Quick and Easy Vertical Bandsaw - My Version

TomS

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May 20, 2013
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I have a need to cut out a couple of dozen "L" shaped pieces out of 1/2" aluminum plate. My horizontal saw isn't big enough and a hacksaw was not in the cards. After some thought I decided to see what I could do with my horizontal Port-a-Band saw to make it into a vertical saw. Here's a few pictures of my conversion.

I made a simple frame from rectangular and square tubing to mount the saw bracket.
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To attach the bracket I made a couple of aluminum V-blocks to clamp the bracket cross shaft to the tubing frame.
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I didn't have enough square tubing on hand to make the frame higher so I clamped it to my work bench. I have a 15" tall HF mechanics stool that makes it very comfortable when using the saw.
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I wired in a toggle switch. Makes it a lot easier to turn the saw on and off.
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This is a view of the turnbuckle arrangement to level the table and get the blade vertical. As you can see the setup is temporary. Now that I have tested it out I plan on making a stand to get the table height so I can stand up when cutting.
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This worked out great. I cut out four of the "L" shaped pieces in a matter of a few minutes.

Thanks for looking.

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Hacksaw not in the cards .... LOL :)
Hacksawing aluminum is nasty business. First You have the aluminum dust everywhere and then You start to sweat ....
 
Hacksaw not in the cards .... LOL :)
Hacksawing aluminum is nasty business. First You have the aluminum dust everywhere and then You start to sweat ....

Sweating is not in the cards either! LOL
 
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