Wooden band saw

[Mr T]

Hi

A student on my evening class is interested in making a wooden band saw to Matthias Wandell's design. MY first reaction is that a wooden band saw will have some inherent problems. Has anyone made this saw, if so how did it go?

Chris

 

[finish_that]

I have not made one -but many have - plenty of examples shown on his site - I think the youngest builder is about 12 ?
The information/plans guidance from his website is outstanding and when you see him using it as a home made saw mill
it makes many commercial band saws look a bit meek .
makes a fantastic project i think

 

[jdeacon]

I've started gathering the bits to make my own Matthias 16" bandsaw. I've got the old Ikea shelves and an induction motor, and I'm currently sorting out the shafts and bearings. And I've purchased the plans and they're fantastic.

If you're worried about the rigidity, then there's a video showing how Matthias' metal band saw has more flex in its frame than his wooden bandsaws.

 

[Mr T]

I saw the bit with Matthias swinging on his band saws. The bit I'm concerned about is the blade guide assembly. Having just replaced the rather shoddy assembly on my Basato 5 I can see problems with making a durable assembly in wood.

Chris

 

[DennisCA]

The guides he made using bearings looked quite sturdy to me, and it's the metal bearings taking the brunt of the wear.

 

[sploo]

I saw the bit with Matthias swinging on his band saws. The bit I'm concerned about is the blade guide assembly. Having just replaced the rather shoddy assembly on my Basato 5 I can see problems with making a durable assembly in wood.

Chris

TBH That's the bit I'd worry about the least. The need to crown and balance the wheels, and ensure good tracking is likely to be much harder - as is the sheer amount of force that a tensioned blade will put on the machine.

In terms of the guide - as long as it locks sufficiently sturdily I suspect it'd be fine. If you're applying enough pressure to the front of the blade to stress the blade guide then I'd worry the blade was either blunt or the operator was trying to push a thick resaw job through the machine too quickly. I'm mostly thinking in terms of how strong it looks vs other sub-£1000 machines I've seen or used.

I've got the plans for his 16" saw and they do look good. Lack of time has meant I've never managed to get around to build it unfortunately.

 

[Mr T]

I agree that tracking etc will be an issue. Regarding the guides it's not the stresses on them that I'm concerned about it's being able to set them accurately and for them to stay set, one of the major problems with cheap band saws.

Although Matthius shows the saw working extremely well I wonder how old it is. Will it still be doing as well in 2-5 years time when some of the wood adjustable bits have had time to wear.

Chris

 

[pcb1962]

Marius Hornberger ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn7lav ... NyA/videos ) has one in his shop that he uses extensively for resawing some very large logs. Seems to work as well as any commercial one to me.

 

[DennisCA]

I've heard of wooden bandsaws that are decades old and still functioning, one really huge one I saw in person as I was buying an induction motor for another project from a guy. Their main issue is the frame can get skewed from moisture changes. I do not know how suspectible matthias design is to that since it's an extensively laminated frame rather than a few pieces of solid wood.

 

[JakeS]

Although Matthius shows the saw working extremely well I wonder how old it is. Will it still be doing as well in 2-5 years time when some of the wood adjustable bits have had time to wear.

Given that the videos on YouTube documenting the second wooden bandsaw he built are from August 2010, it seems like it lasted 5 years with no problems worthy of mention. Of course, I have no idea how often he uses it, but I wouldn't be put off building one as a hobbyist.

(I'd refrain from relying on a home-made saw for business purposes just because it would likely be more of a problem if something broke - no company engineers within the warranty period, no readily-available spares, and so on. I'd wonder what the insurance implications might be, as well.)

 

[heimlaga]

There are many wooden bandsaws still in use 60 or 70 or 80 years after they were made. Some earning their keep in everyday professional use. However there are many more that just stand idle in a corner because the frame has gone out of alignment over the years. Wood that is constantly under load for a long time will deform no matter what. Moisture changes also contribute.

I think the key is building the saw super solid from hardwood laminations and then slackening the blade tension when trhe saw isn't used.......and hope for the best.

 

[Mr T]

Thanks for the inputs. The student is keen and your comments imply my reservations are unfounded so we will go ahead, I'll keep you posted.


Chris

 

[sploo]

Thanks for the inputs. The student is keen and your comments imply my reservations are unfounded so we will go ahead, I'll keep you posted.

Worse case scenario; he'll probably spend as much as a budget bandsaw, learn an awful lot of new techniques, and get something no worse than a budget saw. Best case is obviously a large and capable saw.

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

Hi Chris,
I was wondering if your student went ahead with this project.
Paddy

 

[Mr T]

Yes, he did. So far the main "C" frame has been laminated, he has just started on the wheels. Bit of a break in the class now until January. I will post progress reports as it develops.

Chris

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

Thanks, will look forward to update. I watched Matthias' video and would love to make one. Probably won;t as I have very little free time and a huge Wadkin, but maybe when I retire.
Paddy

 

[sploo]

Yes, he did. So far the main "C" frame has been laminated, he has just started on the wheels. Bit of a break in the class now until January. I will post progress reports as it develops.

Chris

Good luck to him. I have a suspicion that the end result will be pretty good (with a decent motor).

The biggest question mark for me is the wheels. Rather than using bike inner tubes I'd rather just buy some urethane tyres (there's a good US based supplier on eBay). The problem is that I suspect you would need a rim on either side of the crowned edge, and made from MDF or ply I worry I'd damage the rim levering the tyre over the top. I guess a removable front rim (i.e. a ring made of 3mm hardboard) might be a solution.

 

[jdeacon]

There's a Marius Hornberger YouTube video referred to earlier in the thread. In it he's doing exactly that: adding rims to the wheels, either side of the crown. Although he does continue to use bicycle inner tubes inside those rims.

 

[sploo]

There's a Marius Hornberger YouTube video referred to earlier in the thread. In it he's doing exactly that: adding rims to the wheels, either side of the crown. Although he does continue to use bicycle inner tubes inside those rims.

Yea, that's the video. His work is great, but I worry that a thin rim shaped out of MDF would be easy to crush when trying to get a urethane tyre over the top (whereas a bike inner tube is obviously much easier to stretch).

One thing that both he and (IRC) Wandel have mentioned is reducing the wheel weight - I'd have thought that heavier wheels would be better, as the large angular momentum would resist the wheel bogging down during heavy cuts (i.e. like a flywheel). I understand that more expensive saws tend to have cast iron wheels (not exactly known for being light weight).

 

[DennisCA]

Yeah that's true, but I suppose any vibrations in a ligther wheel are less noticeable, so easier to make, more forgiving, and they spin down faster to a stop. My bandsaw takes several minutes to spin down unless I brake it.