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Saws and Stiffeners

B

BigD

Well Known Member
A few weeks back I brought home a Craftsman 10" bandsaw after reading relatively good reviews of price vs performance. I've got to say that other than separating parts or doing light trimming the saw is not that good - not the cleanest cuts and it bogs down easily. I put a 14tpi blade on for metal, and used the included blade trying to cut 3/4 inch oak for the trim tab blocks and that took a very long time.

On the other hand, I put a 96 tooth non-ferrous capable blade on the 12" sliding compound miter and that thing cuts great, it's just that it's only good for bigger or longer stuff - too hard to try to come up with a method to hold down smaller pieces near the blade. I'm pretty sure i read that recommendation here, so thanks for that. As part of my continuing education I also learned that a hinge pin should not be considered non-ferrous metal...and will probably replace the blade with one that still has all of its teeth.

Lastly, I was getting ready to put the top skins on the tail cone when I realized I had cut my last j-channel too short - I read 60 instead of 68 inches. Being conscientious, I ordered a replacement and waited to continue til it arrived. After measuring twice and marking once, I managed to destroy that channel (or at least make it not usable for a 68" reach). So now I think I'm going to do what I could have done last week, overlap two pieces of j-channel to reach the distance with enough overlap to get 6-8 rivets in both. I'm thinking it's just a stiffener, so why not?

==dave==
41373
Wing Kit ordered
 
I bought a table top band saw from Grizzly that was terrible and then bought a Ryobi from Home Depot that is a great little saw for an inexpensive table top saw.
 
Bandsaw

I too was worried that I'd have to spend a lot on a good bandsaw. However, I bought a cheapy (Skil Brand) and it has done pretty well for most everything. There were a few pieces of thick aluminum that I had to go slow and stop periodically due to heat buildup. Also, the blade choice (and keeping it clean) are important. If I had it to do over again, I would have looked a little harder for a used "good" one on Craigslist, in an attempt to find a saw that someone owned "just to own." However, a good saw will take up valuable space. I have been trudging along with my cheapy, which has no problems with stiffeners, angles or separating bits. I can always use a friend's big saw for any thick stock that needs cutting, or for that matter, use a hand hacksaw and then finish it with a wheel of belt sander.
 
The wing box stiffeners are overlapped 3 rivets IIRC so I see no reason not to join the stiffeners in the tailcone to save you doing it all again.

I found that a band saw on very thin aluminium did not work well - the J-stiffenes are easy to cut with a hacksaw.
 
I have a Delta 14" bandsaw with a 14 TPI blade. I works great for certain things. I use my chopsaw to cut angle and that works pretty well too. The cut isn't perfectly smooth so I have to sand the ends, but its pretty good. It would be very difficult to make those types of cuts on the bandsaw.

I just used my snips to separate the stiffeners. That was quick with a little follow up on the sander to get rid of any of the remainder of the tabs.

I bought both a 1" belt sander and a 10" disc sander from Harbor Freight. The $30-40 that I spent on the 1" sander was the best $ that I have spent so far. The disc sander is OK, but it was more expensive and maybe a little to big for most of the jobs that I have had thus far.
 
My bandsaw uses a 6.5 tpi blade. While the bandsaw probably has more than enough power, with this blade it slices through aluminum much faster than I've ever seen before with other blades.

The blade is a wood blade from Granger.

Dave
 
I tried the included 6 tpi blade and it didn't perform any better on aluminum or wood. Also, tried cutting some 3/4 x 1/8 steel for arms for a flange straightening tool using the 14 tpi blade and the saw bogged down even at the slowest feed rate I could manage. Maybe there are better blades out there than the ones Craftsman makes - that should be the next thing I try, but so far this saw seems like a pretty limited tool.

==dave==
 
I got the cheap 10" Ryobi band saw at HD. It works fine for the build. It is a little jumpy, but that is probably my lack of balancing and setting up the blade properly. A better saw would be nice, but not necessary - especially if you have a table top belt sander and grinder! I used a fine wood blade like was said in an earlier post. The metal blade I tried didn't work very well. The set on the teeth is not enough for aluminum.
 
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Mitre saw and band saw.

The 10" Ryobi miter saw with a carbide blade is
Awesome for cutting angle, especially the larger angle.
The Ryobi bench top band saw works also well. Making sure
The bearings that guide the blade are adjusted to allow aprox a peice
Of paper clearance. I use a metal blade and very happy with it.
I keep it lubed with a blade lube wax I picked up at the hardware store.
Makita belt sander is also great. It's designed to be put 90deg to a flat surface
And works well instead of a tabel type.
 
Tune it up.

I just got through bandsawing 4 Adirondack chair pieces over a two day period and had to "tune up" the saw several times to keep it from wandering.

Be sure that the upper and lower guide blocks barely touch the blade on both sides and only come to the gullet and not the teeth, so that the blade stays guided by the blocks. (The 'gullet' is the bottom of the opening between teeth).

You should also have enough tension on the blade so that when you try and pick it, like a guitar string, you hear a slight 'ping'.

BTW, mine's a 15 year old Delta 14".

Best,
 
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