The Phoenix.............

Stuart Ablett

Member
Messages
15,917
Location
Tokyo Japan
Well, some of you might know that I'm looking for a little brother for Big Blue, my resaw bandsaw. I'd love to get a nice 14" unit, but, they are a bit pricey over here in Japan. I've been looking for good used one, for a couple of years and have yet to find one.....:(

Well, we all remember Steve Clardy's bad day, when his shop roof collapsed, and the rebuild, well, the one piece of equipment that took a major hit was his 14" bandsaw........

old_bandsaw_pic1.jpg old_bandsaw_pic2.jpg

I contacted Steve, to see if the wheels and other parts had survived, and they had! :thumb:

We talked it over, and in the end, he sent me the parts, that I thought I could use, but that were not too heavy, I'd have loved to get the table, but that chunk of cast iron would have made the shipping stupid.

steves_bandsaw_parts.jpg

Steve had the great idea of busting out the bottom casting to send me the part that holds the bearings and shaft for the bottom wheel, I'll have to do some fabricating, but I should be able to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear in this case :rolleyes: :D

The parts there I could identify, but there was this one bit I have no idea what the the heck is could be for.............:huh: :dunno:

Bailey_61_ls.jpg Bailey_61_rs.jpg

How do you work this into a bandsaw............???

Bailey_61_sole.jpg Bailey_61_top.jpg

:rofl:

Well to top off the generosity that Steve showed me for "GIVING" me the parts (I paid him the shipping, no way was I going to let him spend his hard earned money!) he gave me this good old #61 plane, and it is in good shape, a little work and it will be making shavings with the rest of the family................

new_family_member.jpg

Yep, fits right in don't it :thumb:

Thanks Steve, you are one heck of a nice guy :clap:

While I surely do not wish the kind of trouble that befell Steve and family with the roof collapse, the rebuild, the MASSIVE generosity of the woodworking community, makes you look to the bright side of things.

OK, now I have to get some 3" thick walled square tubing to weld up a frame for the new bandsaw!

I'll be needing some pics and or advice on a few things, so you guys with 14" Delta, or Delta clone bandsaws, have your digi cameras ready please :D :wave:

Cheers!
 
This should be a really neat project, Stu. I'll look forward to the development of the "PHOENIX", for sure. Probably the hardest/most critical part of the construction will be the alignment of the upper guidepost rod so the guides stay true in relation to the blade for the full range of travel of the guidepost, and also making sure you have adequate means to move/adjust the bottom arbor shaft in the left/right and up/down tilt positions to get the wheels coplaner. I'll bet you can get 'er done though.:thumb: On the Guidepost, if you can incorporate "Adjustment bolts", (like the higher end bandsaws have), it would be a real plus and better than most, (if not all) 14" bandsaws on the market.

Good luck with the project, we'll all be standing by to see the pictures.:D
 
cool! a diy bandsaw........follow the lead of the italians to build a sturdy welded steel frame, they`ve got it down to a science.....let me know if you want pics? tod
 
This should be good. :thumb: A made in Japan BS. Made from bits and pieces from a broken BS shipped half way around the world.

Isn't that extra thingy that came with it supposed to mount on the table and finish joint the edge as it passes the BS blade? :)

I just have one question Stu. On top of which piece of equipment are you going to mount this new BS? :huh: As I recall the "dungeon" is somewhat lacking in floor space. Or have you "added on" and not told us?

Whatever the case I'm looking forward to this. Do we get to name the new BS? You know, like Rikon, Laguna, MM, Aggazani? I kinda like the sound of "STUART". Or how about a "STUART/CLARDY"? I've got a "STUART/CLARDY" bandsaw. It's got a ring to it. :D

Karl
 
Yep, should be...........fun.........:rolleyes: :D

I will be going with a welded steel frame, my forge for casting Iron is off line at the moment :rofl:

I can get 5 cm x 5 cm square tube, the stuff they use for building buildings, it is THICK walled, at least as thick walled as the frame on Big Blue, that will be just about 2" x 2" square, should I go for larger :huh:

blue_framed.jpg

Big Blue's frame

I figure I'll copy the basic frame of Big Blue, as it is a welded steel frame as well, but any and all pics of Welded Steel Frame bandsaws will be appreciated :thumb:

On the bottom end, I think I'll be building a couple of "U" shaped pieces of plate, that will be mated with the cast bearing housing from the original saw, and then that to another plate, this plate will have four slots in it, this will allow me to move the bottom wheel in and out from the frame, to easily get the two wheels coplanar. The top wheel, I'll fabricate a housing to go around the stock bearing and tilt mechanism that Steve sent.

Where will the Phoenix go? Well, I figure right beside Big Blue, so Kermit will be moved over beside the Bat Cave door, the cabinet there can be trashed, and the stuff in it moved around. Kermit does not need DC, really while the Phoenix will for sure.

One thing I could use, soon, is the distance between the upper and lower shafts, so I can get an idea of the distance between the two wheels, I don't want to get myself into a "custom" sizing problem with the blades..........

Hmmm...... while I think of this, I could basically choose my blade length, and even my resaw height, I don't "NEED" a huge resaw height for resawing, with Big Blue, but for cutting some other stuff, I guess I could make it taller than the average bear...........:dunno:

Oh what fun!! :thumb:
 
Cool....................................:thumb: :thumb:

That was one fast barge coming over there is all I can say:huh: :thumb: :rofl:

Shipping was to take 4-6 weeks, and Stu got it in 6 days:eek: :huh: :dunno:

Karl figured out what the plane was for Stu. Yes, it's supposed to mount on the outfeed and smooth those cuts;) :rofl:


Stu. Original blade length for that saw was 92.5
An odd size. I'd suggest making it a standard size if you don't have someone there to weld blades up for you.
Standard blade length for 14" saws is 93.5 I think.

Well that project ought to keep you out of trouble for a while:thumb:
 
Now this I am anxious to see too!

Stu, I am sure others have a Delta 14" but I just bought one to resell. Have not advertised it yet. But if you know what you need in the way of photos, let me know. I will be happy to help till I sell it.

Oh, I have a clone BS and I am sure it's a copy of the Delta too.
 
Stu,

There's an obvious size/scale difference, but here's a few shots of my MM24 that might give you a starting point:

DSCN6076.jpg DSCN6077.jpg DSCN6078.jpg

DSCN6079.jpg DSCN6080.jpg DSCN6081.jpg

DSCN6082.jpg

Hope these help a little. Let me know if you need/want any specific shots of anything, since I'll have my camera in the shop with me. ;)

- Marty -
 
Why not just call it a "C.S. Phoenix"? This should be a fun project to watch! Stu, why not tripple the 2" box tube for the backbone? 2 that are side by side, another one that is shorter and opened up that the blade would run in splitting the back 2, all welded together? Then weld a piece of 1/4" plate across the back side of the backbone. Or make a T with 1/4" plate, and weld square tubing on either side of it, with a piece of "C" channel in front for the blade to run in. Lots of possibilities here. Weld some 1 1/2" tubing into a square at the bottom and top, with 3/16" plate across the back side for the wheels to mount to, or build an X brace out of the tubing for that triangle thing for strength, or..... Jim.
 
Why not just call it a "C.S. Phoenix"?
How about the "SS Phoenix" (Steve & Stu)


Jim O'Dell said:
This should be a fun project to watch! Stu, why not triple the 2" box tube for the backbone? 2 that are side by side, another one that is shorter and opened up that the blade would run in splitting the back 2, all welded together? Then weld a piece of 1/4" plate across the back side of the backbone. Or make a T with 1/4" plate, and weld square tubing on either side of it, with a piece of "C" channel in front for the blade to run in. Lots of possibilities here. Weld some 1 1/2" tubing into a square at the bottom and top, with 3/16" plate across the back side for the wheels to mount to, or build an X brace out of the tubing for that triangle thing for strength, or..... Jim.

Lots of ideas running around my head too Jim, but I really do not want to try to reinvent the wheel here ;) :D

Big Blue works very well, and there are a lot of other welded steel frame bandsaws in the market, so it makes sense to me to follow their lead.

One thing from Marty's post..............

bs_dc.jpg

That style of DC collection point is VERY interesting for sure :thumb: I'd like to see more pics of that, close ups, if you have a chance Marty, and what is the material that the blade runs through? Having the compartment for the DC like that is a great idea, how well does it work?

To all of you guys out there with Bandsaws, is there something you really like about your machine? Please do tell, and is there something you really DON'T like, tell me that too, so I can avoid it.

One other thing, getting a cast iron table is going to be next to impossible, so I'll have to make my own, suggestions?

Pics of the trunnions under the table that make the table tilt would be a good thing too.

Stay tuned! :D:wave:
 
CRAP...There was a frame (only) for a Delta 14" BS on cragislist here in Seattle for a could of months...$25. I thought about getting it and see if I could mount my 12" wheels, covers, motor etc, but it wasn't the kind that you could put a riser on (unless you are a Stu....) so I didn't. It might have work perfectly for you...shipped by boat! :rofl:
 
Very cool project Stu. If you need to get some scale down right the best would be to take a look at Jim's 14". I imagine the hardest part of makng a bandsaw is not geting the wheels to spin a 93" blade but being able to build the upper wheel assembly that can support the tension you need on the blade.
 
How about the "SS Phoenix" (Steve & Stu)

One other thing, getting a cast iron table is going to be next to impossible, so I'll have to make my own, suggestions?

Pics of the trunnions under the table that make the table tilt would be a good thing too.

Stay tuned! :D:wave:

Ok, here's a few Rambling thoughts that have whimsically drifted past my feeble brain, so take them for whatever they might/might not be worth.:huh: :dunno:

1. Stu, for the table, how about laminating two pieces of MDF and then covering the top, bottom and all sides with laminate, just like you would for a router table top, or possibly laminating a thick piece of aluminum on the bottom of one layer of MDF and then covering the MDF with the laminate as mentioned before?

2. Now for the "Trunion" thing. You might want to get some really good closeup pictures of the Late Model MiniMax method, (like on Marty's Saw) that use two pivot shafts, (one at the front and one at the back), instead of a normal trunion. This system would be a LOT SIMPLER to build, and is much easier and faster to tilt than loosening the trunion bolt, etc.:thumb: You could possibly improve on that system though by making sure that the
"PLACEMENT/LOCATION" of those two pivot bolts/shafts centerline is aligned exactly with the blade, so that the hole in the table top stays centered about the Blade as the table is tilted.
To keep the hole perfectly centered as the table is tilted however, would mean that the pivot point would need to be at or very close to the TOP Surface of the table, but could be done if attached to the front and back edges of the table. I mention this because although my MM20 is the older style with the actual trunion, I have seen some posts that mention the new style's pivot point location doesn't keep the blade in the center of the hole in the table. This is due to it's mounting location being so low in relation to the top surface of the table.

3. You might ALSO want to get some pictures of the Upper Guidepost Rod Alignment/Adjustment section on Marty's saw (or one similar) since it allows you to adjust the guidepost so that the blade guides remain in proper adjustment as you move the guides up or down when cutting different thicknesses of material.

4. MAKE THE FRAME STOUT!!!!! Yes, I mean OVERBUILD the basic frame, (Marty-ize it):D as that is many times the weakest point of a lot of the smaller bandsaws.
 
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Very cool project Stu. If you need to get some scale down right the best would be to take a look at Jim's 14". I imagine the hardest part of making a bandsaw is not getting the wheels to spin a 93" blade but being able to build the upper wheel assembly that can support the tension you need on the blade.

Thanks Alex, I think it should be.............fun.... :rolleyes: :D

I think building the frame and making it stout is not going to be a real problem at all, making it all straight, and true, that will be a challenge, but I think I can do it.

I plan on replacing all the bearings, won't cost me $20, and the steel might cost me about $50, as I'll also get Joyful to cut the steel, they have one of them mega steel cutting band saws!

Stay tuned! :wave:
 
Oh Yes, Stu, I forgot to mention that the material you were asking about in Marty's picture is a block made of baltic birch plywood cut to fit in that slot and you start inserting it while turning the saw's wheel by hand and the blade cuts a zero clearance slot in it as you slowly push it into the slot.
 
Thanks Norman, that is very cool.

Now where can I see pics of this "two pivot shafts" set up for the table, that sounds very interesting..... :D

Off to Google it! :thumb:
 
Well I found this pic on the MM site.........

MM16 trunion unit.jpg

This is the under the table view that they have.

Looks like a large, THICK "L" shaped bracket, that has a pivot point (shaft) up at the bottom of the table and another shaft, that loosens and tightens down lower on the bracket, the only part that would be "time consuming" to make, would be the groove in the "L" bracket.

I agree, this looks a LOT easier to make than the traditional trunnions.

What do you guys think about the miter guide slot in the table top?

Cheers!
 
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