I never intended to turn the bandsaw into a project in itself, but that's
what it's turning out to be. This time, I upgraded to a link belt and
added a dust collection vacuum port.

The link belt was from HF. It's cheaper than most others, but looks just
like the more expensive one I bought from Woodcraft. Vibration at startup
has been reduced, but I haven't tried cutting anything to see how well it's
working.

The dust collection vacuum port was a little harder upgrade, as I had to
take the lower door off and cut a hole. I placed the angled fitting in the
center of the door, near the bottom. A test cut showed reduced dust output
vs the pathetic dust "shoot" on the side.

I'll have to try some real cuts to see how well they work, but I think the
dust collection upgrade will be most worthwhile.

Puckdropper
--
Make it to fit, don't make it fit.

On 09 Aug 2012 11:11:42 GMT, Puckdropper
puckdropper(at)yahoo(dot)com wrote:

I never intended to turn the bandsaw into a project in itself, but that's
what it's turning out to be. This time, I upgraded to a link belt and
added a dust collection vacuum port.

Two honorable tasks, sir.


The link belt was from HF. It's cheaper than most others, but looks just
like the more expensive one I bought from Woodcraft. Vibration at startup
has been reduced, but I haven't tried cutting anything to see how well it's
working.

Ditto here. I put it on my Griz 18-incher the week I got it, and it
took the vibration down to a very low purr. It's the green stuff made
by AccuLink vs the red PowerTwist made by Fenner.


The dust collection vacuum port was a little harder upgrade, as I had to
take the lower door off and cut a hole. I placed the angled fitting in the
center of the door, near the bottom. A test cut showed reduced dust output
vs the pathetic dust "shoot" on the side.

I put mine in the solid side, at the bottom of the metal cover. That
meant I'd never have to play with it while changing blades, etc. It's
in the back, out of the way.


I'll have to try some real cuts to see how well they work, but I think the
dust collection upgrade will be most worthwhile.

It really does help. I think I need a brush on the tires/blade, too,
though.

--
We are always the same age inside.
-- Gertrude Stein

On 8/9/2012 7:11 AM, Puckdropper wrote:
I never intended to turn the bandsaw into a project in itself, but that's
what it's turning out to be. This time, I upgraded to a link belt and
added a dust collection vacuum port.

The link belt was from HF. It's cheaper than most others, but looks just
like the more expensive one I bought from Woodcraft. Vibration at startup
has been reduced, but I haven't tried cutting anything to see how well it's
working.

The dust collection vacuum port was a little harder upgrade, as I had to
take the lower door off and cut a hole. I placed the angled fitting in the
center of the door, near the bottom. A test cut showed reduced dust output
vs the pathetic dust "shoot" on the side.

I'll have to try some real cuts to see how well they work, but I think the
dust collection upgrade will be most worthwhile.

Puckdropper

I tried one at the bottom (like you) and it wasn't as effective as the
modified one that I have under the table.

I'll post a picture of my under table one. I used rare earth magnets to
hold it... works well.

But not perfect. If I had a DC I would have both at once working.

On 8/9/2012 11:28 AM, tiredofspam wrote:
On 8/9/2012 7:11 AM, Puckdropper wrote:
I never intended to turn the bandsaw into a project in itself, but that's
what it's turning out to be. This time, I upgraded to a link belt and
added a dust collection vacuum port.

The link belt was from HF. It's cheaper than most others, but looks just
like the more expensive one I bought from Woodcraft. Vibration at
startup
has been reduced, but I haven't tried cutting anything to see how well
it's
working.

The dust collection vacuum port was a little harder upgrade, as I had to
take the lower door off and cut a hole. I placed the angled fitting
in the
center of the door, near the bottom. A test cut showed reduced dust
output
vs the pathetic dust "shoot" on the side.

I'll have to try some real cuts to see how well they work, but I think
the
dust collection upgrade will be most worthwhile.

Puckdropper

I tried one at the bottom (like you) and it wasn't as effective as the
modified one that I have under the table.

I'll post a picture of my under table one. I used rare earth magnets to
hold it... works well.

But not perfect. If I had a DC I would have both at once working.

Hey Puckdropper,

Take a look at the binaries or http://imgur.com/a/wLzRs#0

Although imgur is having some trouble right now... I think they are
upgrading their software and have a few bugs.

Makes blade changes quick and easy, and better than the original dust
port.. more juice..

tiredofspam wrote:


On 8/9/2012 11:28 AM, tiredofspam wrote:
On 8/9/2012 7:11 AM, Puckdropper wrote:
I never intended to turn the bandsaw into a project in itself, but that's
what it's turning out to be. This time, I upgraded to a link belt and
added a dust collection vacuum port.

The link belt was from HF. It's cheaper than most others, but looks just
like the more expensive one I bought from Woodcraft. Vibration at
startup
has been reduced, but I haven't tried cutting anything to see how well
it's
working.

The dust collection vacuum port was a little harder upgrade, as I had to
take the lower door off and cut a hole. I placed the angled fitting
in the
center of the door, near the bottom. A test cut showed reduced dust
output
vs the pathetic dust "shoot" on the side.

I'll have to try some real cuts to see how well they work, but I think
the
dust collection upgrade will be most worthwhile.

Puckdropper

I tried one at the bottom (like you) and it wasn't as effective as the
modified one that I have under the table.

I'll post a picture of my under table one. I used rare earth magnets to
hold it... works well.

But not perfect. If I had a DC I would have both at once working.

Hey Puckdropper,

Take a look at the binaries or http://imgur.com/a/wLzRs#0

Although imgur is having some trouble right now... I think they are
upgrading their software and have a few bugs.

Makes blade changes quick and easy, and better than the original dust
port.. more juice..

Where did you get the port for the hose?

--
G.W. Ross

If all goes well, you've overlooked
something!

tiredofspam nospam.nospam.com wrote in
:



I tried one at the bottom (like you) and it wasn't as effective as
the modified one that I have under the table.

I'll post a picture of my under table one. I used rare earth magnets
to hold it... works well.

But not perfect. If I had a DC I would have both at once working.

Hey Puckdropper,

Take a look at the binaries or http://imgur.com/a/wLzRs#0

Although imgur is having some trouble right now... I think they are
upgrading their software and have a few bugs.

Makes blade changes quick and easy, and better than the original dust
port.. more juice..


My JET saw has a smaller port in that location. It does draw some of the
dust away, but it doesn't get very much of it. (Enough to keep hooking
the vacuum up.) Perhaps if I upsized it to fit a vacuum hose it would do
much better.

The top port would seem to be wanting to pull dust off the blade (before
gravity can get to it), while the bottom port would catch the dust
falling away from the blade. Connecting both together might give the
best of both worlds.

Puckdropper
--
Make it to fit, don't make it fit.

On 8/9/2012 5:09 PM, G. Ross wrote:
tiredofspam wrote:


On 8/9/2012 11:28 AM, tiredofspam wrote:
On 8/9/2012 7:11 AM, Puckdropper wrote:
I never intended to turn the bandsaw into a project in itself, but
that's
what it's turning out to be. This time, I upgraded to a link belt and
added a dust collection vacuum port.

The link belt was from HF. It's cheaper than most others, but looks
just
like the more expensive one I bought from Woodcraft. Vibration at
startup
has been reduced, but I haven't tried cutting anything to see how well
it's
working.

The dust collection vacuum port was a little harder upgrade, as I
had to
take the lower door off and cut a hole. I placed the angled fitting
in the
center of the door, near the bottom. A test cut showed reduced dust
output
vs the pathetic dust "shoot" on the side.

I'll have to try some real cuts to see how well they work, but I think
the
dust collection upgrade will be most worthwhile.

Puckdropper

I tried one at the bottom (like you) and it wasn't as effective as the
modified one that I have under the table.

I'll post a picture of my under table one. I used rare earth magnets to
hold it... works well.

But not perfect. If I had a DC I would have both at once working.

Hey Puckdropper,

Take a look at the binaries or http://imgur.com/a/wLzRs#0

Although imgur is having some trouble right now... I think they are
upgrading their software and have a few bugs.

Makes blade changes quick and easy, and better than the original dust
port.. more juice..

Where did you get the port for the hose?


Woodcraft. they have one that points off at about 22.5 (router fence
type) and one that is straight. Because I have a delta circle cutter for
the bandsaw, I had to switch to the straight, I originally had the 22.5
but it intefered with the clamps screw for the circle cutter. The
magnets hold pretty good and are less of a pain than the original setup,
and it sucks more than the original that came with the saw.. a 1.25 port
I think.

"Puckdropper" puckdropper(at)yahoo(dot)com wrote in message
eb.com...
I never intended to turn the bandsaw into a project in itself, but that's
what it's turning out to be. This time, I upgraded to a link belt and
added a dust collection vacuum port.

The link belt was from HF. It's cheaper than most others, but looks just
like the more expensive one I bought from Woodcraft. Vibration at startup
has been reduced, but I haven't tried cutting anything to see how well
it's
working.

Its an Accu-Link belt. The price is pretty good though. If the local store
has them in stock I may pick up a couple so I have them for belt
replacements when needed. Thanks for mention HF has them. I would have
never even thought to look there.

I have links on both my wood and metal lathes.

The link belts are great. The belt must be attended to for the first
while. They have to have one or two links taken from them as they
conform to the V grove in the pulleys. Without removing, the belt will
wobble and make noise and vibrations. They are to long. Take a link out.

Martin

On 8/9/2012 6:11 AM, Puckdropper wrote:
I never intended to turn the bandsaw into a project in itself, but that's
what it's turning out to be. This time, I upgraded to a link belt and
added a dust collection vacuum port.

The link belt was from HF. It's cheaper than most others, but looks just
like the more expensive one I bought from Woodcraft. Vibration at startup
has been reduced, but I haven't tried cutting anything to see how well it's
working.

The dust collection vacuum port was a little harder upgrade, as I had to
take the lower door off and cut a hole. I placed the angled fitting in the
center of the door, near the bottom. A test cut showed reduced dust output
vs the pathetic dust "shoot" on the side.

I'll have to try some real cuts to see how well they work, but I think the
dust collection upgrade will be most worthwhile.

Puckdropper

Martin Eastburn wrote in
:

I have links on both my wood and metal lathes.

The link belts are great. The belt must be attended to for the first
while. They have to have one or two links taken from them as they
conform to the V grove in the pulleys. Without removing, the belt
will wobble and make noise and vibrations. They are to long. Take a
link out.

Martin


The instructions said to remove 1 additional link for every foot, and
that the belt would need to be adjusted after the first 1-3 hours of
operation.

I can probably loosen the motor mounts on the bandsaw and just retension
things rather than taking the belt off. It looks like there's plenty of
room to allow for that, and I'll wind up doing it anyway.

Puckdropper
--
Make it to fit, don't make it fit.

On 8/9/2012 6:11 AM, Puckdropper wrote:
I never intended to turn the bandsaw into a project in itself, but that's
what it's turning out to be. This time, I upgraded to a link belt and
added a dust collection vacuum port.

The link belt was from HF. It's cheaper than most others, but looks just
like the more expensive one I bought from Woodcraft. Vibration at startup
has been reduced, but I haven't tried cutting anything to see how well it's
working.

The dust collection vacuum port was a little harder upgrade, as I had to
take the lower door off and cut a hole. I placed the angled fitting in the
center of the door, near the bottom. A test cut showed reduced dust output
vs the pathetic dust "shoot" on the side.

I'll have to try some real cuts to see how well they work, but I think the
dust collection upgrade will be most worthwhile.

Puckdropper



The saw looks pretty clean, have you even cut with it yet?

Are yo fixing what may not be broke?

On 8/11/2012 10:28 AM, Leon wrote:
On 8/9/2012 6:11 AM, Puckdropper wrote:
I never intended to turn the bandsaw into a project in itself, but that's
what it's turning out to be. This time, I upgraded to a link belt and
added a dust collection vacuum port.

The link belt was from HF. It's cheaper than most others, but looks just
like the more expensive one I bought from Woodcraft. Vibration at
startup
has been reduced, but I haven't tried cutting anything to see how well
it's
working.

The dust collection vacuum port was a little harder upgrade, as I had to
take the lower door off and cut a hole. I placed the angled fitting
in the
center of the door, near the bottom. A test cut showed reduced dust
output
vs the pathetic dust "shoot" on the side.

I'll have to try some real cuts to see how well they work, but I think
the
dust collection upgrade will be most worthwhile.

Puckdropper



The saw looks pretty clean, have you even cut with it yet?

Are yo fixing what may not be broke?
You must be talking about my saw, not puckdropper's.

Yes I cut with it. It stays clean because of the port.
I hated the whistling noise that the original port had and hated the
poor job it did. I replaced it years ago. I recently tried adding a
bottom port (Like Puckdropper) , but found that it did not work well
with a vac, it would probably work well with a DC, but I don't have a dc.


The ribs in the casting do fill up with saw dust, but 90% goes to the
vac. That saw dust in the ribs was what I hoped would be caught by the
lower port.

I blow my machines off maybe once a week. Do you leave your festools
really caked in wood dust?

On 8/11/2012 10:44 AM, tiredofspam wrote:
On 8/11/2012 10:28 AM, Leon wrote:
On 8/9/2012 6:11 AM, Puckdropper wrote:
I never intended to turn the bandsaw into a project in itself, but
that's
what it's turning out to be. This time, I upgraded to a link belt and
added a dust collection vacuum port.

The link belt was from HF. It's cheaper than most others, but looks
just
like the more expensive one I bought from Woodcraft. Vibration at
startup
has been reduced, but I haven't tried cutting anything to see how well
it's
working.

The dust collection vacuum port was a little harder upgrade, as I had to
take the lower door off and cut a hole. I placed the angled fitting
in the
center of the door, near the bottom. A test cut showed reduced dust
output
vs the pathetic dust "shoot" on the side.

I'll have to try some real cuts to see how well they work, but I think
the
dust collection upgrade will be most worthwhile.

Puckdropper



The saw looks pretty clean, have you even cut with it yet?

Are yo fixing what may not be broke?
You must be talking about my saw, not puckdropper's.

LOL, Yes I apparently am commenting about how clean your unit is. :~)



Yes I cut with it. It stays clean because of the port.
I hated the whistling noise that the original port had and hated the
poor job it did. I replaced it years ago. I recently tried adding a
bottom port (Like Puckdropper) , but found that it did not work well
with a vac, it would probably work well with a DC, but I don't have a dc.

Seems to work very well.



The ribs in the casting do fill up with saw dust, but 90% goes to the
vac. That saw dust in the ribs was what I hoped would be caught by the
lower port.

I would say that my Laguna disposes with at least 90% of the dust but I
open it up and suck out the rest.


I blow my machines off maybe once a week.

I don't like blowing out the excess. Dust goes every where.


Do you leave your festools
really caked in wood dust?

Actually with the Festool vac, dust does not collect so to speak. If I
do a lot of sanding I get tale tell signs of dust and a bit on the track
saw. I confess I will blow the saw off. The Domino stays almost
spotless.

Stationary tools just get dusty.