Bandsaw space saver

[Steved53]

Hi all

I haven't posted for a while having just moved house with all the work that entails ( Boarding loft, re-roofing garage, building shed and carport, dog-escape proofing the garden etc etc.)

Unfortunately I now only have an 8ft x 16ft garage so space is at a premium. My bandsaw was eating up a lot of floorspace so I decided to modify it to fit on top a tool storage filing cabinet. I tried various things and found that the best way was to extend the pivot pin to fit a fabricated frame that allowed the top frame and vice bed to pivot about a common axis.

I did it this way because I use it a lot in the vertical position for cutting profiles. Hopefully the pictures will show what I mean.


Base frame ( Design No 4 The first 3 didn't work )



Horizontal mode



Vertical mode



Folded away

[Frank S]

An excellent solution especially for a smaller band saw. I find that these are often mounted on a thin spindly base which is also too low for comfortable use. Your saw now is at a higher work level Maybe too high for cutting longer stuff but it tucks out of the way nicely.

[Steved53]

An excellent solution especially for a smaller band saw. I find that these are often mounted on a thin spindly base which is also too low for comfortable use. Your saw now is at a higher work level Maybe too high for cutting longer stuff but it tucks out of the way nicely.

Thanks Frank

As I said, I use it most as a vertical bandsaw ( I even had a small saddle fitted in the vice and I straddled the bed ) But I have placed it far enough forward so a bar will still fit in the vice.

I first tried to fit under a bench and folding out but various things on the way prevented it being usable in both modes. That's the trouble with designing and building "on the fly". I've kept some of the failures that might work for something else.

I'm already planning to make fold out bench grinder and vice to fit under the mobile work bench. Making it all movable means i can get it out of the way at need.

Steve

[Frank S]

Steve if you search through my tool build archive you will find 1 solution that I have to come up with for my band saw I mounted in on a pivot at a door column so I could use it inside my shop trailer or swing it out and use it outside I also use mine in the vertical position occasionally
Homemade Swing Away Bandsaw Mount - HomemadeTools.net
A crude but functional attachment
Homemade Vertical Saw Attachment - HomemadeTools.net

[Steved53]

Both very useful.... As i said I tried a swing out from my mobile bench but it just didn't work out.

The bench has wheels attached to a subframe.. I pull a big lever and the subframe moves down lifting the bench for moving. Release the lever and it crashes back down making it firm. Trouble is, the more I attach to the bench the harder it is to move the lever for lifting. I'm already using a bit of tube on the handle. Perhaps some springs to preload the lever might help.

[JRock]

Brilliant! Mine didn't come with a base, so I have it precariously hanging off a 2' workbench. It's a real hassle to use it vertically, because then I have to pull it out even further to get the clearance for the motor. That stand is great because it puts all the weight on the backend, where I need it to be.
Thanks for posting this!

[Steved53]

Thanks JRock

It did take me a few tries to get it right. The common pivot seems to be the main thing. Though now I think I should have fitted bearings to the frame, thus avoiding wear on the castings.

[bigtrev8xl]

I like your thinking, I'm confined to a 16' x 10' shed, plus I keep my Harley in it to
I use 2 bench grinders, and thinking of stacking one on top of the other, just to save space.
Cheers

[JRock]

I wouldn't worry too much about the castings.
It's good self lubricating cast Iron.
It's built and reinforced to pivot on those points.
The only part that might use some reinforcing is the ears on the base.
If you're worried, you might braze or tap and screw some extra material around them?
Looks fine though.

[Steved53]

Thanks BigTrev

My bikes live under cover in the car port, but I'm making space so I can at least get one in the garage to work on it near to save moving welders and grinders etc.