Enco / RF-128 4x6 Bandsaw Mods

[darkzero]

When I got my first mini lathe I quickly learned that cutting bar stock with the strong arm method was not going to last long. I was going to pick a HF bandsaw until my buddy found me a used bandsaw locally an Enco 4x6 which is a RF-128, made in Tawain. It was practically never used, just sat in the back of some guys garage, still had the stock blade & was never adjusted.


Here it is when I picked it up 2 years ago. Was missing the saw table to be used vertically & the depth stop attachment.





Blade cover was damaged but a replacement from Enco was only $15.



Only thing I've done to it in the past couple of years was adjust blade alignment, change the oil, ditched the stock blade, installed a Fenner Power Twist belt on it, & just use the hell out of it.



For reference, my favorite blades to use are (they last a long time if used properly):

Titanium 6Al4V (which I cut the most): Lennox p/n 12897D2B51638, 6-10 variable tooth bi-metal, 0.025"
MSC p/n 82909524. Also available at Amazon. $25-$35.

General purpose: Irwin p/n 88508, 10-14 variable tooth bi-metal, 0.025" thickness.
Always on sale at Enco for $14.99, p/n 240-4930.


Here's what I use on the blade & in the gearbox.




Although I've been wanting a RF-712N or RF-712G clone from MSC for quite some time now, this little guy has been serving me well & has never let me down yet so I'll continue to use it for now until I really need the larger capacity.


Please feel free to share your 4x6 mods & ideas here if you'd like. Been thinking about a hydraulic downfeed mod too but I haven't looked into it much.

 

[darkzero]

I've just been throwing a carboard box under it to catch chips. I've been meaning to finish my pull out tray project for it & now that I have a mill I decided to make better brackets for it than my original idea.


I started out with a couple pieces of alum bar stock & an alum baking pan from Walmart.



Milled a slot on each bar to serve as the tray slide.







Tapped some holes for the mounting brackets.





Tapped some holes on the body & mounted them in place.





Tray simply slides into place & easily removed for clean up.






I'm pretty happy with it & it works pretty well for being so simple. I'll probably mill the ends of the slides at angle later. Thanks for looking.

 

[GaryK]

Great job on the chip tray. My next purchase is a 4x6 saw.

 

[darkzero]

Thanks Gary! You would definitely put it to good use. It's one of those tools that I can't live without.

 

[PurpLev]

heh, I did almost the exact same thing with a baking sheet although I was lazy and just put the sheet on the shelf. I like the idea of the mount for it as it frees up the shelf for better uses. that's a nice saw, and I wish I hadn't waited so long before getting it (I have the HF version which looks identical to yours by the way in every way - mobile base, guide knobs and all).

 

[darkzero]

I have the HF version which looks identical to yours by the way in every way - mobile base, guide knobs and all.

I have heard the older green version of the HF were built much better than the red ones. I do remember seeing one on CL & it does look identical to mine.

I guess I will definitely be keeping mine for a while.....


I added a knob to the tray to make it easier to pull out.



I've seen many others add extensions or make new jaws for theirs. I thought about that too but figured adding extensions to the existing jaws would reduce capacity a bit. There were a few times where I actually needed more capacity & had to remove the jaws to get the job done.

So I just relocated the "fixed" jaw. Drilled & tapped new holes which gave me about 1/2" more capacity & brought the jaws closer to the blade. No mod needed to the dynamic jaw, just slide it over.

Before:



After:



Only downside is that I would have to move the fixed back to the original location if I need to cut an angle which I never had to do yet but that's no big deal. So now I can fit 4.5" between the jaws before the dynamic jaw hits the roller guide & if I adjust the dynamic jaw to clear the guide I can now fit 6.5" between the jaws. I could have squeezed a tad bit more out if it but I'm ok with it now. If I make new jaws I could get 8" between the jaws but I don't need to push it, 6" is the widest I've had to cut so far, plus some other things will have to be modded to get 8" between the jaws.

 

[darkzero]

Finally decided to do something about the "knuckle buster". I quickly learned not to use the handle intended for moving the bandsaw around. Holes in the sheetmetal were so bent out of shape that the handle would always slip & I'd get cut or bruised on the frame.


I hammered the holes flat again but I was still scared to use it. It's just held in with cotter pins.



Very simple to fix this. Got some shaft collars from Mcmaster.



Now the handle is nice & solid, can't believe I waited so long to do something about it.

 

[sanddan]

I found that replacing the sheetmetal stand with a welded one that is much stiffer has improved the cut quality.

 

[xman_charl]

Here is top view, my 4x6..




Charl

 

[darkzero]

Nice mods, keep em coming! I really need to learn how to properly weld & get a welder!

Any hydraulic down feed mods here?