Are you planning on building loads more guitars? I honestly couldn't justify spending that much on tools, since I have no intention of going towards pro luthiery.

Edited July 20, 2008 by Donut Man

[Bmth Builder]

I went half and half with my dad (I nearly didnt have to pay anything but I insisted on contributing) so it was £400 but Im a kid and have no bills to pay so its not that big a deal, I mean I could be saving for uni etc but **** it and I definatly plan on doing more guitars, I can think of at least 5 I want to do

I could be doing that for people but I dont have access to raw timber to cut up and sell on which is a shame, need to find me some lumber yards

[Donut Man]

I went half and half with my dad (I nearly didnt have to pay anything but I insisted on contributing) so it was £400 but Im a kid and have no bills to pay so its not that big a deal, I mean I could be saving for uni etc but **** it and I definatly plan on doing more guitars, I can think of at least 5 I want to do

I could be doing that for people but I dont have access to raw timber to cut up and sell on which is a shame, need to find me some lumber yards

Do you have a big Arnold Laver near you? It's not all top quality stuff, but the big ones usually have so much stock that you're bound to find some decent wood. The one near me stocks Ash, Maple, Walnut, Wenge, Sapele, Cherry and some other less useful woods.

[Bmth Builder]

The nearest one is reading unfortunatly. There is a constructional timber place opposite where I work and I have been meaning to ask what they sell, but Im expecting to hear something like mdf block board ply wood etc, nothing decent I imagine.

I am really BASing (builders aquisition syndrom ) to make the bigger brother of my 6 string RG (a 7 string baritone with blackouts) but the wood bills just kill me.

[Donut Man]

The nearest one is reading unfortunatly. There is a constructional timber place opposite where I work and I have been meaning to ask what they sell, but Im expecting to hear something like mdf block board ply wood etc, nothing decent I imagine.

I am really BASing (builders aquisition syndrom ) to make the bigger brother of my 6 string RG (a 7 string baritone with blackouts) but the wood bills just kill me.

I've been getting that too, but then I realise how much work is involved, and it cures it for a little bit. So it's easier than GAS, which is only dependant on how much cash you have .

You mean to tell you can spend £400 towards a bandsaw but you can't afford wood to put through it

[Bmth Builder]

lmao I know its stupid aint it, I had money before I started building guitars, its an expensive hobby

GAH I'm so f**king angry, I bought a mesa boogie dual rec on ebay for 584 (one of the best prices I've EVER seen on ebay) and the guy was a total tool! Didnt reply to any of my emails, and now hes no longer registered with ebay so I've no chance of ever getting it

At least the money I would have spent on that can now go towards a new build

Edited July 20, 2008 by Neil Beith

[Donut Man]

lmao I know its stupid aint it, I had money before I started building guitars, its an expensive hobby

GAH I'm so f**king angry, I bought a mesa boogie dual rec on ebay for 584 (one of the best prices I've EVER seen on ebay) and the guy was a total tool! Didnt reply to any of my emails, and now hes no longer registered with ebay so I've no chance of ever getting it

At least the money I would have spent on that can now go towards a new build

But you have a MG! It's OK Neil, I'm sure PG is alot more forgiving than UG

I did some test cuts on some Maple and some Sapele with both curved and straight cuts to simulate bodies and necks, It cuts reasonably perpendicular, not perfect but I havn't tried adjusting it yet. Certainly beats the old Jigsaw.

[Bmth Builder]

If it cuts it cuts?

I know but I was so siked (americanism?) for the dual rec, and solid state MGs + EMGs and Blackouts does not = good tone

[Donut Man]

If it cuts it cuts?

I know but I was so siked (americanism?) for the dual rec, and solid state MGs + EMGs and Blackouts does not = good tone

My school just bought one of the really big ones. And I had to use it for a gig at school. There were about 10 bands playing and they insisted we all used the same gear. I don't have a half stack or anything, but my little Ashdown valve combo could totally kill it in terms of volume and tone. I'm sure there are loads of decent amps you could get for around £600, like a used ENGL Fireball or a 5150/6505 or something?

I'm gonna do some more experiments tomorrow with tension adjustments and stuff, I think I can get this thing cutting close enough to perfect, at least for bodies. I'm not sure how it does tight corners, ie horns, but I guess I could just always to multiple passes from different angles.

[Bmth Builder]

I need to learn how to set my band saw up, or at least have some one set it up for me, or may be even change the blade, because In Perrys multiscale build vids, he bandsaws the body blank so easily, and so cleanly round all the corners, and my bandsaw feels like a bit of a struggle getting it to cut (it doesnt have any trouble its just slow) so I dunno if I have it on the right settings.

I know but a mesas are the only amp I know I'll like the sound of, all my idols use them (metallica and dream theater basically) where as engls and peaveys I would have to test extensively to know which one to get, although I wouldnt mind a powerball (thats down to Broderick using one)

[Cam]

Not really related but on the band saw you guys were talking a bit about 3 wheel and 2 wheel bandsaws, is there any difference on which type you have?