That pipe trick is brilliant, I don't know how many times I had trouble with holding a small part in my bandsaw, I will definitely make one, thanks for the tip.
I own this machine design for over 40 years and it served me very well thru the years. Your tune up is very important but there is something that is ever more important, it is to solidify the base to make sure that the machine does not tip over. The base that is supplied with the machine made that my saw tipped over and broke the hinge so I needed to have it brazed when the machine was almost new. happily, this is not a precision machine so I've been able to reasjust it to obtain straight cuts.
Man... this is pure RUclips gold. Should be required viewing for anyone wanting to be a content creator. Excellent video. Clear crisp audio. Organized and informative content. I'm a little emotional.
@@WinkysWorkshop you 100% earned my sub! (I create content professionally for training and education, this is better than 80% of the stuff that's released by companies for product training)
@@EvilWhiteColonialist Thanks Robert. I really appreciate this. I used to work for a printing company. I ran a press for many years but the last 15 years were spent trouble shooting and modifying machines.... which also evolved into developing a lot of training material. I guess I developed some abilities. Thanks again.
The half piece of pipe used as a clamp is just brilliant!!! 🎉 Thank you so much for sharing your tips with us, you make great videos. Much love from 🇨🇦
Morning Mark, Billy mentioned during this Sundays ARW discussion that you had a video on these small saw's. I took Joe Pies offer up on a free Central Machinery 4x6. I have it tore dw and making some of the same modes. It is even lighter duty than yours are the on Steve Summers showed, but first mode needed was the bottom drive wheels set screw was loose and allowed the shaft to turn in the wheel. Adding a second flat 90deg and tapping for another set screw. Joe's saw will be set up for lite material cutting only, but was great to finally get dw and have a visit and a tour of his shop. Too see up close the 1/12 working model's was a treat, and his attention to detail is beyond words. Thx for sharing your saw modes, and hope all is well for the new year,,,Bear
Your welcome. In part 2 (maybe 3) I make a plate to elevate the stock. Not all of these saws share the defect this plate corrects but if yours has this problem I sell the plate. Or if you have a mill you can make one. The links are in the description. Yes Joe is amazing! I'd love to take a tour and meet him in person.
I have had one of these saws since 1980. That was before the 14" chop saws were around. I had to cut 32 column extensions to fit a new roof structure on a reservoir out of 4" scd 40 most under 3" and it had to be cut and fitted in the field. Quirky to get to cut right but it saved the day being able work inside a 30 tall 80 foot diameter concrete structure. Served me well since and will get the "Winky tune up" soon...thanks for your efforts.
This saw is a beast. It does eat batteries ruclips.net/user/postUgkxkgtf23NRld6bKLCxmOpLdl8xZmfz8Wbq but I can live with that.What is troubling is the fact that blades don't seem to last more than three cuts and are no longer blades.The saw, itself, is pretty much perfect... and $90 overpriced, at least.
Outstanding Mark. I have the great great Grand daddy of that saw. Mine is almost the same but it is 35 years old. I need to do the maintenance on the saw just like you have done. I would argue that after 35 years the quality is fine for a home shop. If I ever find a junk throwaway one I am going to make a vertical saw out of it. As always I learn something new every time I watch one of your videos. Thanks.
Thanks Terry, I'll have a video showing how to add a table to your saw in 10 seconds next week. Seriously, it's an idea almost as good as the pipe trick!
@@WinkysWorkshop I saw the one you posted that someone else made. I will be doing the same but I want to see your video of it first. Thanks a million for all your time and effort making these videos for us to enjoy. BTW I love the pipe idea.
First class instruction on a workshop tool that most people would accept as being as good as it is possible to be, making minor modifications to make it perform to the best of its ability is a revelation to those of us who are sometimes in despair to get it to function correctly. Many thanks !
Snagged one of these rascals off of Craigslist a few hours ago. Yours is a heck of a lot better discussion of these saws than the others on RUclips. Thank you.
@@WinkysWorkshop I've already added your additional videos to my play list. The situation, trying to accurize these saws reminds me of dear old Mom who spoke of, "trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear".
You covered a whole host of good ideas in this one. I will certainly go through the entire exercise on my saw. The one we have we got in 1982 and the design is almost exactly the same as today only some very minor changes. Still running today and as you know almost every project begins at the band saw. Other than changing the blade and changing the oil in the gear box and changing the bearing on the idler wheel one time absolutely nothing has been done to the saw but we don't abuse it either. That is almost 40 years...wow how time flies. Thank you for this one for sure.
It sounds like your's might be adjusted fairly well. If you are not braking blade and they are not falling off you might not need to do much. I was messing up blade on mine.
Just bought a used saw and having issues. Couldn't find a manual online for it. This video answered all my questions and more. Thanks much for making it. Murray in Canada.
I've had the same bandsaw (Oz version) for 6 or 7 years, and I've learned more about it, in the last 24.3 minutes, than the entire time I've had it ;), I use mine as a vertical saw, I junked the crappy table, and red "safety" guards it came with, and made up a new table out of 1/4'' stainless plate, I cut the blade slot, the other way around, so to change out a blade, I just back the tension off, and open the door, the blade comes flying out, and reverse that to change blades, really easy, and super fast blade changes. Thanks, Winky, great vid Scott.
Great video! I've been chasing my tail trying to true up a decades-old Bainbridge 101 4x6 bandsaw I picked up. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the roller adjusters, but the fundamentals you covered gave me a good starting place. Thank You!
The first thing I did after I got my saw was open the gearbox and i'm glad I did as it was full of metal bits. If you haven't done so already, but sure to open up the gear box, clean it out real good, and put some quality gear lube in there. Nice video!
Excellent video! Thank you very much! Plus the trick with the pipe😊Been a machinist all my life and would have to find a block the same width as the piece I was cutting and put at the back of the vise jaw , the pipe will be a time saver for me!😊
I hope it works out well. I just posted a second video too. It shows a better method to resolve the depth of cut issue. You saw may not have this issue but some do.
I recently picked up one of these made back in the early eighties in Taiwan. The base is certainly a lot more solid than the aluminum foil ones they crank out now... But, my cheapie find turned out to have a big problem. It tossed blades off almost instantly. After some poking around, I discovered the upper wheel bearing block anchor bolt receiver was stripped. Amazon had a Helicoil kit on my doorstep the next day. Four hours later the bearing block was fixed. Nice little saw for $25, even with the added $20 expense of the Helicoil kit. It still needs some cleanup and fix-it attention here and there. But, it currently works as-is and will receive attention when the schedule allows. A very nice video series on improvements for the little beast. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Winky, I have your elevated table and my saw has always cut excellent and square, but I haven't liked the twist the guides have put on my blade. I filed them here and there as you did, and my blade is much relived. Thanks much!
That's great, good to hear. I have considered making aftermarket blade guides but I suspect there are a lot of variations in the way they mount. That would be hard to design for.
Thanks winky, mine wasn't cutting vertically square, no matter what I did. I thought I bought a lemon. Thanks to your explanations and you saying there is a science behind it. I fine tuned it. and the result was like, YES.
Loved the pipe tip! I had a saw like this for years and it is one I had purchased used. There was considerable wear in the angle drive assembly. . . which was supported by one only bushing. The wear was working against a bronze gear so in order to preserve it, I removed the bolted plate cover and machined a sleeve in which I placed a bearing the same size as the shaft that was driving the bronze gear. I put a grease zerk on the end of the sleeve such that grease could be pumped into the bearing and then welded the sleeve to the plate. There was enough slop in the mounting holes of the plate to center the shaft in the bearing and sleeve. I never had to fitz with it again and it was good assurance that there were no future problems.
Thanks! I never notice the "uh" but I did notice too may "okay".This video is the first with a new wireless mic. It's definitely easier to understand although it doesn't sound quite as natural to me.
G’day Winky. I meant to mention this last week but was reminded today with your latest video. That upper wheel alignment bolt in my saw is a set screw hiding inside. It was probably 6 months of cursing the blade for jumping off before I sat down and found that set screw and for the past 3 years I haven’t needed to adjust it, yes it does come off but that’s because I jam the blade when using it in the horizontal mode. Cheers Peter
@@WinkysWorkshop you have it worked out , where you have a bolt mine is a set screw which I didn’t see, I pulled that assembly apart to find out how it works. Very simple, it alters the plane of the spindle , simple but effective. I copied the mechanism for my bench top belt sander build recently, it worked a treat. Cheers Peter
@@pgs8597 - Ah! I understand now! And yes, I did the same in my belt sander too. Did you use my design of a variation of it? I use the heck out of my sander!
I watched a few of these videos about adjusting this kind of saw. This video is by far the best of them plus a neat little trick for cutting off bits of metal that are too short to fit the band saw vise. I have a very old slightly larger version of this band saw. It was old when I bought it thirty years ago, I used it for a few years and in the middle of a move I left it set outside in the weather for twenty five years so the old girl was in a bit of a rough shape. For a long time I used a friction saw but then bought a new cold saw which I am in love with but the cold saw cannot cut large I beams or large RHS (Rectangular Hollow Sections) so I looked at getting a new band saw to replace the old band saw… but saw the price, and thought the quality of the current production model was not very good. I decided to pull the old girl out of the paddock and restore her. First rip it all apart, no small feat, then most of the stuff made a trip through the acid to rip off the rust, throw the tin work stand it came with and build a new one that is heavy duty, all new bearings, new motor, a nice paint job and reassemble. Called the local blade maker to get some industrial blades made with some kryptonite teeth. At this point the project sat for just over a year as I got distracted with other work. I still need to knock out a tank to catch the coolant that a pump brings up and a flexible hose squirts a bit of it over the blade doing its business. Now I just need to get it adjusted to keep it from throwing the blade off, hence my visit here. After watching these vids I now wish I had made a video of the restoration of mine, but it is such an old saw I dunno if anyone would be interested. I will note that I thought the construction of my old saw took some short cuts in the manufacturer, all of which I address in the rebuild but now seeing the level of quality available of the saws in these videos I am so glad that I restored my old saw.
Thank you very much for the videos, never owned a bandsaw before. My HB 4/6 needed a lot of adjustments out of the box, nothing was even close to what you showed as optimal.
I jus bought a display model at harbor freight,it had alot of damage that I'm fixing,I had no paperwork on it so your video is very helpful,thank you!!!
So many people who complain about "cheap Chinese junk" have never had to do things by hand. In my career I have cut 6 inch round stock with a hand hacksaw because that was all I had. The little saw would have been so welcome. I have one and I have cut all the metal for many projects. These are not perfect but affordable. My rule is keep it slow and never leave it alone for long. It is now over 15 years old and seems to get better with age. Because of roller stands being about 1 inch higher than the saw I put a 2x2 under the front frame. The vise screw and the set screw in the handle are almost gone but I am still cutting. Thanks for the half pipe trick. Old machinists don't complain they are just thankful for the help of any machine regardless of how poor and always remember those hard manual days .
Great video! I bought an earlier genesis of the same model 20 yrs ago to cut stainless pipe...made up a coolant recovery system and made scores of tweaks as many mentioned by many of your viewers. It still works great when used properly and I don't go beyond its limits.Best $100 spent for a typical off-shore product. Rick from Canada.
I see your saw has ball bearings fitted to the front blade guide wheel. Mine originally only had a bush bearing in the wheel and it caused issues with maintaining accurate tracking. I bored the wheel hub and pressed a couple of 6 series rubber sealed ball bearings in and no trouble since. I clamp a 12" steel rule between the pinch/guide rollers to get vertical square alignment set accurately. The half tube,small stock clamping 'dog' is a great improvement. I have something similar but made from a piece of rectangular steel channel stock. I also sometimes remove the vise and bolt an adjustable angle plate onto the bed. Also sometimes clamp large vee blocks to the bed for awkward jobs. The one most important thing in getting good results with these saws is don't fit poor quality blades. They won't last long or cut consistently square. As I've shared with you before, I only use Starrett or Lenox bi-metal cobalt blades...very good tune up guide,Mark👍
Thanks Howard, Yeah sleeve bearing on the wheels would create issues in a short period of time I think. The blades I'm using seem to do well not that I have the tracking issues resolved. So far I have only changed one blade for wear and thats where the steel plate I had on the vise jaw was rubbing the side of the blade. I may try the starett if this current blade gets dull in the next few month. Its been on there about 3 I think.
More then well done! What an educating, useful and important video! In the beginning the thought was I've seen this, practised it and improved my bandsaw already. That was lesson 1. Your video was lesson 2, 3 and a bonus lesson. Lots of thanks!
@@Stefan_Boerjesson - Well thanks! In concept it's simple, don't deflect the blade. This was my gut feeling and to some degree what I had already done. Then I did a little searching and found a video about a Grizzly Tools bandsaw. It was one of there high end saws and honestly a very poorly done video but they were saying the same... twist the blade, don't deflect it. The thing is, the HF saw does not allow for this without some modification. Still... if you go in this direction as much as possible the saw will work fairly well.
I bought a virtually identical saw, branded “King Tools” ,in Canada about 3 years ago. Seems to me it was $399.00 Canadian. It has worked perfectly for me, cut dead square out of the box and runs smoothly and quietly. There are 3 weaknesses with this little machine. 1- the stand is kind of wobbly. 2 - As you pointed out and rectified, it’s finicky to hold small stock. 3 - The spring operated feed speed control mechanism leaves a lot to be desired. All of these could be easily rectified with a pleasant days shop project, for next to no money, and that’s what it’s all about, right? All in all, I figure that it was pretty good value and it has become about my most used and most labour saving machine. Thanks for the great tune up and modification tips.
Similar to the half pipe trick I drilled and tapped a hole in the movable jaw of the vice and put in a length of all-thread, For short pieces you screw it in to support the part of the vice not touching the workpiece, Like using a cut off of the same size material to stop the vice jaw deflecting on the mill, The all-thread acts an ever adjustable work piece cut off.
Great you tube and very helpful. I have the same maroon unit from Harbor freight. My problem is that even making sure I had clearance everyplace, as you indicated, mine will never throw the switch to the off position. I just won't push it all the way down. the switch seems to be stronger than the weight of the machine.
Hey Winky I like the pipe trick I have a Jet I bought it new in the late 80s it was 2 hundred bucks it's made in Taiwan big difference in quality it's never let me down. Great channel great videos thanks
I got my 4 x 6 from a Craigslist seller, who got it free from his brother. My seller just wanted a quick $20 as he had no use for it and he couldn't get it to run. Took it home and first thing I noticed was the interlock knob was jammed in backwards- after reinstalling it properly, it ran jut fine. Built a wheeled base with shelves, adjusted all stations for proper tracking and plumb/ square cuts, bought a DECENT blade for it, and it cuts just as good as the old Kalamazoo saws I use d to operate, so with a little fettling, these are some top quality metal cutting bandsaws, but expect to give 'em some love at first but for such little money, they are heirlooms.
Gday Mark, certainly some great tips, the half piece of pipe is a great idea, I must do this for my power hacksaw, thanks for the ideas mate, cheers Matty
Hello Matty, I agree on the pipe, it wasn't my idea but certainly worth sharing! I had a power hacksaw, it worked okay but the reciprocating motion made it impossible to hold smaller items. It looked cool however.
When I was in the structural steel business we had a couple of these 4x6's and also a bigger one (don't remember the size but a 12" channel would fit in it).......With a little tuning even the inexpensive 4x6 worked great. As you can imagine in a business sometimes these saws run for hours a day and even the cheaper one held up very well.
Band saws are fairly simple machines. I'm glad I got it but some of the changes I made were a result some bad design. Basically the pivot point to the top half needs to be about 3/8" lower... maybe a bit more.
Agree,Lou. If you're willing to put some effort in then the end result is often a machine that performs like one costing 2 or 3 times the purchase price of the basic machine. I have made many mods to my metal band saw and it is now a very precise and reliable piece of kit.
@@WinkysWorkshop likewise on mine,the pivot point is very poorly executed. Plenty of scope for improvement there. Maybe remove the existing lugs and fit couple of small pillow block bearings would be the answer.
Regarding the long T-handle nut for the fence angle adjustment... I made a curved T-nut to fit the slot. No need to get below the bed at all. I did use my mill, though it could probably be made with a couple hole saws or a grinder.
Hi Mark, this was a very good edu-torial, thanks. I recently gave mine a touch of well needed loving. I found I had a bit of wiggle room with my Gearbox / drive shaft and the idler wheel tracking plates. I had reinstalled them out of alignment and spent a bit of time figuring out how I stuffed it up. My guide roller mounts also have very little sideways adjustment. Stay safe and well :)
@@WinkysWorkshop It's basically the same as mine. I was thinking of putting wider wheels on mine to fit a wider blade, but I'm not sure if this would work with the short distance to twist.
This is great. I JUST started having trouble with mine (same saw) after many years- and you've given me several ideas about what might be wrong. Can't wait to get into the shop in the morning to attack it. (1st step will need to be a good cleaning.....) I think my blade guide needs adjustment because the blade is walking out and I'm getting very wedge-shaped cutoffs. (2 3/8" 6061 round bar).
@@BulliKid Clip a straight edge (6" steel rule) vertically to the top of the blade near a blade guide above the teeth. Lay a square in the vise and rotate the guide until the rule is parallel to the square. This will get you very close. Looking at the front of the saw, if the cut is going toward the vise you rotate the guides counter clockwise or opposite if it is cutting the other way. The thing is, its hard to know which blade guide to move unless you first check them with the steel rule.
These saws are hilarious. I just bought a new off the shelf Taiwanese setup. Before even tested it I went through your video. My blade guides aren’t on a cam, just a straight bolt lol. But they seem to be at the right tension so that is a bonus. Maybe a lathe project for the future. I’ve got the same issue with lack of adjustment to keep the blade straight though! Thanks for the tips. I better get filing.
Not on a cam? Mine are on an eccentric bolt which I'm guessing you mean when you say cam. I figured all these saws would be close to the same. Aside from a depth of cut issue my saw has all the adjustment it needs... although not easy to adjust. What your saw a harbor freight?
@@WinkysWorkshop yes, by cam I was referring to the eccentric bolt. I did realize afterwards, the one bolt was concentric, and the other one was eccentric. I had to file down the bolt holes, as well as slotted portion of the guides to get it lined up. If both bolts were eccentric it probably wouldn’t have been required as you can squeeze out some more adjustment with those. It’s still not 100% but cutting great either way. One thing I found, which I didn’t figure out until the end was not making your adjustments for blade angle until you loosen the blade tension. Haha. Silly me.
@@huddleberryfin Weird, both my bolts are eccentrics but it sound like it worked out. Yep... I milled the slot in the back of one of the guides to make it go further toward the vise. It's a darn shame they make a basically good saw and can't get the basics set up right. Be sure and check the oil in your gear box. It's supposed to be 90w gear oil. Mine had what looked like 20w.
@@WinkysWorkshop another thing which is different on my machine, is you can’t adjust the upper wheel at all! It doesn’t even have the bolts. The gear case has oil. I spill it all when I was looking for an adjuster for the lower wheel. Haha. I guess they are both fixed.
These Saws are all very similar. My vise has a cam action lever to tighten the jaws. Not great but functional. I liked the half moon pipe idea. Nice well done video!
Great video, Winky! Picked up a Buffalo 4x6 last summer for $50. Just tried to cut something with it, and was shocked when I turned it on, and it barely made a mark on the piece of rebar I was trying to cut. Guess I'll have to take some of your tips and tune that baby up.
Had one of these for 40 years. Mounted mine on a wheeled storage box- cannot waste all that space underneath... My guard is hinged, with a single thumbscrew holding it shut. Means changing the blade is quick and easy. Original fitting.
It is interesting to see that these saws still have the same problems they had 45 years ago when I first first got one of these saws. About the only change from mine to the newer saws is the off/on switch. Mine is just a toggle switch.
Nice video! I just picked up a used Jet version of this saw and the clamp is busted. Not sure what is normally holding that screw from backing out of the casting, but I'd like to see more detail about that. Of course, I might just go to Harbor Freight and look at the saw there.
Winky - thanks for the extensive tutorial. And thanks for the pipe tip - never saw that one before. And I've even got the prefect pipe cutoff to make one. 👍👍😎👍👍
Good video. ia have the same saw. I did put 2" angle iron on the corners of the legs and underneath both sides of the tray. I also put bigger wheels on the back and swivel wheels on the front. It rolls good and will turn any direction. This really made the saw sturdier.
This is a cheap copy of the one I bought from Enco in 1984. I paid $75.00 for it and it was fully assembled and tuned properly. I took it right from the show room in Boston to my house in New Hampshire. The only thing it has ever required is blades and one new set of bearings. The motor and everything else is still original. Although, the vertical table managed to disappear into an alternate universe at some point in time. It wasn't really that good, anyway and I rarely use it in the vertical mode. Unlike this Chinese copy my guard does not interfere with blade or the kill switch. It is a complete metal cover. I am finding that some good upgrades have been designed and proven by you and others. The additional plate for the vice is something I just never got around to making myself. Since I don't have the drop problem that yours does I won't need the elevation plate. However, there are things like better supports/tables as well as chip pans and fluid baths that are shown on YT that I will definitely implement on this one. Thank you for your hard work on this product. I'm definitely going to be checking more of your videos.
Always some thing interesting on your channel thank you Winky for sharing: on the gide bearings adjustment try a piece of computer paper between the blade and one of the bearings that will give you two thousands of an inch gap very consistent.
Great video , I think every one of those saws had its own personality and flaws to go with it. My particular saw had an eccentric drive wheel, you could see the frame flex with each revolution, also the on/off switch failed after a couple of years. Enjoyed the show, thanks and cheers! Also thanks for the pipe trick and the extended nut underneath, it is deceptively simple
Thanks, Eccentric drive wheel huh? I had a portable bandsaw that did the same, flexing too. Yeah that pipe trick is a good one... not my idea but worth sharing.
I like my guard because it contains the blade when it comes off the wheels. If that happens on a cut it can jump out and get you. Also I just live with it but my upper blade guide inner bearing hits the table if you adjust down to get close to the work piece. Mine is the Taiwan version from the eighties and has been a very good machine. Cuts very true with good blades (bi metal) and it has worn out a set of roller bearing guides but they were easily obtainable with US made quality ones (might not be now, that was fifteen years ago or more). Just changed the gear lube and inspected the gears which are still pristine after more than thirty years of regular use in my home shop. I did add a suggestion from RUclips (a plate on the moveable jaw of the vise with a bolt going through the off side. This enables you to clamp a short work piece with the pivoting jaw.) All in all it has more than repaid its $200 new purchase price. I also bolted mine to a 1 1/2" plywood base with castors for ease of maneuvering and I use a cookie sheet to catch the cut swarf with the cutting fluid which I reuse with a brush on the blade. I have found old transmission fluid works very good for all my metals and really well on aluminum. I cut a lot of stainless and aluminum as well as steel.
Hi Winky, great tips and I love the pipe clamp idea, thankyou for sharing, its certainly on my to do list. I ran into the same problem as you with lack of adustment on the roller guide block to allow the blade to exit the wheel withot deflection. To get a little bit more movement I machined the threads plus a little bit more off the bolt where it contacts the block. Cam
Thanks. Yeah that pipe trick is great. It wasn't my idea but certainly worth sharing. It's kind of amazing they keep using the same flawed design on these bandsaws. I'm glad i got it cheap but making a few small changed and millions of bandsaws would work better.
Great video! I don't think you covered the spring handle adjustment. If you did I couldn't find it. What is your rule of thumb on how much tension to use? I use a small block of steel on the outer end and it seems to work better than the spring tension.
I mentioned the tension but didn't go into it much. I just said it needs to be firmly tight. This a hard thing to communicate when there is no measurement to reference,
@@WinkysWorkshop I know what you mean but was wondering what or how it affects the cutting speed. I have tried several settings but ended up using a small cube of steel that fits perfectly on the outer end on the adjustable slide for the rollers. My only issue is that I continually forget to remove it when I put the blade back to the vertical and get a laugh at my flat "Learning" curve!
At 10:58. I experienced that the cover of the wheels hit the bed. Polygripping it solved that issue. A blade cover present in the picture also made trouble, made it impossible to move the left blade guide to the right. Disassembling and bending that part where the holding screws come in play solved that issue. Time 11:07. We have different versions of the saw.
Watch part 2. I installed a plate to elevate the stock being cut. There is a link under the video. It has a PDF template and as email address. If the template matches your saw and you want to try this I'll be making these spacer plate. I'm waiting for a quote on water jet.... if the quote is too high I won't do this.
That trick with the pipe is pure gold, definitely going to use that one. These little import bandsaws are awesome for those of us with more time than money. I absolutely love mine but it was far from perfect out of the box. Another great video 👍.
I agree on the pipe. I saw it somewhere and felt it was worth sharing. I agree on the bandsaw although it would be nice it the adjustments were fully obtainable without modifying
Excellent video, hopefully will help with my tracking issue were the blade is jumping of the wheels. BTW, anyone know what blade replacement is required? I have no manual as was gifted the saw.
I am new to watching your channel and I love it. I have one of these machines that I bought from Enco years ago and my biggest gripe is that the blades keep breaking. I have gone through adjusting the blade guides and the wheel alignment, the blade will track nicely, I will get perfect cut, then out of the blue, the blade breaks. Upon close examination of the blades using a jeweler's eye loupe, I find many cracks in the blade emanating from the roots of the teeth. I am uncertain if the problem is that the blades are garbage or the aggressive 45 degree twist of the bade in the machine is responsible for the poor blade life. If it were not for the short blade life, this machine would be a dream. Mind you, the teeth are not wearing out but the blades are developing stress cracks and breaking. It is very frustrating.
I wonder if you put a washer in between the the actual slide the guide bolts to (that adjusts the guides in out or smaller cuts), if that would move the whole unit in a bit closer yet?
The blade guide bloc on mine split at one end of the slot. I can still cut with it but I think I need to find another one, or better yet, make an upgrade. I'm thinking opposing setscrews for alignment.
Out of curiosity, is the bolt that allows the motor to pivet supposed to be tight? Mine is loose and the motor tends to move around a little. I did tighten it, but I noticed your bounces a little too.
I didn't notice this but unless the belt is slipping I don't like to over tighten the belt. I might need to tighten mine a little but if you get things too tight it's harder on the bearings.
Maybe... I do need to improve on this. I have also thought about adding a plate to the table to increase the height. That way I could put the guard back on.
@@millomweb - Probably... although I don't have much in the way os sheet metal tools. The old guard was fairly good although it needed a latch instead if a screw to hold it closed.
Apparently the original stand was not very good, you are the third person to ask this question. The only reason I didn't use the original was that I wanted it to slide under my table saw outfeed table. I had a drawing somewhere. Let me see if i can find it.
Hey Wink...great video as usual!! I will take to heart all of the tweaks you did to yours and take another look at mine. Don’t know if anyone’s suggested this to you but you can mount a small table on it for vertical cutting which is super, super handy. I even sit down on it while cutting small pieces. It’s actually pretty comfortable. I’d love to see what you’d come up with for mounting it
Thanks... Yeah, I have the table that came with mine. I was too lazy to put it on when I made the guard. I have another trick for the table that makes it easy to instal. Like in 10 seconds. Coming to a theater near you - Ha
Good video ,,, you have more than enough saw there for your shop . I bought an old one about the same size . I found high carbon blades are a waste for steel since switching to m42 I don't think I'll ever use the spares ..
Hi I have a problem with my bandsaw, looks like a replica of yours. I can't get the roller bearings to be loose on the blade. At 0:31 the blade twists as it goes off the big pulley to the guide bearings and mine does the same but puts pressure on the inside/left bearing. Any ideas?
@@WinkysWorkshop The only reasons I asked was that my present machine came without a lower half or wheels at all second hand, a previous one I bought new 20 years ago had awful weak and fragile support system, just sizes of wood used and fixing methods would help please.
@@dvddale111 I made the stand out of white oak that is 1-inch thick just because I had it. You could use a 2x10 and do the same and use plywood for the legs. Screw and glue them in place. Here's a link to a drawing. The drawing does not show the hole size and position in the table so you'll just have to set you saw on the base and make sure you can access the blts needed to adjust the fence etc. I angled the legs out about 1.5 inches at the bottom which is also n0t shown in the drawing. photos.app.goo.gl/WiYGL46FcFSnzGtD9
I saw an image online of a mod to this type of bandsaw where the blade guides with the bearings had screws on either side added so you wouldn't have to rely on the friction from the one hex bolt holding the part in. Unfortunately the site is defunct.
I've been thinking about making some myself... maybe make them available to buy. So far I an idea what I want but not firm design. It' hard to do stuff like that and keep the price low.
@@WinkysWorkshop So I took my bearing guides apart so I can replace the bearings and upon doing so I noticed that the bearings that pinch the blade do not orbit on the same plane. Is that due to poor manufacturing or is that some genius idea to keep the blade in place. They are only off by a degree or so in one direction or the other. I am really thinking of either machining the existing bearing fixtures to make them better, or just making new ones that have a bit more adjustability. Did you happen to draw up plans already for your fixture idea? Also, I noticed that the tension wheel wobbles from side to side. I can press my thumbs on either side of the wheel and it wiggles easily, and I cannot find a way to snug that up. Is that normal? FYI - I own a "Clarke" 4x6, but they're all pretty much the same, I think.
2:34 I've seen some of these saws fitted with a brass wire wheel to remove stuck swarf from the blade. They're usually relatively small wheels mounted just after the cutting point. Looking at the main wheels, to me, it would seem very sensible to mount the wire brush on the same axle - so the wires poking at the blade do so without any relative motion - meaning the wire brush should last for a much longer time. Have a think about fitting something up like that - to see how effective it is and how long it lasts.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
By far the best video on the 4X6 on the RUclips TV, even better than my two!! Well done Winky!!☺
Wow, thank you! I replaced all the bearings also.
That pipe trick is brilliant, I don't know how many times I had trouble with holding a small part in my bandsaw, I will definitely make one, thanks for the tip.
Yeah... Thats a great idea. I saw it posted on Facebook I think
@@WinkysWorkshop thank you for posting up here it will come in most handy for me too
@@Sam-black Yep... me too!
@@Sam-black Thanks Sam, you're welcome!
Mike Bray posted the half pipe clamp on Facebook.
I own this machine design for over 40 years and it served me very well thru the years.
Your tune up is very important but there is something that is ever more important, it is to solidify the base to make sure that the machine does not tip over.
The base that is supplied with the machine made that my saw tipped over and broke the hinge so I needed to have it brazed when the machine was almost new.
happily, this is not a precision machine so I've been able to reasjust it to obtain straight cuts.
I built a wood base for mine so I never tried the original. Mine seems to be stable
Man... this is pure RUclips gold.
Should be required viewing for anyone wanting to be a content creator.
Excellent video. Clear crisp audio.
Organized and informative content.
I'm a little emotional.
I sure hope you subscribed! I can always use a good ego boost! I think I need to print this and hang it in my shop. THANKS
@@WinkysWorkshop you 100% earned my sub! (I create content professionally for training and education, this is better than 80% of the stuff that's released by companies for product training)
@@EvilWhiteColonialist Thanks Robert. I really appreciate this. I used to work for a printing company. I ran a press for many years but the last 15 years were spent trouble shooting and modifying machines.... which also evolved into developing a lot of training material. I guess I developed some abilities. Thanks again.
The half piece of pipe used as a clamp is just brilliant!!! 🎉
Thank you so much for sharing your tips with us, you make great videos.
Much love from 🇨🇦
Thanks John!
Morning Mark, Billy mentioned during this Sundays ARW discussion that you had a video on these small saw's. I took Joe Pies offer up on a free Central Machinery 4x6. I have it tore dw and making some of the same modes. It is even lighter duty than yours are the on Steve Summers showed, but first mode needed was the bottom drive wheels set screw was loose and allowed the shaft to turn in the wheel. Adding a second flat 90deg and tapping for another set screw. Joe's saw will be set up for lite material cutting only, but was great to finally get dw and have a visit and a tour of his shop. Too see up close the 1/12 working model's was a treat, and his attention to detail is beyond words. Thx for sharing your saw modes, and hope all is well for the new year,,,Bear
Your welcome. In part 2 (maybe 3) I make a plate to elevate the stock. Not all of these saws share the defect this plate corrects but if yours has this problem I sell the plate. Or if you have a mill you can make one. The links are in the description. Yes Joe is amazing! I'd love to take a tour and meet him in person.
Yes on a mill, thx, will check that video out.Cheers and keep on Keeping on. Bear
@@bearsrodshop7067 I'm keeping on! 😊
I have had one of these saws since 1980. That was before the 14" chop saws were around. I had to cut 32 column extensions to fit a new roof structure on a reservoir out of 4" scd 40 most under 3" and it had to be cut and fitted in the field. Quirky to get to cut right but it saved the day being able work inside a 30 tall 80 foot diameter concrete structure.
Served me well since and will get the "Winky tune up" soon...thanks for your efforts.
Cool, thanks for sharing!
This saw is a beast. It does eat batteries ruclips.net/user/postUgkxkgtf23NRld6bKLCxmOpLdl8xZmfz8Wbq but I can live with that.What is troubling is the fact that blades don't seem to last more than three cuts and are no longer blades.The saw, itself, is pretty much perfect... and $90 overpriced, at least.
Very true
Outstanding Mark. I have the great great Grand daddy of that saw. Mine is almost the same but it is 35 years old. I need to do the maintenance on the saw just like you have done. I would argue that after 35 years the quality is fine for a home shop. If I ever find a junk throwaway one I am going to make a vertical saw out of it. As always I learn something new every time I watch one of your videos. Thanks.
Thanks Terry, I'll have a video showing how to add a table to your saw in 10 seconds next week. Seriously, it's an idea almost as good as the pipe trick!
@@WinkysWorkshop I saw the one you posted that someone else made. I will be doing the same but I want to see your video of it first. Thanks a million for all your time and effort making these videos for us to enjoy. BTW I love the pipe idea.
@@terrycannon570 - Yeah... the new year video. Cool
@@terrycannon570 - Yeah... I might make the table slightly different. Waiting on some metal
First class instruction on a workshop tool that most people would accept as being as good as it is possible to be, making minor modifications to make it perform to the best of its ability is a revelation to those of us who are sometimes in despair to get it to function correctly. Many thanks !
You're welcome and thanks !
Snagged one of these rascals off of Craigslist a few hours ago. Yours is a heck of a lot better discussion of these saws than the others on RUclips. Thank you.
Be sure and watch part 2 and 3 too. Thanks!
@@WinkysWorkshop I've already added your additional videos to my play list. The situation, trying to accurize these saws reminds me of dear old Mom who spoke of, "trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear".
You covered a whole host of good ideas in this one. I will certainly go through the entire exercise on my saw. The one we have we got in 1982 and the design is almost exactly the same as today only some very minor changes. Still running today and as you know almost every project begins at the band saw. Other than changing the blade and changing the oil in the gear box and changing the bearing on the idler wheel one time absolutely nothing has been done to the saw but we don't abuse it either. That is almost 40 years...wow how time flies. Thank you for this one for sure.
It sounds like your's might be adjusted fairly well. If you are not braking blade and they are not falling off you might not need to do much. I was messing up blade on mine.
great video! thanks for making this. Just bough a Klutch band saw
I've never had that brand but they look good.
Best 4x6 video ever, that and a quality bi metallic blade and your all set.
Thanks! For sure a good blade helps too
Just bought a used saw and having issues. Couldn't find a manual online for it. This video answered all my questions and more. Thanks much for making it. Murray in Canada.
Glad I could help!
Thanks for the easy to follow tips on how to align blade. Wasn't much in the manual about it.
You got that right. Be sure and watch the other two videos too.
I've had the same bandsaw (Oz version) for 6 or 7 years, and I've learned more about it, in the last 24.3 minutes, than the entire time I've had it ;), I use mine as a vertical saw, I junked the crappy table, and red "safety" guards it came with, and made up a new table out of 1/4'' stainless plate, I cut the blade slot, the other way around, so to change out a blade, I just back the tension off, and open the door, the blade comes flying out, and reverse that to change blades, really easy, and super fast blade changes.
Thanks, Winky, great vid
Scott.
Your welcome. Great idea on the table.... the new saw comes with the slot the way you made yours.
Great video! I've been chasing my tail trying to true up a decades-old Bainbridge 101 4x6 bandsaw I picked up. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the roller adjusters, but the fundamentals you covered gave me a good starting place. Thank You!
Always good to hear. I really need to redo these videos. I think I did well on them but there are a few areas I could improve on.
By far the best video I've ever seen on horizontal band saw adjustments and tricks!
Thanks Dave!
Winky that modification using a piece of pipe made my live a lot easier. Thank you.
Glad I could help although I can;t take credit for the idea.
Brilliant
@@terrycannon570 - Mike in the FB Logan group shared the pipe idea.
The first thing I did after I got my saw was open the gearbox and i'm glad I did as it was full of metal bits. If you haven't done so already, but sure to open up the gear box, clean it out real good, and put some quality gear lube in there. Nice video!
Thanks for the info! On my list tomorrow!
@Two Dogs - Thats crazy!
What is a good gear lube?..I have old dayton I'm rebuilding
Excellent video! Thank you very much! Plus the trick with the pipe😊Been a machinist all my life and would have to find a block the same width as the piece I was cutting and put at the back of the vise jaw , the pipe will be a time saver for me!😊
Brilliant! With your help I may be able to cure my blade either falling off or snapping (always one or the other) after about 5 minutes running! 🇬🇧
I hope it works out well. I just posted a second video too. It shows a better method to resolve the depth of cut issue. You saw may not have this issue but some do.
I recently picked up one of these made back in the early eighties in Taiwan. The base is certainly a lot more solid than the aluminum foil ones they crank out now... But, my cheapie find turned out to have a big problem. It tossed blades off almost instantly. After some poking around, I discovered the upper wheel bearing block anchor bolt receiver was stripped.
Amazon had a Helicoil kit on my doorstep the next day. Four hours later the bearing block was fixed. Nice little saw for $25, even with the added $20 expense of the Helicoil kit. It still needs some cleanup and fix-it attention here and there. But, it currently works as-is and will receive attention when the schedule allows.
A very nice video series on improvements for the little beast. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the great comment Russell.
Great little bandsaw and mine is still going strong after 10 years. You make great videos !
Thanks you sir!
Thanks Winky, I have your elevated table and my saw has always cut excellent and square, but I haven't liked the twist the guides have put on my blade. I filed them here and there as you did, and my blade is much relived. Thanks much!
That's great, good to hear. I have considered making aftermarket blade guides but I suspect there are a lot of variations in the way they mount. That would be hard to design for.
Slow coming but quality how to. This could be edited down to less than 6 minutes but this fellow is just relaxing to wait on and worth it. Nice video
For some there was probably too much detail. Thanks for watching.
Thanks winky, mine wasn't cutting vertically square, no matter what I did. I thought I bought a lemon. Thanks to your explanations and you saying there is a science behind it. I fine tuned it. and the result was like, YES.
Thanks, glad it worked well for you.
Loved the pipe tip! I had a saw like this for years and it is one I had purchased used. There was considerable wear in the angle drive assembly. . . which was supported by one only bushing. The wear was working against a bronze gear so in order to preserve it, I removed the bolted plate cover and machined a sleeve in which I placed a bearing the same size as the shaft that was driving the bronze gear. I put a grease zerk on the end of the sleeve such that grease could be pumped into the bearing and then welded the sleeve to the plate. There was enough slop in the mounting holes of the plate to center the shaft in the bearing and sleeve. I never had to fitz with it again and it was good assurance that there were no future problems.
I suspect this is a weak area. Thanks for commenting.
Very well produced video. I always learn a lot from you. I noticed that the total count of “uh”’s before a sentence was way down. Refreshing.
Thanks! I never notice the "uh" but I did notice too may "okay".This video is the first with a new wireless mic. It's definitely easier to understand although it doesn't sound quite as natural to me.
G’day Winky. I meant to mention this last week but was reminded today with your latest video. That upper wheel alignment bolt in my saw is a set screw hiding inside. It was probably 6 months of cursing the blade for jumping off before I sat down and found that set screw and for the past 3 years I haven’t needed to adjust it, yes it does come off but that’s because I jam the blade when using it in the horizontal mode.
Cheers
Peter
I need to take this apart just because I'm curious now. I thought I understood how it worked but maybe not. Mine is working well in this area.
@@WinkysWorkshop you have it worked out , where you have a bolt mine is a set screw which I didn’t see, I pulled that assembly apart to find out how it works. Very simple, it alters the plane of the spindle , simple but effective. I copied the mechanism for my bench top belt sander build recently, it worked a treat. Cheers Peter
@@pgs8597 - Ah! I understand now! And yes, I did the same in my belt sander too. Did you use my design of a variation of it? I use the heck out of my sander!
I watched a few of these videos about adjusting this kind of saw. This video is by far the best of them plus a neat little trick for cutting off bits of metal that are too short to fit the band saw vise.
I have a very old slightly larger version of this band saw. It was old when I bought it thirty years ago, I used it for a few years and in the middle of a move I left it set outside in the weather for twenty five years so the old girl was in a bit of a rough shape. For a long time I used a friction saw but then bought a new cold saw which I am in love with but the cold saw cannot cut large I beams or large RHS (Rectangular Hollow Sections) so I looked at getting a new band saw to replace the old band saw… but saw the price, and thought the quality of the current production model was not very good.
I decided to pull the old girl out of the paddock and restore her. First rip it all apart, no small feat, then most of the stuff made a trip through the acid to rip off the rust, throw the tin work stand it came with and build a new one that is heavy duty, all new bearings, new motor, a nice paint job and reassemble. Called the local blade maker to get some industrial blades made with some kryptonite teeth. At this point the project sat for just over a year as I got distracted with other work. I still need to knock out a tank to catch the coolant that a pump brings up and a flexible hose squirts a bit of it over the blade doing its business.
Now I just need to get it adjusted to keep it from throwing the blade off, hence my visit here. After watching these vids I now wish I had made a video of the restoration of mine, but it is such an old saw I dunno if anyone would be interested. I will note that I thought the construction of my old saw took some short cuts in the manufacturer, all of which I address in the rebuild but now seeing the level of quality available of the saws in these videos I am so glad that I restored my old saw.
I love restoring the old machines. You should make videos. People are always interested!
Thank you very much for the videos, never owned a bandsaw before. My HB 4/6 needed a lot of adjustments out of the box, nothing was even close to what you showed as optimal.
Glad to help
I jus bought a display model at harbor freight,it had alot of damage that I'm fixing,I had no paperwork on it so your video is very helpful,thank you!!!
Glad I could help- thats great
Glad I hung around to the very end for that clever piece made from the pipe. Excellent! And thks for all the other pointers!👍👍👍
Yeah that pipe trick was a good one. Not my idea but I had to share.
So many people who complain about "cheap Chinese junk" have never had to do things by hand. In my career I have cut 6 inch round stock with a hand hacksaw because that was all I had. The little saw would have been so welcome. I have one and I have cut all the metal for many projects. These are not perfect but affordable. My rule is keep it slow and never leave it alone for long. It is now over 15 years old and seems to get better with age. Because of roller stands being about 1 inch higher than the saw I put a 2x2 under the front frame. The vise screw and the set screw in the handle are almost gone but I am still cutting. Thanks for the half pipe trick. Old machinists don't complain they are just thankful for the help of any machine regardless of how poor and always remember those hard manual days
.
Well said! Yeah that pipe trick is cool.
This really helped me understand my bandsaw, much better than other videos, thanks!
Glad it helped!
This is exactly what I've been looking for. So glad I came across your channel. Very informative. Fixed my all my issues.
That's great to hear! Thanks!
Great video! I bought an earlier genesis of the same model 20 yrs ago to cut stainless pipe...made up a coolant recovery system and made scores of tweaks as many mentioned by many of your viewers. It still works great when used properly and I don't go beyond its limits.Best $100 spent for a typical off-shore product.
Rick from Canada.
Good value for sure!
I see your saw has ball bearings fitted to the front blade guide wheel. Mine originally only had a bush bearing in the wheel and it caused issues with maintaining accurate tracking. I bored the wheel hub and pressed a couple of 6 series rubber sealed ball bearings in and no trouble since. I clamp a 12" steel rule between the pinch/guide rollers to get vertical square alignment set accurately. The half tube,small stock clamping 'dog' is a great improvement. I have something similar but made from a piece of rectangular steel channel stock. I also sometimes remove the vise and bolt an adjustable angle plate onto the bed. Also sometimes clamp large vee blocks to the bed for awkward jobs. The one most important thing in getting good results with these saws is don't fit poor quality blades. They won't last long or cut consistently square. As I've shared with you before, I only use Starrett or Lenox bi-metal cobalt blades...very good tune up guide,Mark👍
Thanks Howard, Yeah sleeve bearing on the wheels would create issues in a short period of time I think. The blades I'm using seem to do well not that I have the tracking issues resolved. So far I have only changed one blade for wear and thats where the steel plate I had on the vise jaw was rubbing the side of the blade. I may try the starett if this current blade gets dull in the next few month. Its been on there about 3 I think.
More then well done!
What an educating, useful and important video! In the beginning the thought was I've seen this, practised it and improved my bandsaw already. That was lesson 1. Your video was lesson 2, 3 and a bonus lesson.
Lots of thanks!
Wow... that's a great comment, Thanks!
@@WinkysWorkshop You really deserve it. There are plenty of bandsaw improvement videos on YT but You showed things I haven't seen before.
@@Stefan_Boerjesson - Well thanks! In concept it's simple, don't deflect the blade. This was my gut feeling and to some degree what I had already done. Then I did a little searching and found a video about a Grizzly Tools bandsaw. It was one of there high end saws and honestly a very poorly done video but they were saying the same... twist the blade, don't deflect it. The thing is, the HF saw does not allow for this without some modification. Still... if you go in this direction as much as possible the saw will work fairly well.
That half pipe clamp for small stock is slicker than snail snot , thank you for showing it.
Ha... thanks!
I bought a virtually identical saw, branded “King Tools” ,in Canada about 3 years ago. Seems to me it was $399.00 Canadian. It has worked perfectly for me, cut dead square out of the box and runs smoothly and quietly. There are 3 weaknesses with this little machine. 1- the stand is kind of wobbly. 2 - As you pointed out and rectified, it’s finicky to hold small stock. 3 - The spring operated feed speed control mechanism leaves a lot to be desired. All of these could be easily rectified with a pleasant days shop project, for next to no money, and that’s what it’s all about, right? All in all, I figure that it was pretty good value and it has become about my most used and most labour saving machine. Thanks for the great tune up and modification tips.
Your welcome and I agree with you.
Good tips. I just picked up a used saw like this and need to get it to stop throwing blades. Thanks.
Check the wheel bearings and the bearings in the blade guides, they can be loose but not super loose
Thanks for the pointers Winky. The information will be handy when I get one. Great Videos
Glad it was helpful!
Similar to the half pipe trick I drilled and tapped a hole in the movable jaw of the vice and put in a length of all-thread, For short pieces you screw it in to support the part of the vice not touching the workpiece, Like using a cut off of the same size material to stop the vice jaw deflecting on the mill, The all-thread acts an ever adjustable work piece cut off.
Interesting...
Great you tube and very helpful. I have the same maroon unit from Harbor freight. My problem is that even making sure I had clearance everyplace, as you indicated, mine will never throw the switch to the off position. I just won't push it all the way down. the switch seems to be stronger than the weight of the machine.
I sell an Elevating plate to resolve this issue. The link is in the description in this video link ruclips.net/video/2uGxOE0VucM/видео.html
Hey Winky I like the pipe trick I have a Jet I bought it new in the late 80s it was 2 hundred bucks it's made in Taiwan big difference in quality it's never let me down. Great channel great videos thanks
Very cool! Yeah, that pipe is a trick for sure. Thanks
Thanks Winky , some real good points , looks like mines in for a tune up , great video as always.
Thanks 👍
I got my 4 x 6 from a Craigslist seller, who got it free from his brother. My seller just wanted a quick $20 as he had no use for it and he couldn't get it to run. Took it home and first thing I noticed was the interlock knob was jammed in backwards- after reinstalling it properly, it ran jut fine. Built a wheeled base with shelves, adjusted all stations for proper tracking and plumb/ square cuts, bought a DECENT blade for it, and it cuts just as good as the old Kalamazoo saws I use d to operate, so with a little fettling, these are some top quality metal cutting bandsaws, but expect to give 'em some love at first but for such little money, they are heirlooms.
Yep... Mine worked right out of the box and I assumed it was adjusted correctly but it was way off. It's a cheap saw for sure but it works great.
Gday Mark, certainly some great tips, the half piece of pipe is a great idea, I must do this for my power hacksaw, thanks for the ideas mate, cheers Matty
Hello Matty, I agree on the pipe, it wasn't my idea but certainly worth sharing! I had a power hacksaw, it worked okay but the reciprocating motion made it impossible to hold smaller items. It looked cool however.
Thank you for this video. Saved me a boatload of monies
That's great to hear, your welcome.
When I was in the structural steel business we had a couple of these 4x6's and also a bigger one (don't remember the size but a 12" channel would fit in it).......With a little tuning even the inexpensive 4x6 worked great. As you can imagine in a business sometimes these saws run for hours a day and even the cheaper one held up very well.
Yeah these saws are basically sound but lack attention to details.
With some of these inexpensive machines one needs to do some final tuning. But they can be made to work fairly well.
Band saws are fairly simple machines. I'm glad I got it but some of the changes I made were a result some bad design. Basically the pivot point to the top half needs to be about 3/8" lower... maybe a bit more.
Agree,Lou. If you're willing to put some effort in then the end result is often a machine that performs like one costing 2 or 3 times the purchase price of the basic machine. I have made many mods to my metal band saw and it is now a very precise and reliable piece of kit.
@@WinkysWorkshop likewise on mine,the pivot point is very poorly executed. Plenty of scope for improvement there. Maybe remove the existing lugs and fit couple of small pillow block bearings would be the answer.
@@howardosborne8647 The changes I made addressed most of this well enough. but you are right... pillow blocks might be the answer.
@@howardosborne8647 raise the bed of the vice
Just a simple piece of plate with all the corresponding holes of the bed of the vice will suffice
You have inspired me to go out and play my saw and that trick with the pipe brilliant.
Thanks Carl!
Regarding the long T-handle nut for the fence angle adjustment... I made a curved T-nut to fit the slot. No need to get below the bed at all. I did use my mill, though it could probably be made with a couple hole saws or a grinder.
Heck yeah! Excellent idea!!!
Hi Mark, this was a very good edu-torial, thanks. I recently gave mine a touch of well needed loving. I found I had a bit of wiggle room with my Gearbox / drive shaft and the idler wheel tracking plates. I had reinstalled them out of alignment and spent a bit of time figuring out how I stuffed it up. My guide roller mounts also have very little sideways adjustment. Stay safe and well :)
Thanks... yeah, the saw is a bit crude but cheap and works well if you take some time with it.
@@WinkysWorkshop It's basically the same as mine. I was thinking of putting wider wheels on mine to fit a wider blade, but I'm not sure if this would work with the short distance to twist.
@@AJR2208 Interesting... you may have a point there but it would also solve the problem with the saw not cutting deep enough.
Thank you very much for a clear, concise tuneup on this little saw. I am headed out to my garage to do the same.
Glad to help, Hopefully you won't need to move the blade guides as much as I did.
Great video, useful information and no chattering on about other things.
Glad it was helpful!
Excellent video Winky, especially like the half pipe clamp for small parts. Well explained and executed. Cheers, Jon
Many thanks! The pipe trick wasn't mine but certainly worth sharing!
This is great. I JUST started having trouble with mine (same saw) after many years- and you've given me several ideas about what might be wrong. Can't wait to get into the shop in the morning to attack it. (1st step will need to be a good cleaning.....) I think my blade guide needs adjustment because the blade is walking out and I'm getting very wedge-shaped cutoffs. (2 3/8" 6061 round bar).
Glad the timing was good... hopefully you resolve the problem
Great video. My top of the cut to the bottom of the cut is not square. It cuts a bit more on top any fix?
More than likely the blade guides need to the be rotated a little.
@@WinkysWorkshop any idea if I should rotate in or rotate out.
@@BulliKid Clip a straight edge (6" steel rule) vertically to the top of the blade near a blade guide above the teeth. Lay a square in the vise and rotate the guide until the rule is parallel to the square. This will get you very close. Looking at the front of the saw, if the cut is going toward the vise you rotate the guides counter clockwise or opposite if it is cutting the other way. The thing is, its hard to know which blade guide to move unless you first check them with the steel rule.
@@WinkysWorkshop thanks will do some more testing.
These saws are hilarious. I just bought a new off the shelf Taiwanese setup. Before even tested it I went through your video. My blade guides aren’t on a cam, just a straight bolt lol. But they seem to be at the right tension so that is a bonus. Maybe a lathe project for the future. I’ve got the same issue with lack of adjustment to keep the blade straight though!
Thanks for the tips. I better get filing.
Not on a cam? Mine are on an eccentric bolt which I'm guessing you mean when you say cam. I figured all these saws would be close to the same. Aside from a depth of cut issue my saw has all the adjustment it needs... although not easy to adjust. What your saw a harbor freight?
@@WinkysWorkshop yes, by cam I was referring to the eccentric bolt. I did realize afterwards, the one bolt was concentric, and the other one was eccentric. I had to file down the bolt holes, as well as slotted portion of the guides to get it lined up. If both bolts were eccentric it probably wouldn’t have been required as you can squeeze out some more adjustment with those. It’s still not 100% but cutting great either way.
One thing I found, which I didn’t figure out until the end was not making your adjustments for blade angle until you loosen the blade tension. Haha. Silly me.
@@huddleberryfin Weird, both my bolts are eccentrics but it sound like it worked out. Yep... I milled the slot in the back of one of the guides to make it go further toward the vise. It's a darn shame they make a basically good saw and can't get the basics set up right. Be sure and check the oil in your gear box. It's supposed to be 90w gear oil. Mine had what looked like 20w.
@@WinkysWorkshop another thing which is different on my machine, is you can’t adjust the upper wheel at all! It doesn’t even have the bolts.
The gear case has oil. I spill it all when I was looking for an adjuster for the lower wheel. Haha. I guess they are both fixed.
These Saws are all very similar. My vise has a cam action lever to tighten the jaws. Not great but functional. I liked the half moon pipe idea. Nice well done video!
Thanks !
Great video, Winky! Picked up a Buffalo 4x6 last summer for $50. Just tried to cut something with it, and was shocked when I turned it on, and it barely made a mark on the piece of rebar I was trying to cut. Guess I'll have to take some of your tips and tune that baby up.
You saw might need tuning up but I think rebar is actually fairly hard.
Had one of these for 40 years. Mounted mine on a wheeled storage box- cannot waste all that space underneath...
My guard is hinged, with a single thumbscrew holding it shut. Means changing the blade is quick and easy. Original fitting.
I need to improve on my guard modification. Thanks for watching
It is interesting to see that these saws still have the same problems they had 45 years ago when I first first got one of these saws. About the only change from mine to the newer saws is the off/on switch. Mine is just a toggle switch.
Interesting and amazing! I wonder why they don't make them right?
Nice video! I just picked up a used Jet version of this saw and the clamp is busted. Not sure what is normally holding that screw from backing out of the casting, but I'd like to see more detail about that. Of course, I might just go to Harbor Freight and look at the saw there.
Harbor freight is a good idea.... Hard to describe.
Winky - thanks for the extensive tutorial. And thanks for the pipe tip - never saw that one before. And I've even got the prefect pipe cutoff to make one. 👍👍😎👍👍
Glad it was helpful! And thanks!
Good video. ia have the same saw. I did put 2" angle iron on the corners of the legs and underneath both sides of the tray. I also put bigger wheels on the back and swivel wheels on the front. It rolls good and will turn any direction. This really made the saw sturdier.
I did the exact same with mine. Locking casters on all four legs, the angle iron made is much more sturdy.
Great video! I have one of these saws and they work pretty good but I'm looking forward to doing a tune up on it.
Thanks 👍 Good luck
This is a cheap copy of the one I bought from Enco in 1984. I paid $75.00 for it and it was fully assembled and tuned properly. I took it right from the show room in Boston to my house in New Hampshire. The only thing it has ever required is blades and one new set of bearings. The motor and everything else is still original. Although, the vertical table managed to disappear into an alternate universe at some point in time. It wasn't really that good, anyway and I rarely use it in the vertical mode. Unlike this Chinese copy my guard does not interfere with blade or the kill switch. It is a complete metal cover.
I am finding that some good upgrades have been designed and proven by you and others. The additional plate for the vice is something I just never got around to making myself. Since I don't have the drop problem that yours does I won't need the elevation plate. However, there are things like better supports/tables as well as chip pans and fluid baths that are shown on YT that I will definitely implement on this one.
Thank you for your hard work on this product. I'm definitely going to be checking more of your videos.
Thanks, glad you have enjoyed the videos
Always some thing interesting on your channel thank you Winky for sharing: on the gide bearings adjustment try a piece of computer paper between the blade and one of the bearings that will give you two thousands of an inch gap very consistent.
Thanks for the tip! Thats a great idea!
Great video , I think every one of those saws had its own personality and flaws to go with it. My particular saw had an eccentric drive wheel, you could see the frame flex with each revolution, also the on/off switch failed after a couple of years. Enjoyed the show, thanks and cheers! Also thanks for the pipe trick and the extended nut underneath, it is deceptively simple
Thanks, Eccentric drive wheel huh? I had a portable bandsaw that did the same, flexing too. Yeah that pipe trick is a good one... not my idea but worth sharing.
I like my guard because it contains the blade when it comes off the wheels. If that happens on a cut it can jump out and get you. Also I just live with it but my upper blade guide inner bearing hits the table if you adjust down to get close to the work piece. Mine is the Taiwan version from the eighties and has been a very good machine. Cuts very true with good blades (bi metal) and it has worn out a set of roller bearing guides but they were easily obtainable with US made quality ones (might not be now, that was fifteen years ago or more). Just changed the gear lube and inspected the gears which are still pristine after more than thirty years of regular use in my home shop. I did add a suggestion from RUclips (a plate on the moveable jaw of the vise with a bolt going through the off side. This enables you to clamp a short work piece with the pivoting jaw.) All in all it has more than repaid its $200 new purchase price. I also bolted mine to a 1 1/2" plywood base with castors for ease of maneuvering and I use a cookie sheet to catch the cut swarf with the cutting fluid which I reuse with a brush on the blade. I have found old transmission fluid works very good for all my metals and really well on aluminum. I cut a lot of stainless and aluminum as well as steel.
Thanks for the comment... cutting fluid would be great... although for me it isn;t worth the mess.
Hi Winky, great tips and I love the pipe clamp idea, thankyou for sharing, its certainly on my to do list. I ran into the same problem as you with lack of adustment on the roller guide block to allow the blade to exit the wheel withot deflection. To get a little bit more movement I machined the threads plus a little bit more off the bolt where it contacts the block.
Cam
Thanks. Yeah that pipe trick is great. It wasn't my idea but certainly worth sharing. It's kind of amazing they keep using the same flawed design on these bandsaws. I'm glad i got it cheap but making a few small changed and millions of bandsaws would work better.
Great video! I don't think you covered the spring handle adjustment. If you did I couldn't find it. What is your rule of thumb on how much tension to use? I use a small block of steel on the outer end and it seems to work better than the spring tension.
I mentioned the tension but didn't go into it much. I just said it needs to be firmly tight. This a hard thing to communicate when there is no measurement to reference,
@@WinkysWorkshop I know what you mean but was wondering what or how it affects the cutting speed. I have tried several settings but ended up using a small cube of steel that fits perfectly on the outer end on the adjustable slide for the rollers. My only issue is that I continually forget to remove it when I put the blade back to the vertical and get a laugh at my flat "Learning" curve!
@@rudyyarbrough5122 I do the same for large pieces.
At 10:58. I experienced that the cover of the wheels hit the bed. Polygripping it solved that issue. A blade cover present in the picture also made trouble, made it impossible to move the left blade guide to the right. Disassembling and bending that part where the holding screws come in play solved that issue.
Time 11:07. We have different versions of the saw.
Watch part 2. I installed a plate to elevate the stock being cut. There is a link under the video. It has a PDF template and as email address. If the template matches your saw and you want to try this I'll be making these spacer plate. I'm waiting for a quote on water jet.... if the quote is too high I won't do this.
That trick with the pipe is pure gold, definitely going to use that one. These little import bandsaws are awesome for those of us with more time than money. I absolutely love mine but it was far from perfect out of the box. Another great video 👍.
I agree on the pipe. I saw it somewhere and felt it was worth sharing. I agree on the bandsaw although it would be nice it the adjustments were fully obtainable without modifying
Fantastic video…. Great tips and great coverage of adjustments! Thank you for your time!
Thanks you very much!
Excellent! thank you for your 'service'! solid vid
you are welcome!
Excellent video, hopefully will help with my tracking issue were the blade is jumping of the wheels.
BTW, anyone know what blade replacement is required? I have no manual as was gifted the saw.
Would I be right in assuming 64 1/2 band blade?
Yes, 64.5
Thanks, Mine takes a 64 1/2" and i use a 14 tpi
I replaced the blade guide bolts with hex head cap screws. Makes adjusting faster and easier vs getting an open end wrench between those bearings.
That would be a big improvement!
Great information, Mark. Much of this will translate to any other horizontal bandsaw. Thanks
Yes, you are exactly right. Most applied to any horizontal bandsaw. Thanks.
I am new to watching your channel and I love it. I have one of these machines that I bought from Enco years ago and my biggest gripe is that the blades keep breaking. I have gone through adjusting the blade guides and the wheel alignment, the blade will track nicely, I will get perfect cut, then out of the blue, the blade breaks. Upon close examination of the blades using a jeweler's eye loupe, I find many cracks in the blade emanating from the roots of the teeth. I am uncertain if the problem is that the blades are garbage or the aggressive 45 degree twist of the bade in the machine is responsible for the poor blade life. If it were not for the short blade life, this machine would be a dream. Mind you, the teeth are not wearing out but the blades are developing stress cracks and breaking. It is very frustrating.
Keep watching the other videos. I'm going on 6 month on one blade right now... its getting dull but no failures anymore. Thanks for watching!
I wonder if you put a washer in between the the actual slide the guide bolts to (that adjusts the guides in out or smaller cuts), if that would move the whole unit in a bit closer yet?
I think that would help in one direction but not the other. They needs to go up and to the left
@@WinkysWorkshop yes, I see what you’re saying now that I looked at mine. That wouldn’t help in the direction that is most in need.
Where was this video a year ago when I got mine lol. Great video and I will be using that pipe trick.
Glad I could help - I like the pipe trick too. It works great!
The blade guide bloc on mine split at one end of the slot. I can still cut with it but I think I need to find another one, or better yet, make an upgrade. I'm thinking opposing setscrews for alignment.
Excellent
So if you didn't have the right size pipe wouldn't at piece of angle iron work also?
I can not imagine what would not!
Out of curiosity, is the bolt that allows the motor to pivet supposed to be tight? Mine is loose and the motor tends to move around a little. I did tighten it, but I noticed your bounces a little too.
I didn't notice this but unless the belt is slipping I don't like to over tighten the belt. I might need to tighten mine a little but if you get things too tight it's harder on the bearings.
Also mine came with a toggle switch with no guards to get in the way.
I wonder how many variations there are of this saw. I wonder if they all use the same casting?
Main guard - can you simply not trim the old one by removing the bits that get in the way ?
Maybe... I do need to improve on this. I have also thought about adding a plate to the table to increase the height. That way I could put the guard back on.
@@WinkysWorkshop Looking around your shop, I think you could build a better one from scratch :)
@@millomweb - Probably... although I don't have much in the way os sheet metal tools. The old guard was fairly good although it needed a latch instead if a screw to hold it closed.
Any plans for the wooden stand
Apparently the original stand was not very good, you are the third person to ask this question. The only reason I didn't use the original was that I wanted it to slide under my table saw outfeed table. I had a drawing somewhere. Let me see if i can find it.
Hey Wink...great video as usual!! I will take to heart all of the tweaks you did to yours and take another look at mine.
Don’t know if anyone’s suggested this to you but you can mount a small table on it for vertical cutting which is super, super handy. I even sit down on it while cutting small pieces. It’s actually pretty comfortable. I’d love to see what you’d come up with for mounting it
Thanks... Yeah, I have the table that came with mine. I was too lazy to put it on when I made the guard. I have another trick for the table that makes it easy to instal. Like in 10 seconds. Coming to a theater near you - Ha
Good video ,,, you have more than enough saw there for your shop . I bought an old one about the same size . I found high carbon blades are a waste for steel since switching to m42 I don't think I'll ever use the spares ..
Thanks! Ha... thats what I use but I didn't know it.
Altogether, very slick. Nice presentation, thankyou.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks!
Hi I have a problem with my bandsaw, looks like a replica of yours. I can't get the roller bearings to be loose on the blade. At 0:31 the blade twists as it goes off the big pulley to the guide bearings and mine does the same but puts pressure on the inside/left bearing. Any ideas?
Watch the video here ruclips.net/video/SzjqDqpWRCA/видео.html
Enjoyed your video thanks, but how did you make and fit the wooden frame?
Thanks, The only reason I made the wood stand was to make it lower to fit under a table. I don't think it has any advantage.
@@WinkysWorkshop The only reasons I asked was that my present machine came without a lower half or wheels at all second hand, a previous one I bought new 20 years ago had awful weak and fragile support system, just sizes of wood used and fixing methods would help please.
@@dvddale111 I made the stand out of white oak that is 1-inch thick just because I had it. You could use a 2x10 and do the same and use plywood for the legs. Screw and glue them in place. Here's a link to a drawing. The drawing does not show the hole size and position in the table so you'll just have to set you saw on the base and make sure you can access the blts needed to adjust the fence etc. I angled the legs out about 1.5 inches at the bottom which is also n0t shown in the drawing. photos.app.goo.gl/WiYGL46FcFSnzGtD9
I saw an image online of a mod to this type of bandsaw where the blade guides with the bearings had screws on either side added so you wouldn't have to rely on the friction from the one hex bolt holding the part in. Unfortunately the site is defunct.
I've been thinking about making some myself... maybe make them available to buy. So far I an idea what I want but not firm design. It' hard to do stuff like that and keep the price low.
@@WinkysWorkshop
So I took my bearing guides apart so I can replace the bearings and upon doing so I noticed that the bearings that pinch the blade do not orbit on the same plane. Is that due to poor manufacturing or is that some genius idea to keep the blade in place. They are only off by a degree or so in one direction or the other. I am really thinking of either machining the existing bearing fixtures to make them better, or just making new ones that have a bit more adjustability. Did you happen to draw up plans already for your fixture idea?
Also, I noticed that the tension wheel wobbles from side to side. I can press my thumbs on either side of the wheel and it wiggles easily, and I cannot find a way to snug that up. Is that normal?
FYI - I own a "Clarke" 4x6, but they're all pretty much the same, I think.
2:34 I've seen some of these saws fitted with a brass wire wheel to remove stuck swarf from the blade. They're usually relatively small wheels mounted just after the cutting point. Looking at the main wheels, to me, it would seem very sensible to mount the wire brush on the same axle - so the wires poking at the blade do so without any relative motion - meaning the wire brush should last for a much longer time. Have a think about fitting something up like that - to see how effective it is and how long it lasts.
I have thought about something to clean the chips from the blade. I occasionally hear then go through the bearings... probably not a good thing.