not a new tool but a question

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I have one of the hitachi cb13f bandsaws.

One day while trying to clean up the mess in my "shop" I needed to move it. I had it mounted on a 1/2 sheet of mdf attached to a old bt3000 saw stand. What I forgot was I had taken the bolts out because I was going to re do the mounting. Sod's law came into play and as I moved it, it toppled over and hit the floor and snapped the table off at the cast trunion.

I'm getting to the point where I could do with the band saw again and I'm wondering if there's anyway I can check to see if the frame is straight or not before I go spending money on a replacement table.

Has anyone here had the misfortune to do something as similarly daft?
 
If the frame is cast iron, chances are it would have broken before bending. The grey cast iron used for these tools is very brittle.
Even if it is bent a touch, it probably doesn't matter that much. Band saws can be way out of alignment and still work just fine. Because the wheels are crowned, the blade can track just fine even if the upper and lower wheels are not coplaner. I'd be tempted to rig a temporary table out of a scrap of plywood or mdf. Just clamp it in place, set the guides, and run some test cuts. If it works out ok, fix the table. If not see what adjustments might need to be made and decide if it's worth making them.
I'd guess it will be fine.
Paul Hubbman
 
By the way, you may be able to braze the table trunions back together. Cast iron can be welded (it's tricky and requires some experience, but it can be done) or brazed back together. I've brazed a few things over the years, which have held up just fine. Just a thought.
Paul Hubbman
 
Thanks for the advice mate. I think the trunnion casting is aluminium as it doesn't seem to have the weight I would expect from cast iron but I could be wrong.

All said and done I'm feeling a bit lazy about what to do with this thing. If I count my time plus the part cost, I could probably buy another used bandsaw and save a bit. If I knew anyone reasonably local with tthe same model I'd probably let them have it for parts as it's no longer made
 
Are they pot metal? See if a magnet sticks. If not, bright white metal with machined surfaces is probably aluminum. Darker grey is probably pot metal. Aluminum can be welded. Pot metal likely can't. But that doesn't mean that there's not a way to fix it. Is there a way to form a steel plate that can be epoxied, riveted, or screwed to the broken pieces - use it like a permanent splint? If the sections along the break are thick enough, can you drill into the broken faces and epoxy some steel pins into place?
At least if it's soft metal, it should be easy to work with.
Paul Hubbman
 
Thanks agin for the suggestions mate.

I need to go out into the abyss (garage) and look it over again. The last time I looked up the part online it was about $50 which isn't much to lay out I guess. I paid $150 for the thing in the first place so adding another 50 is bothering me a bit for reasons I don't quite know.

I have so little time to do anything woodworking-wise that I keep thinking just go buy a decent 10" and get rid of the hitachi to someone who has time to tinker.
 
You have given ample reason to get a 'new' bandsaw. Go for it.

Permission granted! :thumb:

I love the justification we conjure up to get new toys, errrr...tools! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
 
Lol.....can't afford to splash out on a new one right now. My next puchase when funding allows is a makita slider so I'll probably either bodge up a table out of mdf or buy the piece to replace (probable the former)
 
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