Portable band saw mount

Nate’s Knives

Nate’s Knives

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Jan 7, 2026
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Does anyone have any suggestions for or WIP builds to show how you can mount a portable band saw and use it to cut blanks, etc? I know there are YouTube’s for it but was wanting to hit up the site first. I know harbor freight has an adapter thing to convert them but I don’t want to shell out the money. I’ve got access to welders, plasma cutter, cutting torch, metal.
 
Nate’s Knives said:
Does anyone have any suggestions for or WIP builds to show how you can mount a portable band saw and use it to cut blanks, etc? I know there are YouTube’s for it but was wanting to hit up the site first. I know harbor freight has an adapter thing to convert them but I don’t want to shell out the money. I’ve got access to welders, plasma cutter, cutting torch, metal.
Click to expand...

I set mine up to hang off a post, or wall if you wanted. I have a small clamp-on saw table I made for the work rest.
 
I’ve got mine mounted on a popular brand table and it works well. I think you could make something similar very easily. There’s a notch in the body of the saw behind the saw guard that fits on a little tab on the back of the table and a thumb screw that fits in the notch in the saw guard that threads into the table. It only takes a few seconds to mount/unmount the saw. I have a Milwaukee saw for what it’s worth.
 
I did a piece of 12x12" mild steel, 1/4" thick. Drilled a hole in each corner and put some dowels for legs on with screws. Cut a slot for the blade and marked and drill the holes and counter sunk them and got longer screws. Foot pedal for on/off and a zip tie to hold the trigger down. Foot pedal was like $15, steel plate was around the same, plus dowels and screws and a zip tie. Works good so far; I am going to redo it now that I can weld better and do angle iron legs and make the blade slot go to the front for easier blade changes without having to remove the table. Probably just flip the existing table upside down so the slot is to the front and redrill the holes and lengthen the slot as needed and then weld up some legs next time I get the chop saw out.

The original version. Cheap HDPE cutting board, drilled and slotted, with a 3/8" thick mild steel bar that was drilled to go between the screw holes and the HDPE table that got clamped to the tool arm on my 2x72:
Portaband2.jpg
portaband.jpg


Version 2.0:
portaband table.jpg
 
I have shown this couple of times, but it seems to answer the question here as well.
The bandsaw is first coupled with a piece of tubing, which is then inserted into a larger piece of tubing that is screwed to the wall - that way it's removable. It's quite solid. I picked a bandsaw that has attachment points at the top, and then I added another mechanical connection to the body near the bottom. To a handy person this should be a one day project.

I do not use this to cut blanks though, the blades I can buy are ok for wood, plastic, aluminum maybe, but they just get chewed up on steel too much and it is not economical.

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Some folks just clamp the table in a vise like the image below.

Mine is a $100 swag table base from Amazon (same as one shown). It has holes for almost every portaband made. You can fill the unused holes with PC-7 or similar epoxy filler putty.
I bolted and welded on 5" high sides to make it free standing. Foot pedal for on/off.

I never found it a problem to take out the two screws to change the blade. I use that time to clean the saw up as well. I did countersink the screws fully and used Allen socket screws. Much easier to take out and install than Phillips screws.

If I make another, I'll just use a 1/4" steel or, more likely, 3/8" aluminum plate.

TIP:
A good thing to do on your swag setup is lay a straight edge along the blade to indicate the straight path to the blade. Once you are happy that it is aligned right, clamp it down and use a scribe to scratch a deep line from the blade to the edge both front and back. You can rub some black paint in the scratch and wipe off the excess to make a nice black line. I just draw the line with a sharpie. I then mark a 90° line to that line at the front of the blade to know if a bar is straight before I make a crosscut. These lines make alignment of cutting much easier and prevent twisting the bandsaw blade

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I bought the Hercules kit from Harbor freight and used whatever pieces and parts I could to make it work and like it! It also has an option to lie flat and cut the other way which I don't use.
I do use the Milwaukee saw but it fits
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I made a table pretty much like Taz's version 2. Works fine, a bit tippy though due to the weight of the saw hanging off of the back. Still need to mount some C-brackets to the front legs so I can clamp them to the edge of the table/workbench.
 
I mounted my porta band saw to a wall. Bench space is at a premium. I have no clue why they would mount a table using existing screws and make it so you cant change the blade without taking table off. Oh well. Seems simple enough to me. We do metal working correct?
 
Last edited:
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Some folks just clamp the table in a vise like the image below.

Mine is a $100 swag table base from Amazon (same as one shown). It has holes for almost every portaband made. You can fill the unused holes with PC-7 or similar epoxy filler putty.
I bolted and welded on 5" high sides to make it free standing. Foot pedal for on/off.

I never found it a problem to take out the two screws to change the blade. I use that time to clean the saw up as well. I did countersink the screws fully and used Allen socket screws. Much easier to take out and install than Phillips screws.

If I make another, I'll just use a 1/4" steel or, more likely, 3/8" aluminum plate.

TIP:
A good thing to do on your swag setup is lay a straight edge along the blade to indicate the straight path to the blade. Once you are happy that it is aligned right, clamp it down and use a scribe to scratch a deep line from the blade to the edge both front and back. You can rub some black paint in the scratch and wipe off the excess to make a nice black line. I just draw the line with a sharpie. I then mark a 90° line to that line at the front of the blade to know if a bar is straight before I make a crosscut. These lines make alignment of cutting much easier and prevent twisting the bandsaw blade

View attachment 3080676
Click to expand...
This is basically what i did with mine, but i ended up welding the back of the table together and then cutting a slot from the front, so now i don't have to remove anything to change the blades out, just let tension off and bring it out through the front! Much more convenient for me...
 
I mounted my portable Dewalt band saw to the wall. Bench space was a premium. Installed a small table using existing bolts. Couldn't be happier. Can change blades without removing the table.
 
20211001_190318.jpg

Made mine out of wood and plate steel.
The saw bolts to the plate steel. I have to remove it from the frame to change the blade.
 
Porta band hangs on two hooks, then the back is supported. I can remove my little clamp on table to change blades easily. Really happy with it, wish I bought one Years ago.
Third pic is from underneath the table
IMG_20230825_190552096.jpgIMG_20230227_045407373.jpgIMG_20230227_045219473.jpgIMG_20230227_045043784.jpg
 
No pics here. But bench space is a premium here. I wall mounted mine but with a homemade metal table using existing screws that I DON"T have to remove to just change out the blade. Simple and works for me.
 
Nate’s Knives said:
Did u make it or buy it?
Click to expand...

In a former life I was a Tool room machinist, so I do make a Lot of my stuff. Not always, but Yes. I wanted easy on and off. And easy blade change.
I believe what I came up with is the best I've seen for the Portaband.

I can take more detailed pics if you need help making one
 
Crag the Brewer said:
In a former life I was a Tool room machinist, so I do make a Lot of my stuff. Not always, but Yes. I wanted easy on and off. And easy blade change.
I believe what I came up with is the best I've seen for the Portaband.

I can take more detailed pics if you need help making one
Click to expand...
Please do. I don’t like buying when I can make. I used to work at a fabrication shop as an apprentice. Loved the job but couldn’t make ends meet to pay bills and after abt 6 months, left to work somewhere else. Learned alot but am always hungry for more knowledge. I’m now a diesel technician but when there’s a fabrication or welding project in the shop, my boss calls on me to take care of it.
 
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