Clearance space for band saw

[jsharpphoto]

I'm planning my workbench for my drill press and my (future) bench grinder/polisher and band saw. I've never used a bandsaw that wasn't free standing. How much space should I allow side to side for the other tools?

I do mainly small woodworking projects or one-off motorcycle parts.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I don't know if this will be helpful, but I have a couple of bench grinders, a sander and a band saw all clustered together, and I've had a few years now to see what problems this causes. The band saw has been the one piece of the puzzle that I ended up leaving unattached to the bench -- it's just too hard to predict the size of the pieces I'll be using on it, and it's the nature of the beast -- small-radius cuts -- that the material I'm cutting with it is going to be moving in a lot of different directions. So I've been happy with having it sit in one place for 95% of what I've used it for, but with the ability to move it one way or the other for jobs that need more room.

It looks a little crazy, but it works pretty well for the stuff I do.

 

[zkling]

Jack shows a good setup. What is important is table access. How much clearance beyond that you will need is going to be dependent on how much throat you will use on the bandsaw. Usually they are stuck on a bench corner or even at a diagonal to get the most working space.

 

[Zeke]

I think if you have a lot of bench machines you should use the trailer hitch receiver setup. For the bandsaw you might consider making the mounting plate swivel. I seem to be coming at the bandsaw from different angles depending.

 

[jsharpphoto]

Thanks for the tips guys. My workbench for these tools is on wheels. So, I can have as much access around it as needed, just roll the bench into driveway.

I'm now thinking of creating a uniform mounting plate that all of these tools will bolt to, so I can remove, recon circuit the layout for the project. Say, have two locations to mount the tools, so I can but the buffer next to the grinder, or the band saw next to the grinder, or ditch everything but the band saw to get maximum work space.