I will be adding a 16 – 18″ bandsaw to my shop in the near future. I had originally decided to go with Grizzly, but SC has just announced an enhanced rebate program to account for the increased value of the C$ and the “landed” cost in my garage is about the same as going down to PA. Decisions, decisions! In any case, the beast will be sharing a garage workshop with an 8″ jointer, Unisaw with 50″ rails, lumber rack, workbench and (of course) a fridge.
Is there a question in all this? You bet there is!! I would really like to put the BS on a mobile base but I keep wondering about the physics of putting a 400# top-heavy piece of equipment on wheels. Assuming the idea is workable, I’m open to recommendations regarding manufacturers of said transport mechanisms.
Replies
I have an 18" General International that weighs around 600lb. I put it on one of their mobile bases, and that pushes the max weight for that base. I have been meaning to put it on a heavier base. I have had no issues of tipping, nor have I ever been concerned. The majority of its mass is at the table height or lower so I dont think the center of gravity is only slightly worse than a heavy table saw.
The MM16 comes with its own truck but it is not made for a severely uneven floor. I have a place in my floor where it is uneven and it is difficult to pull if it bottoms out.
I have the Laguna 16HD. Check out the wheels and push-pull handle on their website. I think one can easy adapt it to any full-frame bandsaw. I works great. In fact, I have my BS parked against a wall and I pull it out to use it and park it when I'm done. Two seconds each way.
My reason for a heavier mobile base was for height needs of the table, but when I began using the 20" band saw for resawing, I found that moving the bandsaw to allow room for pushing and pulling the large pieces.
I built the frame from 4x4 material that came from sheet metal pallets. Some Pecan, some Beech, and some White Oak. After gluing it together and planing it, I glued and lag bolted the framwork corners and added glue blocks.
With rabbets cut into the edges before gluing, I inserted cross supports and used 3/4" plywood to seal the bottom. I bolted a piece 1/4" thick 2x2" angle iron for the rear wheels and a piece of 3/8" thick steel for the front Trolley handle.
Then I filled the base with clean pea gravel and a 50 lb. sack of commerical sandbox sand and sealed the base as I glued more plywood on the top.. Heavy, but works like a charm.
Bill
Since you can't add photos to an original post, here's another shot of a mobile riser/base I made.
Bill
I have the Grizzly 17" HD BS and have it on a Shop Fox mobile base and love it. I have it against the wall and when I need to use it I just pull it out, and then put it back. Mobil base have weight ratings, so get one big enough and go. I have bases on everything TS,Jointer, Router table, and RAS. It makes moving things aound very easy for cleaning. I have a garage. If I had a big dedicated shop it would probable be a different story.
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
I have a Grizzly 16" bandsaw that weighs every bit of 400lbs. I originally had it on a Delta mobile base.It was unsatisfactory,swithched to a shopfox rated for my saw and now am happy with it.
mike
Check out the Zambus casters. I used the factory Johnson bar on my MM16 and hated it on my uneven floor. Kept feeling like I would eventually topple the thing over. Then I switched to a Delta mobile base which was much better, but still wasn't completely happy with. The Zambus casters are sweet. My mother could move my MM16 around (if I let her touch it) but it's solid as a rock when adjusted off the caster wheels with the turn-knob.
If you build it he will come.
Ron,
About 4 yrs ago I bought an 18" Agazzani. The height of the table was a little low for my preference, and I also needed to move it, on average about twice per year, so instead of buying a mobile base, I cut 2 lengths of 6 X 6 and placed the saw on top of them. This raised the saw table height to (for me) more usable working height. I then cut a piece of 3/4" plywood to about 18" X 24" and screwed 5 heavy duty casters to the underside of it, similar to a furniture dolly. This plywood rolled beneath the saw between the 6 X 6 runners, leaving about 1/2" space above the top of the plywood, between the pywood dolly and the saw frame. I then bandsawed 4 wedges from hard maple. When I need to move the saw I roll the dolly beneath it, drive the wedges in between the bottom of the saw frame and the top of the dolly, carefully driving each in a litle at a time. This lifts the saw off the floor just enough to be able to move it across the shop.
It's a little tedious to move the saw this way, but I don't need to move it often. Gary
Hey Ron,
I have an 18" Rikon that I put on a Shop Fox base, sized for the machine. Rikons are notoriously top heavy so I arranged my wheels front and back instead of the usual column end and open end. Turning wheels are at the column side of the saw sos I can grab the column and move the beast where ever I need to. I also laid a piece of 3/4 plywood in the base and bolted saw, plywood and base together. Solid as a rock.
Chris, of Nova Scotian heritage.
I put my 18" Ricon on a bace I got from Woodcrafters.. The saw is still attached to the ply base it came with.. Never had it saeem to tip or anything 'scarrie' OK so the base is a bit wider than the saw base.. Why I kept it wider...Bace.. As in Base... Best I can do without spell check!
Edited 10/21/2007 1:39 pm by WillGeorge
Will,
Spelling don't matter unless you're writing something that has to be specific. Plenty of people write to this forum without using the spell check below or proof reading what they wrote. So what.
I thought about keeping the ply base that came with the saw. Then I realized the shipping base would make an excellent platform to cut, chip, and face rock for this "Great Wall of Chris" that I'm building on my property.
Glad to chat with a fellow Rikon owner. Awesome machines once ya work the bugs out of 'em.
Top o' the day to ya,
Chris.
chris,
I would be interested in hearing what bugs you had to work out of your Rinkon and what and how you did it?
Thanks,TAZ
Taz,
Sure.
The first problem was blade tracking. Upon research and a little cussin' I found that the upper wheel assembly had a whole bunch of play to it. Rikon techs said it was normal, but I didn't like it. Found the bushing on the shaft that holds the upper assembly in the framework was too small. For some dumb reason known only to the engineering minds at Rikon, They reduced the size of that shaft at one end--totally unnecessary--and the bushing they use to make up the difference through the frame was about 1.5-2mm shy of the original shaft diameter-hence the play. My F-in-L machined me a new bushing. No more play in that area.
Once that play was eliminated, it came time to put the upper and lower wheels coplaner. No more tracking problems, no matter what blade make or size I use.
The other problem was that the upper guide block wouldn't stay or was hard to keep perpendicular to the blade, it would always want to droop on the heavy side of the block. I took the guide off for inspection, and realized that the end of the shaft they inserted into the guide block has an indent on it like there was supposed to be another screw to secure the block on the shaft, which there isn't. Sooo I just turned the shaft around so there was more solid surface in the block. No more problems there.
Quite frankly, I don't know why the block wasn't manufactured in reverse. This would put the heavy side of the block directly over the shaft, putting the adjustment for the thrust bearing to the outside of the saw, instead of makin' ya feel like a foreign auto mechanic crawling inside the throat of the saw like ya do now. Another mystery of the minds at Rikon.
Lastly, was the stupid piece of plastic they used for the bottom dust shute, it kept falling out. A friend of mine does sheet metal work, so he made me one that I bolted in place of the plastic junk piece.
Once all these corrections were made the saw(with its' 2.5hp motor) devours any wood that I feed it, and sings a very pleasant tune while it works.
Chris, who can't get responses from the Rikon tech's anymore.
Sorry about your problem with the Rikon.I got the 18" when they first came out. The only problem I have had with it a broken part but tht was my fault. Mine just 'sings' along.However, I will check mine in the areas you stated and see how mine is. One note: I only use a 1 inch and 1/2 inch blade in mine and only for reawing.
Will,
Top o' the day to ya.
So you have the 340 model. I've heard very little in the way of dissatisfaction with that model. Mine is the 345, which is supposed to be the new improved model.
If I didn't understand machines so well, I might have sent mine back--which alot of folks have done. I looked at it as a challenge and proceeded to do the fixes I mentioned before. Why? I general, I saw the potential of the saw. Rikon is definitely onto some neat innovations with this saw. They just overlooked some items in their rush to get the new saw into production. Plus, I bought the saw on sale.
I use a 1" timberwolf for cutting and resawing, a 1/4" carbon steel for trimming my carving blanks, and the 3/4" blade that came with the saw for cutting 'junk' wood and pressure treated wood for garden stakes and tomato cages.
I also own their belt/disc sander which is a nice piece of equipment.
Take care,
Chris.
Chris,
Thanks for the info,I appreciate your help in making a decision that I've been strugglin' with.
Thanks again,TAZ
Come on Taz, spill the beans. What are ya mullin over? Chris.
I suppose this is the logical point to thank all those kind souls who gave me advice about their experience with mobile bases for large bandsaws. I've got a lot to consider!Thanks again! Now back to the Rikon discussion...
Ron,
Actually, it's your discussion. We Rikon owners just hijacked it for a bit.
You are welcome for the advice. This forum is a great place to get ideas.
For what it's worth, Bandsaw mobility is no big deal... it's not like you're puttin a rocket together. :)
Good luck with whatever you decide to do my friend,
Chris.
Rikon,Grizzly,or biting the bullet and prying open the wallet and going high-end.
Any suggestions?
Taz,
The 18" Rikon and the 19" Grizzly Extreme are essentially the same saws, if ya compare the spec sheets. Rikon is a little more user friendly, the Griz perhaps a little stronger. For saws in this price range, they're both good deals.
Buzz through the archives here on knots concerning bandsaws. There's a wealth of information from different folks about different saws. You can learn about Lagunnas, Sargegrinder47 did a review on the Steel City 18", there are others I'm sure. Lonnie Bird has a book about bandsaws which is really good--"The Bandsaw Book", I believe it's called.
I went through the 'which bandsaw to buy' questions last fall into the beginning of this year, my little 12" Delta--though a good saw, just wasn't 'cutting' it for taking 4"x8"x8' hunks of basswood down to carving block size. I needed a saw that could do that plus with a smaller blade, rough out the carving blanks. I wanted a saw that would be useful as I get more and more involved with furniture making, but I didn't need to go as far as needing a saw heavy duty enough to do steady veneer resawing--if I ever got to that point, I would buy a saw for that purpose, but, I still wanted resaw capability. My criteria for a saw became a general purpose saw, budget dictated no more than $1200.
I narrowed my choices to the 18" Rikon, Bridgewood 17"(no longer available), Grizzly's 17" extreme or their 19" extreme. To shorten the story, Griz raised the price ot the 17" to the same price as the Bridgewood, the 19" to the same price as the Rikon's normal price and Woodcraft put the Rikon on sale (like now) for $1000. Which was the same price(+/-) as the Bridgewood and Griz 17". It became a nobrainer.
Good luck Taz, keep us posted, we're all just a few keystrokes away...
Chris.
I looked at the 19" Grizzly extreme. The table is larger than the Rikon but the trunnion is stamped steel, not cast iron. It was misprinted in their brochure and I called the company to verify my suspicions. I would not want a 24" cast iron table and steel trunnion. This fault and the $1000 sale on the Rikon made me go with the Rikon too. I am having tracking issues so I plan to follow some advice given earlier. I just need a F in L to help me.- Lyptus
Lyptus,
F-in-L's that are machinists are nice to have around, for sure. I'm sure you could get one done at a local machine shop for not too much moola. It doesn't take much to knock one out on a lathe and punch it on a drill press. Just pull your old shaft out and take it and the bushing to them. After you pull out the shaft, the upper wheel assembly will lean out towards ya about 20 degrees and then it stops.
For checking purposes, you can use brass or some other soft metal that you can wrap around the bushing to fill the gap. The metal used should be no more than 1/32 thick. This all, of course, depends on if you do have a gap. To check this, open the top door, and remove the capscrew and washer that holds the bushing on the shaft at the upper righthand side of the upper wheel assembly. While looking at the bushing/gap gently rock the upper wheel side to side. Try this first with the band tensioned, then again untensioned. If it's really sloppy, shim it, if not, don't bother with it. Mine had a whole 1/8" play in that area. You can also pull the shaft out (BAND UNTENSIONED) :) and put the bushing on the shaft to see the difference in circumference.
You may only have to put the wheels on plane with themselves. Find a good spot on the inner rim of the wheel and measure from there to the sheet steel that is the back of the saw. Maybe not the super precise method, but it gets ya in the ballpark, which is all ya need. Make sure the band is tensioned. There is not much you can do with the upper wheel except shim the bushing if you're out around an 1/8" at the 3:00 and the 9:00 positions. The bottom wheel can be adjusted by the screws holding the lower wheel shaft on the backside of the machine. It doesn't take much to make the adjustment. Back off the nut, for every 'loosening' turn on the capscrew, do an equal 'tightening' turn on the opposite capscrew, check your measurements as ya go. Tighten the nut when you're done. Remember, too, that you're under tension, so don't go crazy!!! Measure all four quadrants on the bottom wheel as the upper wheel is responsible for tracking, so 12:00 and 6:00 measurements aren't necessary.
Something the "superb" manual won't tell you is that on top of the upper wheel, back in over the bearing block is another capscrew used for tensioning the band. Using the stock band you're already set. If you change bands, you'll need to back off that screw, tighten the band to approximate tension. Turn the screw down onto the block again, then finish tensioning the band.
Good luck my friend, write me if you need any more assistance. I'm always willing to help.
Chris.
Thanks Chris! You provide very helpful suggestions.- Lyptus
Just a comment on a good Rikon experience. I have the 10-345 on a shop fox base. I have no tracking problems, it's been a great saw. Last Saturday evening the bracket that holds the lower guide bearings broke. I emailed Rikon tech support. Got an email back Monday morning asking for serial # address etc. replied with info, two minutes later I recieved an email confirming that the parts would be shipped that afternoon. They also threw in at no charge the blade insert which I had broke myself. I am very satisfied with the saw and service. Chris
Chris,
That's what I'm screamin'!!! Rikon is very good at honoring their warranty and don't mind sending parts even if the problem was your own goof. Not too many places are like that.
I'm glad to read that you're having a good experience with your saw. There are quite a few out there in woodworking land that have had the same. There are some like me that had to fidget with the machine to get it right. They and I do like the machine nonetheless. I only know of two or three that actually had to send theirs back.
Enjoy your saw,
Chris.
Lyptus,
You are more than welcome my friend. Hopefully you have or are getting your saw dialed in so you can enjoy the full potential of the machine. When working correctly, I think these are some awesome wood devouring animals for the price.
I just got Grizzly's holiday flier and I see they are closing out the 17" Extreme bandsaw. I came close to buying that saw. I'm really happy I got the Rikon. They are constantly trying to improve their saws, so they should be around for some time to come.
Keep in touch, I'm interested to know how you're making out with your saw.
Chris.
I just restored an older bs weighing in at 400+ lbs. I have a small shop and wanted to 'store' the saw when not in use in an out of the way location. The only way I could do this was to put the entire unit on a mobile base. The base I purchased is capable of supporting 1200 lbs and I got it at my local ww dealer. I have had no problems w/ the bs on the base & I think that you will find the same.
dlb
.
I have the 18" Rikon BOLTED to the 1000+ lbs. capacity Shop Fox base. I tried it first with a 700 lbs. capacity HTC base but the base was too flimsy. With the table off, I used a pully hoist attached to the eyelet that comes with the Rikon (and attaches to the top of the bandsaw) and an eyelet that I screwed into one of the joists in my garage ceiling. I tied one end of the pully hoist to my table saw and moved my tablesaw about 10 feet to suspend the bandsaw above the floor by about 8". I pre-drilled four holes in the ShopFox base and placed inverted bolts in the holes. Then I lowered the bandsaw onto the bolts, added nuts, and was done.
Bolting the bandsaw to a base makes a big difference. When I extend the locking bolts on the base, the saw is rock solid stable. Also, when I removed the bandsaw from the original plywood base, its bottom was not perfectly flush such that it would rock a bit unless I bolted it down and placed a wedge under the high corner, which I did.
- Lyptus
joists. rafter and tsWhen I removed it from the
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