Very nice build. I have an older model 2 speed Chicago Electric portable band saw from Harbor Freight. Bought the V1.0 table unit from Swag Offroad along with their leg kit for $100. Have been caring for my father and don't have the time to make it myself.
Very straightforward design no fancy stuff but the cutting for the blade with a mill. Min pops in and out of the contraption, but as I've found I don't use it solo. It's more a precision machine than a chopper. I have a small plate 4x8 screwed to the saw then a frame holding saw and a second sliding table that is detachable with a square 90digree fence and clamp. One of the most used devices in my humble shop.
I have one in my shop thanks to James Dedmon. He let me use it to make some room in his shop. I can say it is the most handy thing I have. My larger saw just don't get used anymore. Great job and video.
Very nice shop. Proper build, the mill really makes beautiful clean lines. It took me an hour to cut, file, and sand finish my 3/16" plate for my portable bandsaw.
I did enjoy the build, however you need to pull your plate off to change out the blade. I would have cut the slot with the band saw just short of where the blade would start. Removed the blade, flipping it around and verified the blade would be just short of the slot. Then on the mill drill a hole 1 inch or 2-inch hole with a smaller shoulder hole and then made a disk that sits down in the lip on the shoulder. Remove the disk lets you swap blade very easily. As for the screws I don't think I would do a slot, I would drill hole just where I need them. I may even do that to mine once I get the rubber on the wheels replaced! Good luck. From Loveland CO Lee
Nice Job 👍 I think I would consider adding a couple of supports on the front of the cutting Table. But considering I don’t have a Porta Bandsaw yet, I will be getting one now. You have a better idea on the support than I do.
Yes but he needs to make the table height adjustable? Have found that stock needs to be within short distance to the top bearing to prevent blade drift.
Love it ! I have the same one with little diffrent setup . I made mine so I could use it both ways but this looks better way . Dang you got me back to the drawing board lol .
Well done presentation and set up. I can vouch for those newer HF saws perform well, the set up I used was a SWAG off road stand wired like your table. What I found after using the saw after a while was the throat depth was a constraint on larger flat metals. So I converted a 12” Craftsman wood bandsaw that I picked up at an estate auction for a bargain. While not as rigid as the Delta it still works well in my shop. If you repair your Delta 14” you will see the difference in the throat depth. Your portable bandsaw set up is one of the best I seen and your workmanship is excellent as always, you will enjoy that saw
I have been well pleased with my Baur battery powered drill motors. They seem to be a good brand. That is a well designed setup, and should be a great addition to the shop.
Nice build, I have been looking at a bunch of these builds on RU-vid and I like the approach you use for your plate. I am strongly leaning towards the Bauer The price and ease of adapting it for a fixed installation are strong arguments for it. Thanks for your work.
Excellent - very simple stand arrangement!! Well presented. I especially appreciate the blade speed vs dial setting info - I have the same Bauer saw. Thank you!!!
That's one of the best looking Portaband stands I've seen. I'm sure milling out the table and removing the factory shoe is a great improvement. But what is that device called that measures blade speed and who makes it?
Nice project Lee. This looks like something you will enjoy for years to come. One of the things that I treated myself to a couple of years back was the porta band conversion kit from Swag Offroad. It is light and sturdy and has made cutting stock so much safer
why did you put the slot in the plate to the back . If you put the blade slot to the front you could change the blade without taking the plate off. Say you want to cut some thin metal and you need a 32 tooth blade, and then you needed to cut something an inch thick an you want to use a 10 tooth blade. With the slot forward you can just change blades as needed. If you leave a 10 tooth blade in and cut thin stuff you will break teeth off and ruin the blade.
I tried out that Bauer portaband and the drive wheel was wobbling a lot. Even switched it out for another one, and same thing. I dunno if it was a bad batch or what. I thought it was kind of odd that it was wobbling out-of-round by at least 0.070"! You'd think that they could get that aspect correct with all the modern production capabilities. Oh well, guess I'll be getting a dewalt.
PS: Paper templates are so useful when matching screws to the blade and the rest of the machine. I used thick paper and lots of tape and marked hols and some edges with a ball-peen hammer just like making a gasket. (two pieces of carton paper, one on each side of the blade and went from there)
Thanks Lee great build. I heard you say that you laminated the speeds and mounted them to the table. My question is do you have your own laminator and if so could you send me the link to the one you have. Thanks.
This is best I’ve seen yet, could you mill a slot and make a guide it would help for making true cuts it would only need to be 1/4 deep. What do you think? Thanks for a great video.
