Photo please?

On Mon, 04 Jul 2005 13:27:48 -0400, Joseph Gwinn
wrote:

As mentioned in prior postings (beginning on 30 May 2005), I have a
Wilton 8201 metal-cutting bandsaw, and was having problems getting
straight and square cuts. As a test, I made a small (6x9") sled from
scrap metal that happened to be in the shop, and the sled worked. So, a
larger sled was planned. It has now been built and tested.

The larger sled is 5/16 by 7.75 by 13 inches 6061 T6 aluminum, with a
23" cold-rolled steel 3/8 by 3/4" rail screwed to it. The rail rides in
the mitre gauge slot of the bandsaw table, and has two 1-3/8" steel
knobs screwed to it, one at each end. Perpendicular to the steel rail
is an aluminum rail against which the stock to be cut is held. There
are two toggle clamps reaching over the aluminum rail that clamp the
stock to the 7.75x13 plate.

This almost worked. There was a residual error of 0.015" in 7.5935"
(the width of a test plate), or 0.11 degrees. I figured that one or the
other rail had shifted when removed and replaced, as flathead screws are
not *that* accurate. So, I added dowel pins, the holes being drilled
and reamed through both plate and rail while clamped up to some import
1-2-3 blocks. No dice - still more or less the same error. Perhaps one
of the blocks is crooked; I have no easy way to detect this. (Hmm. I
do have a way, but didn't think of it at the time.) Or I made some
mistake. (The clamping setup was awkward because the 1-2-3 blocks could
not be bolted together for lack of clearance holes for 3/8-16 studs.)

So, I added a second aluminum rail screwed to the first, allowing me to
shim the second rail such as to get a perpendicular cut. This worked.
So far, I've cut up to 1/2-inch aluminum plate.

Joe Gwinn.