HF 4x6 Bandsaw Mod - Quick and dirty small and short stock mod

[jgedde]

You saw it here first on HM!

I'm the proud new owner of the Harbor Freight 4x6 horizontal/vertical bandsaw. This saw is marketed by several companies like Enco, MSC, HF, Grizzly, etc. with various levels of quality and materials.

A big limitation of this saw (and most horizontal bandsaws) is the difficulty in holding short or small stock. This quick and dirty mod takes care of that....

Since the vast majority of cuts I will take are straight cuts, this mod is perfect for me. Because this mod affects the ability to cut miters, I needed it to be easily removable to return the saw to stock form. This mod has been prototyped using aluminum shop scraps, but will be duplicated in steel if and when the prototypes wear out.

The main problem cutting short or small stock is twofold:
1) The movable jaw rotates if the stock is too short to reach past the pivot point.
2) The fixed jaw is too short to hold small stock close to the blade.

The first order of business is to add a way to prevent the movable jaw from rotating. Rather than explain it, here are pictures which should be self explanatory.




What might not be clear from the pictures is that a shallow groove has been milled in the movable jaw to locate the anti-rotatation piece. This groove was marked by holding a 0.050 piece of rod stock vertically in the vise on the left side of the pivot. This was done to cant the movable jaw slightly towards the blade side of the fixed jaw ensuring good clamping pressure on small parts near the blade. In other words, slop would prevent the vise from holding small stuff because the movable jaw can still rotate very slightly. When tightened up on small stuff, the vise ends up square.

The anti-rotator was designed to be a snug fit in the bandsaw slot.

A more elegant version would be a flip-down anti-rotator that's hinged in a low lash fashion.

The second order of business is to extend the fixed jaw...




A V-groove was cut with a router bit in the mill to hold small screws and the like.

Now that all is done, it's time to test it out...

First I tried cutting short stock... This is a 2" diameter length of 303 stainless about 2 1/4" inches long...



Success!

Next, let's cut some small stock. This is a #6 x 1/2" plated wood screw. The goal was to cut it in two.



Success!

All in all, this project took about 1.5 to 2 hours to complete. To cut miters, all I need to do is take out 5 screws, remove the added parts and I'm good to go.

Cheers!
John

 

[ScrapMetal]

Excellent idea and one that I'll be taking advantage of in the near future. In a way it's kind of spooky as I was pondering how to do this same operation on my way home from work tonight. Your timing couldn't have been better. :thumbzup:

Thanks,

-Ron

 

[george wilson]

Years ago,I drilled and tapped the bed of my 4x6" bandsaw with holes to thread milling machine hold down clamps into. I can saw the corner off a 1" cube of metal,no problem. I can clamp anything at any angle by using the holes.or saw very short stock. It really is a worthwhile mod that isn't hard to make.

 

[jgedde]

Years ago,I drilled and tapped the bed of my 4x6" bandsaw with holes to thread milling machine hold down clamps into. I can saw the corner off a 1" cube of metal,no problem. I can clamp anything at any angle by using the holes.or saw very short stock. It really is a worthwhile mod that isn't hard to make.

Good idea! While I like my method for ease of use - no fuss, no tools needed (just close the vise and go) , your mod is ideal for cuts on odd shaped stuff! I'll be taking advantage that idea too!

John

 

[jgedde]

Excellent idea and one that I'll be taking advantage of in the near future. In a way it's kind of spooky as I was pondering how to do this same operation on my way home from work tonight. Your timing couldn't have been better. :thumbzup:

Thanks,

-Ron

I had been thinking of the same! My original thought was to make a thingy to hold a small drill press vise, but free rotation of the vise handle was an issue. After staring at it bit, this solution popped into my head. And, it was free! Just using stuff I had kicking around. "If it's free, it's for me!"

John

 

[Hawkeye]

Nice. Two good ideas for the price of one. I'll be looking at doing both to my 9x12.

Thanks, guys.

 

[4R8]

I haven't got a saw yet but it's on the list.

This is definitely one mod for the memory bank. I think a hinged stop would be fantastic for me as i'd do an equal amount of mitre cuts as I would short stock.

Maybe a small dovetail cut in the casting and a drop in stop?

 

[Old Iron]

I had been thinking of the same! My original thought was to make a thingy to hold a small drill press vise, but free rotation of the vise handle was an issue. After staring at it bit, this solution popped into my head. And, it was free! Just using stuff I had kicking around. "If it's free, it's for me!"

John

I use the small vise on mine for short stuff works great, I also extended both jaws.

Paul

 

[nctoxic]

Good mod John,:thumbzup:

Nicely posted as well:thumbzup:


DaveH

Ditto.
I like the extension on the fixed jaw as much as the anti-rotation tab on the movable one. I never bother with the band saw for such small diameter pieces, but those short ones have caused me much frustration. I'll try your mod, as it looks simpler than the home made clamp I fashioned for that purpose.:banghead:
Tim,,,

 

[jgedde]

Another option which I have been planning to do on my drop saw is to either drill and tap a hole or weld a nut onto the back of the movable jaw, so that you can screw in a length of thread to apply pressure and prevent the jaw from rotating. It also enables it to be used when cutting a miter if needed.

Lest see if my keyboard drawing skills work:

fixed jaw
_________________
| aaaaaaaaaaaaaxxxxxxx a<-- stock to be cut
| aaaaaaaaaaaaaxxxxxxx
-------------------- aaaa<-- movable jaw
|
bolt/threaded rod

I like that idea! In essence a jacking screw. This would replace my anti-rotation device and allow for tool-less change into "miter mode" in combination with a revision to the fixed jaw mod described below.

I don't, however, get a warm and fuzzy feeling about welding a nut on the cast iron jaw - future crack city. Also, I'm not convinced a lock nut would be necessary as when the bolt snugs up against the fixed jaw it might be preloaded enough to not rotate. If this is the case, this bears looking into use of a thumbscrew as anti-pivot. If a locknut is necessary, this could be a knurled lock nut making tools unnecessary.

While your idea requires adjustment each time something new is clamped and mine doesn't, yours offers the great advantage of allowing the saw to be set up for miters in a matter of seconds. In any event, both mod techniques aren't mutually exclusive - one doesn't prevent use of the other.

I also thought up a tool-less fixed jaw extension that basically staddles the fixed jaw and is retained by clips (or not at all - just by clamping pressure). I made a quick sketch, but I can't seem to get it to upload through our proxy server here at work.

I'm wondering if Rev B is in order...

John