4x6 bandsaw , missing the base. what to do with it?

[The Cobbler]

I acquired a typical 4x6 import bandsaw cutting portion only. it must have fallen as the base was not with it, and the belt & pulley cover was dented to all get SH** . it doesn't appear to have tons of use , it came from a wood stair building company so I'm guessing it was used for wood .
I took off the belt guard and re assemble it all, it powers up fine , and none of the shafts seem to be bent or anything . I don't have a blade with it, but the driven pulley spins fine and doesn't run out . I am fairly confident it's a totally usable assembly . part of the casting for the pivot point is missing, but I could fab up something to fix that .
Not sure what to do with it, would it make sense to build a base for it, and make it a horizontal, or , an easier solution would be to make it a vertical only.
I already have a small horizontal that suits most of my needs. not sure how often I would use a vertical, but once I had it It would probably be useful.

any ideas welcomed.

 

[marinusdees]

I acquired a typical 4x6 import bandsaw cutting portion only. it must have fallen as the base was not with it, and the belt & pulley cover was dented to all get SH** . it doesn't appear to have tons of use , it came from a wood stair building company so I'm guessing it was used for wood .
I took off the belt guard and re assemble it all, it powers up fine , and none of the shafts seem to be bent or anything . I don't have a blade with it, but the driven pulley spins fine and doesn't run out . I am fairly confident it's a totally usable assembly . part of the casting for the pivot point is missing, but I could fab up something to fix that .
Not sure what to do with it, would it make sense to build a base for it, and make it a horizontal, or , an easier solution would be to make it a vertical only.
I already have a small horizontal that suits most of my needs. not sure how often I would use a vertical, but once I had it It would probably be useful.

any ideas welcomed.

Go to Horrible Fright or Princess Auto and eyeball theirs. If the same , price a replacement part. Go from there.

 

[The Cobbler]

it is a Princess Auto saw, good idea.

 

[fordkid88]

Make it a vertical bandsaw, I keep looking at market place for another just to do the same.a

 

[dutchgray]

Make it a vertical bandsaw, I keep looking at market place for another just to do the same.a

This is what I would do, set it up as a small vertical bandsaw.

 

[The Cobbler]

might not be that hard to fab up a base for it. the toughest part is probably the vice assy. , but maybe something could be retrofitted there too

 

[Fixr]

might not be that hard to fab up a base for it. the toughest part is probably the vice assy. , but maybe something could be retrofitted there too

If I already had a horizontal and were making a dedicated vertical, I'd just put a table on it along with a narrow blade so I could conveniently cut curves. Maybe rig a miter guide for straight cuts.

 

[jar944]

Do you mean the sheet metal stand, or the bottom 1/2 of the saw.

 

[The Cobbler]

the bottom half casting and legs are missing .
the cast base is the concern

Do you mean the sheet metal stand, or the bottom 1/2 of the saw.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Mount it to the wall and use it like a chop saw. Behind a bench vise would be a good location.

 

[2oolhound]

My 4 x 6 is almost always in the vertical position. I have a slightly larger table screwed to the roller guide assembly. You don't need a vise for vertical just hand held.

I had considered doing what old man roger suggested but ran out of space for that.

 

[Monza Harry]

Castings are great for higher production cases, but for one off and limited production many a machine and products are built from weldments, is this not possible? My saw an older "WF Wells" the base is and vise is almost entirely weldments. The vise jaws are castings but could be made from some stout angle iron or a beefy weldment. Take a look around the net, and see what you can find. Alternatively I can take some pictures that may help. Harry

 

[The Cobbler]

^^ i agree on the above post. and that's certainly an option . I guess that's what I was implying on this post , tho it wasn;t really clear I guess.

might not be that hard to fab up a base for it. the toughest part is probably the vice assy. , but maybe something could be retrofitted there too

 

[Monza Harry]

@The Cobbler no you were clear, I'm just pointing out that there are commercial saws with fabbed bases and vises, mine has 2 cast "jaws" but those could be sub'd with some 3/8-1/2" angle iron (or plate and some mig wire). We have seen your creativity you will beat this! If the "www" doesn't help I/we will. My bases is mostly angle iron, I'll take some pics in a week or so when I'm back near my saw if you want. My saw also uses a buttress thread for easy/quick adjust! Harry

 

[2oolhound]

Some of the times I've most appreciated my 4x6 is for cutting odd ball thick steel that doesn't fit in the vise. Some times it's odd shaped or too small to clamp in the vise. Here's a photo of one of these times. Note the main vise "static" jaw is set at 90' and the dynamic jaw is canted sideways to squeeze the work forward against some bolts threaded into the base. (something the bases for these have all ready there). Main thing is the "C" clamp holding the work from the outside of the blade.

If you make a base it's worth it to use thick enough steel that can be threaded. There are threaded stops to swivel the static jaws to 45' and 90'.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Holy chunkosteel.

 

[NUTTSGT]

From what most say, parts are interchangeable between all the 4x6 saws. I have an Enco and just ordered parts off Grizzly for it.

Might want to visit their site and download the parts list and manual while it's still available.

 

[oldtractors]

 

[tarmy]

This is what I made. Storage underneath for blades and various other metal related tools.