Making the most of a budget table saw, mitre saw and bandsaw

[curtisrider]

I have been on a bit of a mission trying to sort out my saws as i'm gradually doing smaller and finer stuff and becoming increasingly aware just how important a finely tuned saw is! I have three budget machines that I can't really justify replacing at the moment and I know with some tweaking that they will be perfectly good enough as a stepping stone until funds allow them to be replaced so please don't just reply with 'they are rubbish mate, sell your house and buy this'. I just want to get the most out of what I have got until funds allow and also my skills can justify better equipment.

I currently have the following machines and questions to suit:

1. Makita 2704

I bought one of these for a tenner as the motor was shot, £150 later for parts and I have rebuilt it back to its former glory. I know it's just a contractors saw (although their top end one at the time) and ideally I would have a proper workshop saw with a cast table but that doesn't fit my budget right now. I have ditched the old worn out Makita blade for a Freud 250mm 40T blade which has improved the cuts no end, it's fairly general purpose but I can always buy an extra blade with a finer cut if I need to later. I have also built a crosscut sled which has proved to be very useful, I will make an improved one at some point as this one is just from the limited scrap I had kicking about.



As you can see the riving knife is huge, I may have to make/adapt a slightly smaller one for when the sled is in use.

My main issue with this saw is the fence design, the current one works and holds fine but it is a bit of a swine to adjust accurately as the fence doesn't always sit parallel to the blade so you have to fiddle about with it which is not ideal when you are trying to do lots of quick cuts.

So my questions for this saw are what sort of fence system would you recommend as a replacement (preferably DIY if possible) or how can I make the most of the current fence? Also the blade guard works fine but does not allow extraction, can I simply just add a port to it or is there an aftermarket guard I can fit in order to maintain safety and keep my workspace clean?

2. Woodwise 14" bandsaw



I bought this for £130 and it seems to have barely been used by the previous owner. This seems to be a fairly generic cast construction 14" bandsaw and looks like it shares parts with many others on the market. I have tuned it up as per some guides online which has improved the saw massively, I also have a selection of blades for difference purposes.

The gearing is quite low compared to others I have used and it is quite slow to cut due to this, should I look into upgrading the 2 speed set up to the multi speed setups that other saws seem to have? I also considered fitting a higher HP motor at the same time, I'm fairly sure I have one tucked away that will fit, I'll just need to make sure the current switch and wiring can handle it.

The fence on this is really appalling as it is very limited in its range and it can't be adjusted as it is to ensure it is paralell to the mitre slot. I have found the table size is too small when working with larger pieces. I want to at the very least fit a new fence but i'm not sure which design to use/make. I saw this on youtube and it seems to be a cheap and decent design that isn't going to be hard to make:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_fzKmbV14I

But that leaves me with a small table still, so I found this which is also another possibility as I have a spare mitre gauge kicking about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCyzX6NBCFU

3. Evolution rage sliding compound saw 210mm

I know what you're all already thinking, why why why? I bought this when I was doing up my house and it was very useful for lots of the first fix tasks and manageable but not ideal for second fix. I have spent some time tweaking it out of the box to get it cutting straight and it's now as accurate as it can be, fortunately mine doesn't suffer the wobble that others seem to have which helps massively. I have got to the point where the blade is tired and drifts a bit as well as burning. I have bought a washer to take it from 25.4mm to 30mm opening up the range of blades that I can fit. I am thinking of ordering a Freud 216x30 48t blade, I have measured for clearance as this blade is overall 6mm larger in diameter (of course the 3mm increase in radius is what I have checked for when noting clearance), this should be a suitable blade for the majority of the jobs I do.

Is there much else I can do to get the best out of this until I can justify a better quality unit? I will keep this with a multipurpose blade on in the future as it is still a handy machine for jobs where fine accuracy isn't as important.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I appreciate that I have bombarded you all with lots of questions here!

 

[curtisrider]

A Freud 216mm blade is now in my mitre saw Just like on my table saw I am very impressed, the cuts are silky smooth.



For those who are interested, you need a 25.4-30mm adaptor which cost a couple of quid and then you need to bend a small piece of black painted steel steel at the back of the saw as that is the only thing that can potentially rub, the rest has enough clearance.





The difference between the Freud and a fresh Evolution blade is massive, I could never get smooth cuts before and I've had a few of the evolution blades now. At least my mitre saw is kind of useful now for lots of jobs rather than rough work, I checked out the Dewalt DWS773-GB that Screwfix have on offer for £200 but that has just as much play as the Evolution which was very disappointing! I guess at that price its still a low budget saw though.

 

[MattRoberts]

Regarding the tablesaw fence, check out John Heisz' video on YouTube : ibuildit.ca

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[curtisrider]

Excellent, thanks Matt. I had seen that one already and quite liked it. I can work with wood or metal, so I don't mind fabricating a steel version if it will be better.

 

[MattRoberts]

Ah, then check out Jeremy Schmidt - he used a threaded rod to create a really nice and super accurate fence

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[curtisrider]

Excellent, thank you for your help! I like the threaded bar idea, I have some at my other workshop so will have to give that a try at some point.

I have devised a hybrid of a few designs using whatever steel I have knocking about and a toggle clamp. I can always improve it later if needs be and that learning curve will help me make a new one for the Makita. So far it looks like this:



I realised I had one more job to do on the Evolution and noticed the fence was VERY bent, it's not had an impact but i'm very sure it wasn't like that before... I ended up chopping it in half and setting each side up independently, at least that is straight again!

 

[MattRoberts]

I have devised a hybrid of a few designs using whatever steel I have knocking about and a toggle clamp. I can always improve it later if needs be and that learning curve will help me make a new one for the Makita. So far it looks like this:

Nice work - presumably it wouldn't be too difficult to turn that toggle clamp into a cam for extra locking rigidity (unless it's fine as it is?). Askwoodman on YouTube also designed a fence using angle iron, might be worth a look. He went on to get them produced and sells them as aftermarket fences in the US / Canada. In fact, I've just looked, and his video #977 (and previous ones) is about enclosing a job site saw in an enclosure and adding a fence, so might be worth a look for your situation

 

[curtisrider]

The toggle is really solid, I don't think it's necessary currently to replace it with anything else right now but that would be simple enough. I'm liking how easy this is to set up and how much extra room I have now! The old guide rail was too short and limited in it's depth and in the way when trying to do freehand cuts. This photo shows a comparison of the old fence depth position vs the new:



I've hit a few snags with my version so far. The allen bolts securing the angle section are protruding and interfere with the toggle, this is easily resolved with countersunk bolts which I will order. The other issue is the large angle section sits flush with the table and therefore the smaller angle section for the fence is protruding causing issues when feeding stuff in and a nuisance when the mitre gauge is needed as the angle has to be removed...this is a quick job though so maybe not something to worry about seeing as I have 2 other potential saws to use for that!



I can lower the large angle section rail, but that means drilling new mountings into the table to prevent the smaller angle section from interfering with the bolts which is something I was trying to avoid as I will struggle to do that accurately as it wont fit in my pillar drill. I'll see if I can think of an alternative to doing this. Once that is sorted then I can add some wood to the fence to increase its height and allow more support when ripping down larger pieces.

 

[ColeyS1]

That toggle clamp fence is very impressive !

Coley

 

[MattRoberts]

Can't you elongate the holes in the large angle, to allow it to drop the required depth, whilst retaining the existing holes in the table?

I wish I was this proficient with metal work!

 

[curtisrider]

Cheers chaps, I drilled the holes a little higher and removed 1.5mm from the fence angle section and it clears perfectly so now it works really well! Annoyingly my blade is wandering, the fence is parallel to the mitre slot but it wanders very easily even though I have it set up as per instruction on multiple youtube videos not sure what is going on there but i'll have another tinker with it at some point.

 

[Bodgers]

No advice to give, but I love that bandsaw - looks like a really solid cast iron old school saw. I wish I could have found something like that for a reasonable price.

I have the same Freud 216 blade in my Dewalt mitre saw - it is excellent. Good way to upgrade a cheap mitre saw.




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[curtisrider]

It looks good but actually it is just cheap tat It does the job but i'll be looking to upgrade it as soon as I can. I'm a little spoilt as I use a really nice £2500 Scheppach at school which is just a pleasure in comparision!

 

[Claymore]

I know someone who's got kit that makes Norm Abraham look daft yet doesn't make anything worth keeping, unlike a young lad in the village who uses 99% secondhand cheap kit who drives a new Toyota pickup paid for by all the great wooden tables he makes and very unusual wooden bicycles which he sells at fairs etc.
No point having all the gear if its just for showing off better to spend less and actually use them.

 

[curtisrider]

I'm not sure if that was a dig or not but I'm not looking to upgrade the bandsaw just for my viewing pleasure, it's because it really is a terribly saw that has poor quality castings making it unnecessarily difficult for any work that requires any real accuracy without the seemingly constant need for tweaking to keep it true. Nearly all my tools have been secondhand/free/broken things I have brought back to life e.g the Makita saw above I got for a tenner, rebuilt the motor and switch so it has cost me very little for a very capable saw (if a little frustrating when it comes to the fence but that is fine). I know the saying is a bad workman blames his tools, however a bad workman also doesn't take the time to set up what he has got properly, hence wanting to get the most out of the tools i have.

 

[scosteve]

I don't think it was a dig at you, more a compliment & bit of a dig to the all the gear no idea brigade

Your post has a lot of views so I am sure a lot of others has the same wants

Very handy keep it up

 

[Claymore]

I'm not sure if that was a dig or not but I'm not looking to upgrade the bandsaw just for my viewing pleasure, it's because it really is a terribly saw that has poor quality castings making it unnecessarily difficult for any work that requires any real accuracy without the seemingly constant need for tweaking to keep it true. Nearly all my tools have been secondhand/free/broken things I have brought back to life e.g the Makita saw above I got for a tenner, rebuilt the motor and switch so it has cost me very little for a very capable saw (if a little frustrating when it comes to the fence but that is fine). I know the saying is a bad workman blames his tools, however a bad workman also doesn't take the time to set up what he has got properly, hence wanting to get the most out of the tools i have.

Noooooooooo definitely NOT a dig at ya :shock: ......... quite the opposite if anything, I am all for anyone making using their own creations, I was trying to state that you don't need £££££££££££££££££££££££££££££ to create excellent work. I think people learn more about their work by actually seeing how the kit works and is built, if anything goes wrong then you are more likely to be able to sort it out without having to splash the cash.

I apologise if I offended you and as many know on here I'm the last person to make digs at anyone...... the whole idea of these forums is to keep it fun and also great place to learn.
Cheers

Brian

 

[curtisrider]

Apologies Claymore, It's amazing how you can read something in a completely different tone to how it is meant to come across! I don't tend to post up the stuff I make as the internet net can be fiercely critical rather than supportive at times, hence feeling the need for disclaimer about the awareness of how I know the tools I have aren't amazing. I wasn't to sure whether to post up about my workshop build, it's only had one response so i'm guessing people aren't interested.

I have just acquired a few more table saws for bargainous prices so I will post them up soon and see which you guys think I should sell on and which I should keep (one has a cast top and I think may be better than my Makita contractor saw but I haven't had time to try it properly yet).

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Looking at your new fence - I think the consensus is that it is best to have it ending at or just beyond the blade, and not go the width of the table. I admit to rarely cutting veneers, but I can't remember the last time I used a fence at all - I find it more accurate without.

 

[devonwoody]

My experience with a bandsaw fence is that it does not necessarily need to be parallel to the mitre slot but needs to track the cutting angle of the blade action.