Bandsaw Riser

[tgreen]

What Are Some Thoughts Of Shopsmith Making A Riser Block For The Band Saw So You Can Resaw Up To 12"? Is There Another Manufacturer That Makes A Riser For The Shopsmith Bandsaw?

[Ed in Tampa]

Tgreen
I don't think it will ever happen. If you look at the Bandsaws that you can install riser blocks on you will see the actual frame of the saw is bolted together just above the lower wheel assembly. Usually four bolt going through horizonatl plates welded to the top and bottom frame sections.

Now look at the SS bandsaw. It is one piece frame. There is no way to add a riser unless you cut the frame in half and fabricate some kind of connection system where you can bolt them together.

The SS bandsaw is pretty much limited to what you got.
Ed

[deanthom]

I have to agree with Ed, T. Sadly, that was one of the considerations that I had to face when I bought the machine 20 years ago.

Further, if you WERE able to install a riser kit, you'd then be sad that you had such a narrow width. Heck, I'd be WHINING at that point. :(

What I did figure out, though, was that for a couple of bucks, or a six-pack in some cases, I could get someone or a sawmill to whack my larger pieces of stock down to a useful size for me. The number of times that I've had to do that would definitely NOT have paid for the difference of the purchase of a large-enough bandsaw. And if you buy lots of stuff from the right store who has one of those larger saws, they might be willing to do a "demo" (wink wink, nudge nudge) of a larger saw for you.

But, for me? Maybe SOME day... :)

[charlese]

Bandsaw riser for SS? No thank you! Yes, I've thought about; it would be nice to have the capacity to re-saw 8" boards, but WHY? Only because I don't have that ability now.

Finally, I realized it was more fun to limit my re-sawing to less than 6" and then glue the thinner boards together, if needed. Actually, the part of woodworking I love the most is taking large boards, cutting them into smaller pieces (mostly to select grain) and then putting them back together into larger, more attractive pieces.

If there is a special grain in a wider board that I want to save for 1/4" panels- I rip it in two or more pieces, less than 6", re-saw, if needed, then glue them back together. If careful to match grain, the original pattern will be restored.

Charlese:)

[ericolson]

I'm fortunate in that I stumbled across my big 30" bandsaw. It was one of those "I know this guy..." deals when I sold another machine to a fella that lives a couple of miles away and is a toy maker. Anyway, I picked it up for $200 and it was quite the adventure loading into my truck and unloading it into the shop. It was made by the Parks Woodworking Machine Company in around 1890 and was originally run off of a lineshaft in a wagon wheel shop. It now runs off of a 2HP motor and twin V belts which are wrapped around the original oak pulley. Needless to say, I no longer have re-saw or capacity issues when it comes to bandsaws.

[dusty]

Eric

Do you have pictures. This sounds really interesting.

:o

[scottss]

I too have yet the need to resaw anything bigger than 6". The ss bandsaw does real well at 6" and smaller. The key is slow and use the right blade. I have a neighbor that inherited his grandfathers bs and it takes a 3" wide blade. Needless to say it does a very nice job at resawing. The odd thing is its only about 5' from top to bottom. I'm not sure what the of resawing capacity it has. I know others that have put riser kits on there bs and have never needed it.

[deanthom]

I've actually had several occasions where I needed some resawing and pouted for a few minutes that I did not buy a dedicated, MUCH larger bandsaw (not a 30, though, Eric :)) One the stuff that was about 14", I took it to a store here in KC that catered to turners (gone now, sadly) and he whacked it up for me for $1.50 each for 2 cuts. Add $2 in gas to get there and back, and it was a cheapie.

The other one that I dealt with was some mahogany blocks that I got on eBay that I wanted to make plates out of rather than bowls. Grain was not special, but would make a nice utility serving set of four that way. Set up the table saw carefully, with extra high fencing and fingerboards, and ran the two chunks through 4x each. Finished up with a hand saw for the last little bit in the middle. More than sufficient. If that had not been enough, I would have borrowed my buddy's Milwaukee reciprocating saw with a loooooong blade on it. :D

Cats can be skinned in a variety of ways.