Adding a table to my Portaband. Ideas needed

synthesist

synthesist

So many knives so little time
Joined
Sep 14, 2004
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I have a Milwaukee Portaband saw that I'd like to ad a table to (my plumber wanted a new one so I got his old, perfectly maintained, one pretty cheap. I suppose I could spring for the Swag Offroad table but I think if I see what some of you have done with yours I can do this mod. I was thinking of using 3/16 -1/4" aluminum for this. I'm also curious how big I should make this?

So if you have any pics of your saw I'd like to see some. Particularly if you wound up drilling and tapping holes in it.

Thanks

Syn
 
3/16 -1/4 aluminum is not cheap. The SWAG table works like a charm and is made of steel so it is really solid. Save yourself the time and agro and buy the SWAG. IMHO.

Tim
 
I have a Dewalt bandsaw but should be similar.
No need for aluminum, mine is 3/16 mild steel and roughly 10"X10". Works great, had it for a couple of years. Also no need for taping, for mine anyway. Simply 2 chamfered holes so the screws are a smudge below table level. The screws underneath are in a little slide so you don't even have to be that precise as long as they are aligned with the slide. I cut the the channel for the blade first and then marked the holes. Really quite simple and very inexpensive. Here are a few pics that should help make it clearer.

dewalt_bandsaw_table1.JPG


dewalt_bandsaw_table2.JPG


Hope this helps.
 
I bit the bullet for a Swag-Offroad table. It was worth EVERY PENNY!
 
I used a 1/4 inch plate mild steel , surface ground the top, cut the blade slot and drilled hole , drilled two holes and counter sunk.
bandsaw2.jpg

bandsaw1-1.jpg
 
Thank you all........ I think I've got it now. I have both aluminum and steel but steel seems like it will wear better so tomorrow I'll get to this.

Syn
 
Wouldn't you have to take the plate off to change the blade? Mine is slotted out the front.........I have to change the blade every two months...........Greatest tool in the shop..........I have converted 5 of the saws for friends and they all say the same..........I just tack welded the plate to the original guide....Its 9 in. x 9 in.........carl...........mounted an angle iron up the handle and put it in a vise to use...........that way you can set the height anywhere.............carl................good luck.....................
 
My DeWalt's pretty much the same as the above pics. Except, like Carl, I put the slot in front so I can change the blade quickly. I took the handles off and bolted a vertical angle iron to the handle mount holes. I welded the angle to a steel baseplate under the saw for it all to sit on.

Then, the stupid lower guide cracked, so I had to tie the front of the bearings together with a little steel plate- now I have to take the table off, as well as the bearing plate I made, to change a blade. Your Milwaukee may fare better.
 
combs6136 said:
Wouldn't you have to take the plate off to change the blade? Mine is slotted out the front.........I have to change the blade every two months...........Greatest tool in the shop..........I have converted 5 of the saws for friends and they all say the same..........I just tack welded the plate to the original guide....Its 9 in. x 9 in.........carl...........mounted an angle iron up the handle and put it in a vise to use...........that way you can set the height anywhere.............carl................good luck.....................
Click to expand...

I'd like to see a pic of your set up. I am going to be doing the same with a Harbor Freight saw soon.
 
The more pictures the merrier as far as I'm concerned.

I've run into a snag on what was shaping up as a straight forward project. The saw I got included the cast iron Milwaukee stand/base, which came in very handy for the plumber/friend who had this before, except the way they hang the saw on that means it's running in the wrong direction (upside down really) when it's vertical.

So I have to scrap the cast iron Milwaukee stand/base and hang it somehow like everyone else does. Frankly the Swag Offroad table, with the miter, for a Benjamin sounds like a better deal about now?

My wife is laughing, hard, at me here. I get a dandy saw, with several new blades, for free and now I wanna start investing in it.

I am discustard............

Syn
 
Since I use my Porta band for all kinds of other things, pretty much daily, I had to figure out how to do this and still have a portable saw available.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/g6n7p7ntnindyr0/2013-01-15 15.02.08.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2wpczq5jyketarj/2013-01-15 15.02.50.jpg

Hope you can see this- it's just a small round table square to the blade, on a chunk of angle, clamped to the existing stop with cutouts for the allen screws and a toggle clamp to hold it in place.
I then just gently hold the Porta in my large post vice and go to it. Needed it to be simple, and it works great. All the stock we cut for knife making is pretty light, so a small table works fine. I even cut handle slabs (for folders) and split them to book match, since it's so handy and controllable.

Another important thing is that the Porta runs at a fairly low speed, so it's quite a bit safer to work around than many band saws. Very much on my mind, since I'm recovering from a pretty bad hand injury caused by (carelessness with) a high speed cutting tool.

Andy G.
Guemes Island WA
 
The Swag Offroad Portaband Version 3 finally got put together and I gotta say I'm IMPRESSED. This sucker is rock-solid and went together in 15 minutes. The edges needed a touch from a file to chamfer them but that was the only thing I did other then screw it together.

I sprung for the more expensive Incra miter and that's a pretty tool also.

This accessory (I'm actually a little hesitant to call it that since it seems to be a natural add-on) will make things a go a lot faster.

A big thumbs up................ now I just have to figure out where to put it and what to do with the boat anchor Milwaukee table the SOR replaces.

Syn
 
synthesist said:
The Swag Offroad Portaband Version 3 finally got put together and I gotta say I'm IMPRESSED. This sucker is rock-solid and went together in 15 minutes. The edges needed a touch from a file to chamfer them but that was the only thing I did other then screw it together.

I sprung for the more expensive Incra miter and that's a pretty tool also.

This accessory (I'm actually a little hesitant to call it that since it seems to be a natural add-on) will make things a go a lot faster.

A big thumbs up................ now I just have to figure out where to put it and what to do with the boat anchor Milwaukee table the SOR replaces.

Syn
Click to expand...

We love to see pics
 
Okay okay, I took some pics........................

here it is in all its unpainted glory. Paint will come eventually (rolls eyes)





A friend, laughingly, told me this thing is not OSHA compliant since it doesn't have an adjustable blade guard. Wahhhhhhhh wahhhhhhhhh wah. So I'm an outlaw I guess.

The only glitch in this thing was that the Incra miter gauge I bought with it is a little big for the table so you could run it into the blade if you weren't paying attention. That would wake you up I bet............. I think I'll just grind it off to fit safely.
 
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Here are some more pics





This foot switch makes the whole thing work like a charm............. I had this one for my router table but Swag sells them pretty cheap.

Hadda ziptie the Milwaukee's trigger down to put the foot switch in charge.

Anyway there you have it. I wish I'd bought this thing 2 years a go

Corey "synthesist" Gimbel
 
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That's a nice set-up they sell! :)

Obviously you are good to go now, but in case anybody else is looking to do this I'll throw in a couple photos.

I used 1/4" stainless because I had it in the shop already. Seeing all these tables with the slot in the back threw me for a loop since it means you have to remove the table to change blades. I would definitely recommend putting the blade slot in the front.

Originally the saw was mounted in this stand that I built, but later I needed to move it to a wall instead. I just built a similar mount that got screwed to the wall. :)

medium800.jpg


medium800.jpg
 
Got this set-up a couple of days ago. Should make things a bit easier for me. Milwaukee's newest 5" deep cut with the Swag V4 table. Works great on the few pieces of steel I've cut so far, but I'm waiting on an order from Aldo to put it to the real test.

Adam

Bandsaw006.jpg
 
Learning to weld like Nick does is on my bucket list..................... The home made stands you all posted are terrific.

In my case I did the money versus need it soon equation and just spent the cash. My investment in the saw itself was beer so it wasn't too bad.

It does work like a charm

Corey "synthesist" Gimbel
 
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