4×6 Bandsaw Cart

By , on November 19th, 2010

This is the roll-around stand I made for my late 80′s Taiwan-made 4×6 bandsaw, which is almost identical to the one Harbor Freight sells.  It uses a Harbor Freight 3-shelf service cart with the top shelf turned upside down.  I was a little worried about it being top-heavy so I replaced the original 5-inch casters with 3-inch ones mounted on outriggers made from pressure-treated 2x6s.  Now it’s much more stable because the wheels are farther apart and it has a lower center-of-gravity.

The 16×30-inch steel cart was on sale for $50 and I used one of HF’s easy-to-find 20%-off coupons to save another $10.  The casters were also on sale.  I think they were $4 a piece.  My scrap bins provided the wood and the 1-inch aluminum angle I used to fabricate the brackets that attach the saw to the risers.  I splurged about $8 on a tube of Minwax “Crimson Red” Express Color stain so the wood would compliment the red color of the cart.  The stain was a lot quicker and easier to apply than paint.  I still need to find a suitable hook I can attach to the cart to store its extension cord.  I’d also like to find a way to attach my roller stand to it when it’s not being used.  As you can see there’s lots of room on the middle shelf for a coolant pump and reservoir, if I ever decide I need to add one.

The sheet-metal stands these saws come with are a major source of grief, so putting the saw on a another stand is a popular modification.  I learned about using one of these carts on the Yahoo 4×6 discussion group.  Another popular method is to mount the saw on top of a 2-drawer filing cabinet that has been mounted on casters.  If you browse the group’s photo archive you’ll also find some nifty designs for welded steel stands.

I’d wanted one of these bandsaws for a very long time but I didn’t think I had room for one.  For years Harbor Freight regularly had them on sale for $160, but of course once I needed one I found the sale price had gone up to $230.  I was ready to pay that but I decided to check Craigslist one more time.  I couldn’t believe it when I found this one for $50, which included a brand new Lenox blade which was probably worth at least $30 by itself.  I had to replace the power switch but it works great and I get very square cuts with it.

Continue reading → 4×6 Bandsaw Cart

November 19th, 2010 | Category: Bandsaw, Mods, Tools | 2 comments

The smallest Stirling engine?

By , on November 17th, 2010

This is a follow-up to my last post about small Stirling engines. This video shows one that might be the world’s smallest.  It was made by Günter Bettinger, who has a web site which shows some of the very beautiful and interesting engines he’s made.   It’s in German, but you can see Google’s English translation of it here.   By the way, Günter is a paraplegic.

November 17th, 2010 | Category: Stirling Engines | 3 comments

A couple of “micro” Stirlings

By , on November 16th, 2010

This is Jan Ridders’ newest Stirling engine.  It’s so small it uses a 1 Euro coin for the flywheel and a couple of 5 Euro cent pieces for the top and bottom plates of the displacer cylinder.   Jan will tell you that he got the idea for building a micro- engine from a Swiss artist who goes by the name “jovallmen” on YouTube.  His engine uses a couple of Swiss 5 centime coins and it may be even smaller than Jan’s.  You can see a video of it here.

As usual, you can get a set of free CAD drawings for this engine by visiting Jan’s web site and requesting a copy.

November 16th, 2010 | Category: Jan Ridders, Stirling Engines | One comment

Inexpensive and easy-to-make CNC scanner for duplicating parts

By , on November 1st, 2010

This is a very cool and extremely easy-to-make accessory that can turn a a CNC mill into a scanner which can be used to duplicate parts.  It uses an inexpensive USB webcam and some free software.  The camera mount is also super simple.  The video shows them simply taping the camera to a rod held in a collet.

The Bad News

You can test Tormach’s software for free but it’s pretty useless unless you buy the full version for $335.   The “shareware” version won’t let you save anything, so you can’t export your scan into a CAM program.  Which means you can’t actually use it to make a duplicate part or do anything else that is very useful.   Also, the video says your accuracy and resolution will depend on the web cam you use.  That sounds like you could use a $20 web cam but your results might not be very good.  Tormach describes the camera they sell, for $513 with a mount, as a USB microscope.  As you can see in the video, the camera is only a few inches from the part it’s scanning, so it appears you may need a camera that can focus at close distances.

I really wanted to try this out until I learned how crippled Tormach’s free software is and how unaffordable the full version is.  I even found a $12 web that would be easy to mount on my mill.  I don’t know how well it will work, but it has a focusing ring and it gets good reviews on Newegg (where it costs more).

This would be a nice accessory to have, but it’s not affordable and don’t see how I would use it much.

November 1st, 2010 | Category: CNC, Videos | 3 comments
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