Bandsaw Acquired
A bandsaw was one of the few large power tools my workshop was missing. This has finally been remedied and I am now the owner of a Scheppach HBS261.
It's probably the cheapest model available in it's size class (with a throat width of 12cm) and Scheppach isn't known for high quality tools. But I figured with a bit of careful tuning it should be okay.
Tuning
It actually took a lot of tuning to get the machine to do proper rip cuts parallel to the fence. Here are a few tips.
First of all, take lots of time and be patient. It sucks, but you'll eventually get there. Watch a couple of band saw setup videos on Youtube to learn the basics.
When aligning the table, use a magnet to attach a steel ruler to the saw band for aligning the table parallel to it.
Alignment of the saw band at the top wheel is easily done with the hand screw on the back. But you might notice that the alignment is way out of whack at the bottom wheel. You can adjust it using the screws in the cross axle mount at the bottom. You only need to use the upper and lower (12 and 6 o'clock) screws. Loosen the upper one then tighten the lower one to move the band in one direction. The other way round for the other direction.
Do NOT center the band on the upper wheel - even though all the videos and the manual recommend it. Instead align the bottom of the teeth to the center. This means the band will actually be a bit further to the back. This ensures the most tension is exactly where the teeth start. The rest of the band then is a bit looser and will follow the teeth. This finally made rip cuts parallel enough for me.
Installation
After I got the saw working, it was time to find it a place in my workshop. Since there isn't much space, it needed to be out of the way but still easily accessible. I decided to apply the same solution as for my drill press: drawer slides.
I had to redesign parts of my shelving unit to make space for the band saw. The saw's motor protrudes from the side, giving it a larger foot print than I wanted to sacrifice, so I had to go for a somewhat weird shelf design. For stability I created a torsion box which is mounted between two heavy duty drawer slides. They are rated for 120kg and are rock solid. They have a builtin locking mechanism that secure the tray when pulled out.
Drill Storage
To make room for the saw, the drill press drawer had to become more narrow. This also meant that there was less room to access the french cleat drill bit storage. So I decided to replace it with another drawer slide construction.
A piece of plywood can be pulled out to access the drill bits. For the drill bit holders itself I created a parametric OpenScad model to easily generate the needed holders for 3D printing. This is way it's much easier to create exactly fitting holes in the correct angle than trying to do it in wood.
I'm really happy with the new setup.
