My budget bandsaw needs a custom stand. The factory stand is too
short and flimsy for my needs. It's also not very stable,
especially in the vertical position. I'll need to increase the length and the
width of the stand along with its height. The legs meet the ground on all sides at an
angle that's around 8 degrees away from square. I'll change this to 15 degrees on both sides
and the rear of the new stand. With this new stand, I want to be able to operate
the stock clamp without bending over. The factory stand locates the lowest point
of the clamp handle at around 20 inches, but I need it to be at around
27 inches for comfort sake. The handle and wheels used to move
the saw will be upgraded as well. These eight inch diameter wheels with
a 300 pound capacity should do the job. 1 1/2 inch - 14 gauge square tubing
is the material i chose for the stands frame. I begin by setting the saw miter to 15 degrees
in preparation for cutting the legs. Next, I clamp the stock, like so, at 15 degrees in relation to the table as this will be a compound cut. A dolly supports the other end. I accidentally positioned the
end of the tube a little too low, and the saw shuts off before completing the cut. That won't happen again though. Now the tube can be measured for length. The
two rear legs ended up being 27.5 inches long. If measured along one of the four corners, the cuts
at each end of a leg are parallel to one another. After cutting the two rear legs, I position the
stock to be cut at eight degrees in relation to the table surface, but leave the miter at 15 degrees. The front right leg came out to 27 inches and the front left leg ended up being 26 and an eighth. The angles on the ends of the two front legs
need to be cut so that they mirror each other. The front left leg will be adjustable in height
using this three quarter inch bolt, nut, and washer. It's marked and cut to get rid of the excess. The nut is welded to a thick washer like so. Then tacked to the end of the shortest
leg with the nut on the inside of the tube. Now I measure for the upper framing
members that the saw will sit on. The saw miter is set to 45 degrees and two pieces are cut as shown to a length of six and seven eighths of an inch. With the saw still set to 45 degrees, I cut these
four pieces to a length of 5 - 1/2 inches. Note the orientations of the cut. Two pieces are cut the same, and the other two pieces are cut to mirror them. This is how they fit together. Once tacked together, I weld the
bottom corners where the legs will go. Time to lay out the rear legs
in preparation for tacking. I check the angles and clamp the tubes down. Using pins, these ends are spaced
up to align with the upper members. A quick check to make sure the diagonals measure the same. The ends of these welds required some grinding for a tight fit. With everything aligned, I tacked the rear legs on. That went well, so I lay out the front legs similarly. The spacers I use are a little
different but the idea is the same. After some alignment, the front legs are tacked on. The front legs angle out only eight degrees forward from the stand, but 15 degrees to both sides. Using a couple pieces of scrap tubing, the two sets of legs are clamped into their final design configuration. The length of the saw base is about 26 and a quarter inches, so that's the measurement I use to space apart
the outer edges of the upper framing members. Here I mark where I want the bottom
edge of the lower framing members to be. Five inches from the floor. Using a square like
so, I measure down from the top of the stand and mark the legs at seven inches. This will be
the top edge of the middle framing members. After measuring between the
marks, I cut these cross pieces. They were then tacked into place. A quick check of the alignment and the
lower longitudinal members are measured for. I make sure to cut the angles in the proper orientation. These members will be spaced about three and a half inches in from the stand's legs. This will give my legs more room to work. I mark where iI want them and
then tack both pieces in place. Now I measure mark and cut
the middle longitudinal number. It's tacked to the center of these cross tubes. Time to cut some feet. Three and a half inches forward to rear but four
inches side to side for more sideways stability. This one however is three and a half inches
square and will be cut again to make an octagon. The three fixed feet get vent
holes drilled in their centers. And the octagon goes with the adjustable leg. All the feet are tacked or welded in position. The wheels need a 5/8 inch axle so I selected
a 5/8 inch diameter bolt that's 5 inches long. Next, I cut two pieces of the one and a half inch square tubing to a length of about 5 and 3/8 inches. 15 degrees on one end and square on the other. The center of the hole is about 7/8 of an inch from the square end. The wheels are then temporarily mounted on their struts so I can use the wheels to help position the pieces before tacking. This 1/8 inch thick strap will help space the
wheels off the ground, thereby putting the load on the feet while at rest. I do this because of the vertical configuration of the saw. If it was only a horizontal bandsaw, I would mount
the wheels to the legs and skip the rear feet. These two scrap pieces of one
and a half inch round tube have a wall thickness of just under 1/8th inch. This old piece of one and a quarter
inch 16 gauge is just long enough, and should fit nicely through the one and a half
inch pieces after filing the seams a little bit. Those extra holes in the handle don't bother me at all. The mounts are tacked onto the frame and the
handle is checked to ensure it slides okay. A washer is welded to the end of the handle, and a small bump is welded on to prevent the handle from being pushed all the way through the mount. The old saw stand is very unstable with
the six mounting bolts for the base removed. So I'm careful not to let it fall over while
I'm transferring the saw base to the new stand. The bottom of the saw body has some
casting imperfections that I grind off. This inch and a quarter by 3/16 inch steel strap is used to make the six mounting tabs that the saw will bolt to. I cut them all about one inch long and drill a 5/16 inch hole centered about 7/16 of an inch from one end. These tabs are positioned using the factory bolts. Now I tack the tabs onto the stand. At this point, I check it over for
problems before it all gets welded. There were some mistakes. I didn't purchase enough material and had to splice a couple of short scraps together here on this piece. I originally cut the legs at about 25
inches but changed my mind and tacked on a couple more inches in height. Grinding back the corners a little helps me to get a better weld. Some angle stock tacked on like so helps
to minimize the warpage while welding. But then I remove them after
I finish welding the stand. After the welds are complete, it's time to clean up the frame. These four top corner welds need to be ground a little to allow the saw to set flat against the stand. Forgot to mention that all the
open-ended tubes were capped off. A couple coats of semi-gloss
black and it's ready to assemble. I chose elastic stop nuts for the wheel axles. The nuts are gently threaded
on until they begin to tighten. Then I back them off a little so
that the wheel turns freely. There's no spacer between these bearings
so I can't tighten against them. I painted half the handle yellow to
help me see it when it's extended, so I don't walk into it hopefully. A quarter inch bolt installed in this hole will help stop the handle in the right place when it's extended. The saw is placed back on
the stand and in go the bolts. The factory bolts are too short
so they're replaced with some 5 /16 inch bolts that are one inch long. I reused the old washers though. Love how easy the saw is to move now, even in the vertical position. The adjustable foot is great. The saw is much more stable now and doesn't move
backwards when it's in the vertical configuration. No more bending over to
loosen or tighten the clamp. The height of the table has
come up to about 31 inches. The factory bolt that clamps
the miter block was too soft, and I now believe it's probably too small as well. This 5/16 inch grade 5 bolt that's 2 inches long is much harder and higher
quality, and should work for now. The nut that I welded onto this custom
handle in part six of this series is okay, but i'll be changing it to a 3/8
inch nut or larger in a later video. I would do it in this video but the
hole is too close to the side of the slot, and that's going to take more time to
resolve than just drilling the hole bigger. So the new bolt is prepared and installed. It feels quite a bit better than the old bolt
ever did when tightening. Much firmer feel to it. Using the saw with this stand is a pleasure for me. I really like how easy it is now for
me to reach different parts of the saw. It's also tall enough to
use with my roller stand now. But it needs more. Besides a couple of shelves, it
needs a collection system for the metal shavings. It leaves a mess wherever I cut something. In part eight of my Budget Band Saw series, I intend to build that collection
system for the metal shavings. Thanks for watching
