[TheForge] bandsaw design question

[Ries Niemi]

On Wednesday, November 3, 2004, at 11:52 AM, Bruce Freeman wrote:

> This recent thread on bandsaws made me wonder about the mechanism for
> lowering the saw against the material.  I've seen pneumatic devices.  I
> understand some sort of springs may be used.
>
> However, wouldn't it  make more sense simply to balance the weight of
> the saw with a counterbalancing arm?  Then weights could be removed
> corresponding to the amount of pressure you want to exert on the piece
> being cut.
>
> Is such a device in use on any saws?  If not, why not?  Am I missing
> something?
>
> Bruce
>

There have been some saws made in the past that used a weight- but 
usually this is not done nowadays. The weight can be constant for 
cutting most things, so there isnt a need to constantly adjust. And a 
hydraulic cylinder is cheap, easy to install, and then you can forget 
about it. Another great thing about a hydraulic cylinder is you can use 
it to hold the saw partway up, and then fine tune where your cut goes, 
then open the valve and let it start cutting. Cant see how you could do 
that with weights. And my saw gets dragged around the shop, so it is 
within a step or two of where you are working. Dont want any parts that 
can fall off, or vibrate and make noise.  The weights would either have 
to be on the head of the saw, where you would constantly be lifting 
them up to load the saw, or sticking out the back somehow, increasing 
bulk. And a lot of the time we leave our saw in the upright position 
for hand trimming stuff- not sure where the weights would go then. The 
idea with one of these horizontal bandsaws is you just want to slam the 
piece of metal in, turn it on, and then it will turn off when it is 
done. I often will set up a shop rythym where I feed the saw, then bend 
two pieces, or debur one, or wire brush one, then feed the saw, and 
repeat the process- a kind of repetitive dance.
These little saws arent perfect, but the design is pretty flexible, it 
works well, and they are very cheap.

ries