Bustednuckles

On top of the abtique Delta bandsaw I bought a couple weeks ago, I have TWO,

Harbor Freight 4X6 horizontal bandsaws.

One I bought about 5 years ago and have done a bunch of improvements on and one I picked up recently that was about $130 off the normal price because it was missing a bunch of parts.

I’ve been piddle farting around with that one lately.

One of the parts that was missing was the threaded rod and handle that adjusts the blade tension. This is what the original one looks like,

I had to order some 10mmX1.5 threaded rod twice, because I must not have been paying attention and wound up with some 10,,X1.25 rods the first time.

I had a little hand wheel laying around from a mini lathe project and also had to order a small rotating handle for that.

All that stuff showed up last week so out I went to try and come up with something.

After digging around and finding a spring and some spacers, I think I nailed it.

I even had an extra blade laying around.

The next part was a real bitch though.

The moveable jaw and the lead screw nut are gone too for the vise.

I bet I spent almost 3 hours dicking around trying to find that special nut. It’s a 16mm X 4 Acme threaded special nut with ledges on top and a threaded stud at the very top for the nut that tightens it down into place.

No love, anywhere.

I searched and searched. I finally ordered a special tap for it and a half hour later I stumbled on a forum where someone had found a replacement from Grizzly Tools.

Those bandsaws are just like the mini lathes. They all come from the same factory in China and then a hundred different companies slap their ciolors and their name on them.

Grizzly sells one called the Shop Fox, I ordered one of their 9X16 lathes for work so I had heard of them.

It’s a completely different lead screw pitch and the matching nut but the lead screw was only $11.

It’s about 18 inches long so that is dirt cheap.

The matching nut was almost $35 so I just ordered both of them.

I’ll make them work one way or another.

I think that’s all I’m missing and when I get done I’ll have a brand new $300 saw for a little under $200.

I picked up the first one 5 years ago using some gift cards and one of their coupons for $185 out the door.

That was a SMOKING good deal!

I have used the hell out of that thing and it has been a good saw, after I did a bunch of upgrades.

I have a lady welder at work building me a miniature Steel Storage Rack out of a bunch of scrap I have been collecting so I can get all the crap I have laying around put on it.

Right now it’s all over the place but mainly under the old saw.

It’s going to be 3 feet tall and 4 feet long. Just about as big as this saw and cart.

As soon as I get the new one finished I am going to unload it and stick the rack where it is currently sitting.

I’m going to have her put some heavy duty casters I have in a box out there somewhere under it so it will roll around and make my life a lot easier.

So it never ends, I have more projects that Carter had Little Liver Pills but it keeps me out of the taverns and gives me something to do besides sitting on my ass and doing the Keyboard Kommando thing.