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Bandsaw insert replacement in brass.

Ryan Mooney

Ryan Mooney

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The Gorge Area, Oregon
A while back I did something I shouldn't ought to have done on the bandsaw (basically was cutting up stuff to small with poor support) and had a bit of a wreck. Since I knew I was doing something stupid (self awareness is .. something.. sometimes) I was using a lot of work holding aids so the only casualties were a blade and the saw insert. I have a spare insert, but I've been wanting something a tad more robust for quite a while and had stocked up on some brass a while back so I made a new one.

Short steps
  • Marked out a circle on a piece of brass (center punch, dykem, calipers)
  • Marked out the retaining pins and slot
  • Drilled out the dust relief holes, and some smaller holes for retaining pins
  • Saw away the waste with a hacksaw
  • File the slot smooth and slightly recessed/beveled on the back
  • Used a hand reamer to countersink the dust holes (front and back)
  • Roughed out the outside close to the line with a rasp
  • Finished the roundness fit with the disk sander
  • Used a belt sander to grind it down to thickness... This took FOREVER, if I was doing much of this I'd have to figure out a smarter way (at least it was close)
  • Soldered in the little retaining pins on the bottom side, then spent a fair bit of time filing them to fit (they hole alignment isn't perfectly square and the plastic ones have a smidge more slop than I allowed here).
I didn't try to polish the bottom very much, figured it would tarnish up some anyway hah.

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Leo Voisine said:
I made it entirely on my CNC machine, even the alignment holes. One complete integral piece.
Click to expand...

Most of the thing was pretty easy and not to slow to do by hand (and drill press...), Except for the parts that weren't!!

Getting the thing to thickness was where something like a CNC (or milling machine...) would've been a huge improvement. There was a lot of 'grind a little, lap it a tad to make sure it's still pretty flat, check the remaining offset with a straightedge, repeat". I did end up within about a thou so I guess that's good enough :D That precluded cutting the alignment pins in as part of the brass piece, hence soldering them in later.

The blade slot would likely have come out a tad bit more accurate as well, doing inside slots like that and filing them accurately is somehow harder than getting a straight outside edge. I think it has something to do with how my eye's see it or something, I'm not sure.
 
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