HF portable band saw stand

[LouieD]

So I picked up a HF portable band saw to turn it into a dedicated bench top saw. I found a cool stand on another forum and decided to give it a go.

I followed the basic build of this one, (thanks Ker-Pow) but I added a couple of little tweaks. I sleeved a couple of holes to bolt the frame to a bench and added a small LED work light. The light uses a magnetic base and since I didn't want two power cords, I wired everything together in a small project box from Radio Shack. I think it came out all right.

Bare stand

The saw is bolted at handle and also underneath the motor. You can see the head of the 10mm bolt... I drilled and tapped the tool's housing and it feels solid. The motor rests on a small rubber pad (visible in 1st pic) to help with vibrations and chafing. I still need one more square cap for the lower mount (grabbed the wrong size... doh!)

Back/side view. Here is the LED work light and the junction box. The light has a switch in the magnetic base. The magnet is quite strong so I don't anticipate any movement while cutting.

The table is a piece of .250 scrap aluminum I had laying around. I drilled and tapped the HF guide and bolted the larger table to the factory guide using three 1/4-20 machine screws countersunk into the table.

LED work light in action

The last steps are to secure the power cord to the frame and change out the blade for a metal cutting one.

Thanks for looking.

 

[Ross/Kzoo]

I've been using mine quite a bit as a fixed band saw however I just lay mine on it's side on top of the work table. Where did you come across that stand? I also like your enlarged "table".

 

[pieceofwork]

that looks really nice. i'm picking up a 1 year old milwaukee portaband next week from a local craiglist seller.

 

[LouieD]

I've been using mine quite a bit as a fixed band saw however I just lay mine on it's side on top of the work table. Where did you come across that stand? I also like your enlarged "table".

The stand I found on http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=6&f=49&t=360373 Thanks on the table. This was a quick set up. In the future I plan to do something a bit more precise with the ability to run a guide.

that looks really nice. i'm picking up a 1 year old milwaukee portaband next week from a local craiglist seller.

Thanks.

 

[Trey T]

http://www.swagoffroad.com/SWAG-V30-Portaband-Table_p_55.html

alternative if you don't want to build/fab

 

[LouieD]

http://www.swagoffroad.com/SWAG-V30-Portaband-Table_p_55.html

alternative if you don't want to build/fab

Yeah but that's for the Milwaukee or DeWalt.... not for the HF product. Besides the build/fab is half the fun specially when I spent less than $30 including the light.

 

[upndown]

Nice, handy little set up!

 

[Aquaticbob]

This is pretty damn cool in my opinion. Might be looking to create one of these in the next couple months. Does the switch on the back also turn the saw on? or does the trigger still do that?

 

[LouieD]

Nice, handy little set up!

Thanks. I think it will provide many a straight cut.

This is pretty damn cool in my opinion. Might be looking to create one of these in the next couple months. Does the switch on the back also turn the saw on? or does the trigger still do that?

Thanks. The switch on the back is just for the work light. The saw is still operated via the switch on the handle. The black bit on the factory switch regulates blade speed and the yellow push button locks switch it place, so it's easy to set speed and operate. You don't have to hold switch to run saw.
I've seen some set ups where the factory switch is zip-tied in the on position and a foot switch is run instead, but in my trial runs I don't see that as a necessity.

 

[Hammer1963]

That is a really clean setup and has has me pondering this project over this long weekend.

 

[StillTooManyHobbies]

Very nicely done and a good job! You'll get a lot of use out of that setup.

 

[Falcon67]

Even though this is nearly 3 YEARS OLD, it's still amazing....that someone bought something at Radio Shack.