bandsaw table

[whm_fab]

Hi Folks,
Ive been racking my brain back and forth with different ideas on the best way to build a decent, acurate and stable bandsaw table, so i can take off the flimsey sheet metal piece of crap it came with and throw it as far away as possible.

Firstly, because id be a welder/fabricator more than a machinist, i thought id ask here for people who are much better experienced in this field than me in getting this to work as acurately and a smoothly as possible.

So has anyone any tips on this?

My initial criteria is a plate about 300mm sqaure ( i guess about 12-15mm thick?!) for the table, with a track either machined into it (i dont have a mill, so whats the best method for me to do this, get it machined out, or get a T-Track inserted?)

Then a sliding plate with T-nuts on the underside for it to slide along the track into the blade. I will then make up my own jigs and brackets etc for the applications i need.

Thanks for any help, im basically looking for tips on material thickness, track design etc.

here are some pics of roughly what im looking to do!
or even better still is there anywhere i can buy one?

thanks!

 

[Wendelspanswick]

You could try having a word with Axminster Power Tools. When they ship machinery in occasionally they get a machine damaged beyond repair in transit.
I bought a large 16" SCM planer thicknesser at auction years ago that was missing one of the guards and Axminster dug a suitable one out of their scrap pile for me for a few quid.

 

[whm_fab]

Thanks il check it out, the material etc is not a problem, it's getting the slot machined in it as accurately as possible

 

[scott0031]

It would be a great help if you made it clear what saw you want to make this table for. Is it one of these horizontal saws stuck up vertically with a bit of horrible pressed plate as a table?..

If not then please link to the saw or post some images of the business end. I can advise you a lot better with that info.



Kind regards,


Scott

 

[whm_fab]

yes exactly Scott sorry i should have said, its a clarke 4x6 with the crappy pressed table, since this i have a found a guy that will machine the slot for me no problem, so im just wondering now whats the best way to set up the sliding table - do i insert T-channel into the plate, or just use milling machine T nuts on the underside etc.

Basically il have the main table with the machined slot, and then il have various jigs and setups sliding along the slot

thanks!