I've had my Enco bandsaw for about 2 years - bought it at an estate sale. It was in great shape and maintained well, but like the others that likely come from the same factory and are copies of the same design it's got some drawbacks.
Several of the bandsaw mods I’ve made have been previously mentioned on this forum and others I’ve seen on youtube videos or other forums. I’ve made a few that I believe are original though. Still on the list is modifying the saw with another means of adjusting the feed rate - likely with a hydraulic cylinder mod.
Moveable base with casters. The fit was so tight from the inside seam welds of the base that I had to loosen two legs of the bandsaw to flex the legs into the stand.
Small table for vertical use of the saw. This one is sized/configured so that it does not interfere with the horizontal use of the saw.
Added vise face extensions using scrap aluminum bar and countersunk the mounting hardware.
Added a 90° stop for repeatability.
I replaced the flimsy plastic handwheel with a metal one as well as extended the shaft a few inches to give more clearance for my hand to avoid interference of the blade tension knob on the upper chassis. I actually bought the handwheel (and another of the same size) off the classifieds here on Garage Journal.
This is one of the two mods that I don't believe I've seen elsewhere. I slightly widened and then smoothed/filed/ground the fixed vise arc for the through bolt hardware to follow. I also modified a T-slot nut by grinding the edges and use it for the underside hardware. The arc was not very concentric, so part of the widening process I scribed lines to follow as a pattern – otherwise the T-slot nut would grab as the vice face was pivoted. To set a non-90° angle, I loosen the top bolt and slide the vise as needed. The pivot hardware bolt was also replaced with a larger size and the base hole was also redrilled to remove all of the extra movement to keep the pivot point stable. There is a collar around that bolt (not shown) to help stability.
I'm pretty certain I've never seen this mod mentioned elsewhere - it's of my own design and I think increases the ergonomics of adjusting the movable vise immensely. To help support the threaded rod that normally sways a lot and floats at the end while being rotated to move the vise, I welded a bracket with a smooth cylindrical pipe scrap which fits fairly snug around the rod. This bracket is mounted to the back side of the base casting and makes a huge improvement when cranking the handle for the movable jaw. Just make sure to place this bracket/cylinder near the very end of the rod or you will lose the ability to clamping narrow stock for cutting.
Several of the bandsaw mods I’ve made have been previously mentioned on this forum and others I’ve seen on youtube videos or other forums. I’ve made a few that I believe are original though. Still on the list is modifying the saw with another means of adjusting the feed rate - likely with a hydraulic cylinder mod.
Moveable base with casters. The fit was so tight from the inside seam welds of the base that I had to loosen two legs of the bandsaw to flex the legs into the stand.
Small table for vertical use of the saw. This one is sized/configured so that it does not interfere with the horizontal use of the saw.
Added vise face extensions using scrap aluminum bar and countersunk the mounting hardware.
Added a 90° stop for repeatability.
I replaced the flimsy plastic handwheel with a metal one as well as extended the shaft a few inches to give more clearance for my hand to avoid interference of the blade tension knob on the upper chassis. I actually bought the handwheel (and another of the same size) off the classifieds here on Garage Journal.
This is one of the two mods that I don't believe I've seen elsewhere. I slightly widened and then smoothed/filed/ground the fixed vise arc for the through bolt hardware to follow. I also modified a T-slot nut by grinding the edges and use it for the underside hardware. The arc was not very concentric, so part of the widening process I scribed lines to follow as a pattern – otherwise the T-slot nut would grab as the vice face was pivoted. To set a non-90° angle, I loosen the top bolt and slide the vise as needed. The pivot hardware bolt was also replaced with a larger size and the base hole was also redrilled to remove all of the extra movement to keep the pivot point stable. There is a collar around that bolt (not shown) to help stability.
I'm pretty certain I've never seen this mod mentioned elsewhere - it's of my own design and I think increases the ergonomics of adjusting the movable vise immensely. To help support the threaded rod that normally sways a lot and floats at the end while being rotated to move the vise, I welded a bracket with a smooth cylindrical pipe scrap which fits fairly snug around the rod. This bracket is mounted to the back side of the base casting and makes a huge improvement when cranking the handle for the movable jaw. Just make sure to place this bracket/cylinder near the very end of the rod or you will lose the ability to clamping narrow stock for cutting.
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