Darbikrash
New member
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2012
- Messages
- 3
I’ve always liked the Swag Offroad Bandsaw table made specifically for the corded Milwaukee portable Bandsaw, and when I got my M18 Fuel cordless Bandsaw last week, I thought I’d see if it accommodates the Swag table.
http://www.swagoffroad.com/SWAG-V40-Portaband-Table_p_63.html
Swag makes good quality, US built metal working tools, and they are fairly priced. The Bandsaw table is $110.
The website says specifically that it does not work with the M18 Fuel saw, but I called them and they said with some minor mods it should work, so I bought one to try it.
It does work, and I thought I would post some pictures and description of what I did to make it fit. The mods are simple, and take about 15-20 minutes.
Here is the finished product:
Before I get started, there is one negative about mounting a cordless Bandsaw on a table or stand, and that is the Milwaukee trigger does not lock on (it locks off) and must be held down to operate the saw. With a table saw you really want two hands on the workpiece, so this is a dilemma. You can buy a footswitch for the corded saw- no such luck for the cordless. I ended up using a zip tie on the trigger, and snapping the battery in and out to operate the power on/off.
Some may not like this, but that’s the only negative.
Here is the saw new out of the box:
And here is the SWAG table after assembly:
The table is designed to allow the saw to snap in and out very easily with no tools. It uses a Shurlock style plastic knob to hold the saw into the table.
The main docking mechanism for the table to the saw is through a air vent in the throat of the saw. The table has a feature that slides into this vent, and registers the saw in place.
Here is a view of the air vent that docks to the table- it is the rectangular slot on the vertical surface of the saw, just above the black Phillips screw.
Here is another view of the slot, you can see some blue in there, it is clay used to determine the areas that hit.
And here is the feature on the table that keys into the air vent:
So here are the modifications that are necessary to make the saw fit:
1.) Grind the sharp tip and the indexing tab of the saw docking key in the above photo to allow the saw to sit square to the table.
2.) Remove the two spacer washers that hold the metal tang off the underside of the table in the above photo.
3.) Shorten the attachment screws slightly to keep the surface of the table flush.
Total time is about 15-20 minutes with a die grinder for the table key, Allen wrench to remove the washers, and a belt sander to trim the fastener lengths for flush fit.
This photo shows a pointer next to the tip that must be ground down, about 3/16” is removed with a die grinder. The raised portion to the right will also be ground down about 1/8”:
This photo shows the grinding complete, note the point to the left has been softened, and the notch has been added to the raised tab in the center. Also, you can see in this view the spacer washers that hold the key off the table surface, these are removed and discarded.
The mods are now basically done. The bright areas were dressed with the die grinder, the black areas were not touched. Referring now to the photo below, the knurled Shurlock thread was too long, about ¼" needs to come off the length- you can see the untrimmed thread protruding up to the left of the blade. The fasteners on the upper right also need to be trimmed- but only 1/16” or so.
Here is the Shurlock knob before trimming the thread:
All trimmed- note how nicely the table indexes to the air vent slot in the saw,with everything flush and square:
Underside showing the knob snugged down and ready for sawing:
I got the miter option, and use this to hold the stock square to the blade. It went through this 2” x 3/16” CRS angle in about 20 seconds.
All in all, I’m pretty pleased with it.
http://www.swagoffroad.com/SWAG-V40-Portaband-Table_p_63.html
Swag makes good quality, US built metal working tools, and they are fairly priced. The Bandsaw table is $110.
The website says specifically that it does not work with the M18 Fuel saw, but I called them and they said with some minor mods it should work, so I bought one to try it.
It does work, and I thought I would post some pictures and description of what I did to make it fit. The mods are simple, and take about 15-20 minutes.
Here is the finished product:
Before I get started, there is one negative about mounting a cordless Bandsaw on a table or stand, and that is the Milwaukee trigger does not lock on (it locks off) and must be held down to operate the saw. With a table saw you really want two hands on the workpiece, so this is a dilemma. You can buy a footswitch for the corded saw- no such luck for the cordless. I ended up using a zip tie on the trigger, and snapping the battery in and out to operate the power on/off.
Some may not like this, but that’s the only negative.
Here is the saw new out of the box:
And here is the SWAG table after assembly:
The table is designed to allow the saw to snap in and out very easily with no tools. It uses a Shurlock style plastic knob to hold the saw into the table.
The main docking mechanism for the table to the saw is through a air vent in the throat of the saw. The table has a feature that slides into this vent, and registers the saw in place.
Here is a view of the air vent that docks to the table- it is the rectangular slot on the vertical surface of the saw, just above the black Phillips screw.
Here is another view of the slot, you can see some blue in there, it is clay used to determine the areas that hit.
And here is the feature on the table that keys into the air vent:
So here are the modifications that are necessary to make the saw fit:
1.) Grind the sharp tip and the indexing tab of the saw docking key in the above photo to allow the saw to sit square to the table.
2.) Remove the two spacer washers that hold the metal tang off the underside of the table in the above photo.
3.) Shorten the attachment screws slightly to keep the surface of the table flush.
Total time is about 15-20 minutes with a die grinder for the table key, Allen wrench to remove the washers, and a belt sander to trim the fastener lengths for flush fit.
This photo shows a pointer next to the tip that must be ground down, about 3/16” is removed with a die grinder. The raised portion to the right will also be ground down about 1/8”:
This photo shows the grinding complete, note the point to the left has been softened, and the notch has been added to the raised tab in the center. Also, you can see in this view the spacer washers that hold the key off the table surface, these are removed and discarded.
The mods are now basically done. The bright areas were dressed with the die grinder, the black areas were not touched. Referring now to the photo below, the knurled Shurlock thread was too long, about ¼" needs to come off the length- you can see the untrimmed thread protruding up to the left of the blade. The fasteners on the upper right also need to be trimmed- but only 1/16” or so.
Here is the Shurlock knob before trimming the thread:
All trimmed- note how nicely the table indexes to the air vent slot in the saw,with everything flush and square:
Underside showing the knob snugged down and ready for sawing:
I got the miter option, and use this to hold the stock square to the blade. It went through this 2” x 3/16” CRS angle in about 20 seconds.
All in all, I’m pretty pleased with it.
