My Homemade 18" Band saw

[kbalch]

Hi Matthew,

Great job! Your 18" Bandsaw is the 'Tool of the Week'!

You'll be receiving one of our official HomemadeTools.net T-shirts:

Just let me have (via PM) your details (size, color choice, and mailing address) and we'll get things processed directly.

Congrats!

Ken

[Paul Jones]

Hi Matthew,

Wow! Terrific homemade tool posting with lots of tool making details and great photos. Thank you!

Regards, Paul

[The sawdust maker]

A great and very professional looking bandsaw Matthew.
I too was hoping to build Mathias bandsaw but unfortunately decent timber is scarcer than hens teethhere in Thailand believe me.
Metal for me would be the obvious way to go and your pics look great but I think realistically I would need a little more detail in the way of dimensions.

[mr95gst]

Update
Saw still works. I have been beating on it pretty hard. I just cut up a 16" aluminum alloy car wheel into small chunks for casting material. Unfortunately, I just noticed that the main bearings on the wheels have come loose. The bearing blocks I used were made from MDF wood. The force exerted by the blade tension has caused the bearings to widen the hole they were pressed in. The hole is big enough that the flange of the bearing is inside the hole now. It looks bad but the saw seems to still be working as it should (right now). To prevent a catastrophic failure in the future, I plan to replace the bearing blocks with aluminum. I will bore a block for the bearings and then bolt that block to the MDF wheel. If I get any better at this casting thing, I might try to cast all new wheels out of aluminum. For anyone looking to make their own saw, I would suggest to use at least hardwood for the bearing blocks.

[kbalch]

This thread has been moved to the Must Read subforum. Congrats (and thanks) to mr95gst for making such a valuable contribution!

[kbalch]

Hi Matthew,

Fantastic photo essay! There are more facets to documentation than text alone. Your 18" Bandsaw is our 'Best Documented Build' for June, 2015!

You'll be receiving a $35 online gift card from GiftRocket.

Just send me (via PM) your email address and we'll get things processed directly.

Congrats!

Ken

[Jon]

Congrats from me too Matthew .

"More details" is our most common feedback, and you certainly delivered.

This is a tough award to win, because you need to build a good tool and document it thoroughly. You're in good company too. We've only had this award for two months now; last month's winner was rgsparber with Reducing X and Y Axis Backlash on a RF-30 Mill/Drill.

Looking forward to next month...

[mr95gst]

Thanks guys, That is fantastic. I might have just peed my pants a little bit out of excitement.

[aganser]

That is a great build. Is it true that you did not incorporate an upper blade guide? I don't see one. Thanks much for your posting.

[sawswood]

Great job. I really like homemade tools like this. Keep up the good work.