- Joined
- Jan 1, 2018
- Messages
- 1,175
After years of looking and ramping up my search the past 6 months I finally settled on a horizontal band saw. A Wellsaw 600 7x13" band saw.
I found a few saws in decent shape for a decent price but they were just too big. I would have to add an extension to my shop to fit them in. $500 was at the high end of my price range but I was looking for something big and well built enough to last my lifetime but not so big it was ungainly and always in the way.
I spent a while trying to adjust it for a perfectly square cut. I am close but not spot on yet. The blade has a flat spot in the middle of it so I have a new "Lenox RX+ Vari-Raker Band Saw Blade, Bimetal, Regular Tooth, Raker Set, Positive Rake, 98.5" Length, 5/8" Width, 0.032" Thick, 10-14 TPI" blade on its way. It hasn't shipped yet and I am thinking of canceling the order and ordering the same blade in a 3/4" width instead of the 5/8". The manual says it will take a 3/4" blade with a slight reduction in max cut size. Would a 3/4" blade be better than a 5/8" blade?
I also have some new blade guide bearings on order. The bearings on the left side of the cut look like they have been changed but the bearings on the right side of the cut look quite worn and I can't close the two bearings close enough together to actually pinch the blade.
After I got it home and started cleaning it up a bit I found this broken part on the blade guide:
The part is cast and I don't have any experience welding cast at all. If it were just steel bar I probably mill a slot at that location and make a replacement piece to fit in the slot that I could weld from the back and the front. I am considering just machining a new piece out of bar stock. Here is a little better look at the front and back (The two guides are identical):
Does anyone have any thoughts about repairing the current guide or machining a new one? I can run a passable bead with my Mig but I don't have access to a Tig.
The other part I would like to fix is that there is no automatic shut off at the end of the cut. I have considered how to position the power switch and make a lever to shut the switch off at the bottom of the stroke but that seems kind of hokey and finicky. I think I am just going to put a standard 2 button start / stop contactor to replace the power switch. This will make it very easy to add a second NC stop switch inline with the normal stop switch which I can mount on the frame so it is depressed at the end of the stroke. Thoughts?
The saw is gravity feed. Is there any advantage to converting it to hydraulic dampened feed? The saw is actually really convenient to use in its current configuration. There is a ratchet stop on the blade head so it can be easily stopped at any angle with just a flick of the lever which I have already found very nice for lining up a cut.
I am thinking about disassembling the saw and cleaning it up and repainting it. It really isn't in that bad of shape. I have no clue how to lube the gear box. The manual Wellsaw 600 is absolutely no help! Does anyone know how to get to the gear box gears to grease them? I don't see any zirc fitting or any kind of plug on the gear box.
I found a few saws in decent shape for a decent price but they were just too big. I would have to add an extension to my shop to fit them in. $500 was at the high end of my price range but I was looking for something big and well built enough to last my lifetime but not so big it was ungainly and always in the way.
I spent a while trying to adjust it for a perfectly square cut. I am close but not spot on yet. The blade has a flat spot in the middle of it so I have a new "Lenox RX+ Vari-Raker Band Saw Blade, Bimetal, Regular Tooth, Raker Set, Positive Rake, 98.5" Length, 5/8" Width, 0.032" Thick, 10-14 TPI" blade on its way. It hasn't shipped yet and I am thinking of canceling the order and ordering the same blade in a 3/4" width instead of the 5/8". The manual says it will take a 3/4" blade with a slight reduction in max cut size. Would a 3/4" blade be better than a 5/8" blade?
I also have some new blade guide bearings on order. The bearings on the left side of the cut look like they have been changed but the bearings on the right side of the cut look quite worn and I can't close the two bearings close enough together to actually pinch the blade.
After I got it home and started cleaning it up a bit I found this broken part on the blade guide:
The part is cast and I don't have any experience welding cast at all. If it were just steel bar I probably mill a slot at that location and make a replacement piece to fit in the slot that I could weld from the back and the front. I am considering just machining a new piece out of bar stock. Here is a little better look at the front and back (The two guides are identical):
Does anyone have any thoughts about repairing the current guide or machining a new one? I can run a passable bead with my Mig but I don't have access to a Tig.
The other part I would like to fix is that there is no automatic shut off at the end of the cut. I have considered how to position the power switch and make a lever to shut the switch off at the bottom of the stroke but that seems kind of hokey and finicky. I think I am just going to put a standard 2 button start / stop contactor to replace the power switch. This will make it very easy to add a second NC stop switch inline with the normal stop switch which I can mount on the frame so it is depressed at the end of the stroke. Thoughts?
The saw is gravity feed. Is there any advantage to converting it to hydraulic dampened feed? The saw is actually really convenient to use in its current configuration. There is a ratchet stop on the blade head so it can be easily stopped at any angle with just a flick of the lever which I have already found very nice for lining up a cut.
I am thinking about disassembling the saw and cleaning it up and repainting it. It really isn't in that bad of shape. I have no clue how to lube the gear box. The manual Wellsaw 600 is absolutely no help! Does anyone know how to get to the gear box gears to grease them? I don't see any zirc fitting or any kind of plug on the gear box.
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