Bandsaw table questions

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I recently bought an older delta/rockwell band saw and It looks like someone attacked the table top with an angle grinder and there are some thin but slightly deep gouges, too deep to sand out that I want to fix. I'm thinking maybe I could put a small weld over it and then file it down.
 
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Thank You for that link, however I am worried about cracking in the table. Its not as bad as stu's table.

I was going to say, just smooth the top and don't worry about it. But, if you think the top might crack then welding or brazing might be called for.
If cracking is not a concern I would just smear in some JB Weld and sand, or file, the fix smooth.
 
If you're just looking to fill the gouges and level the top of the table, I think my first approach would also be JB Weld, as Frank suggested, or even Bondo. Another possibility would be an auxiliary table attached to the existing table (melamine-covered MDF would work). You'd lose 5/8" or 3/4" of cutting capacity depth-wise, but unless you're often using the full capacity, it probably wouldn't be a problem. Personally, if they don't impede the wood when running it through the blade, I'd probably just live with the gouges. At least for the bandsaw work I do, table flatness hasn't ever been a real critical issue.
 
I have restored a few old machines and my advice is leave it alone! Sand or file the edges smooth and flat so nothing catches on it and just use it. A few months from now you will not even notice it. Yea it looks bad, but so what? How it works is what matters and as long as it is not causing a problem your better off to leave it alone. Trying to repair it could ruin the table.
 
Ok, what I was wanting to do was just for looks. I was wanting to try to make it look like new. I'm currently stripping the paint and I am about to get a welder and make a media blasting cabinet out of a 55 gallon drum/barrel and then blast the whole thing. Powdercoat the smaller parts, use my paintsprayer on the larger parts.
 
If it's cast iron, I would suggest leaving it alone or trying some bondo/loctite epoxy/belzona type products. Cast steel can be welded with pre/post heat. Cast iron can't really be welded, although you might be able to fill in holes. Structural welding on it has always had pretty poor results in my experience. It will be very prone to popping out pieces. You can braze it from what I've read/heard. Something to do with the thermal expansion as it cools + the high carbon content in cast iron is much more brittle than steel makes welded joints fail easily.
 
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another thought here, you said you want it to look like new.. well if your dismantling the saw for this redo ,,maybe you could have a machine shop regrind the top for you from the sounds its a light cut and it would be as good as new if you got a friend in the machine shop business.. i bet you could get it done for under a fifty bucks if you had to pay for it.
 
another thought here, you said you want it to look like new.. well if your dismantling the saw for this redo ,,maybe you could have a machine shop regrind the top for you from the sounds its a light cut and it would be as good as new if you got a friend in the machine shop business.. i bet you could get it done for under a fifty bucks if you had to pay for it.

Yeah, an auto machine shop could likely do it for you. They grind engine heads all the time. A nice Blanchard grind would make your saw table look better than new.
 
I used Devcon epoxy putty on a drill press table to plug the extra drill holes. It has iron filings in it for added wear resistance. Got it from Grainger. They also have an Aluminum putty and one with carbide for extreme wear.
 
Bandsaw Table question

Like what was said,unless your wood is catching on the holes,or whatever,I wouldn't worry about it.Ypu could also get a piece of that stuff they use for peg board,(without the holes) and attach it with double side tape.I'v done that when i was making a lot of small stuff,wax it up and it works great.Its brown.
 
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