Band Saw Cabinet Dimentions

[jon_ramp]

I bought a used Craftsman 137.224320 band saw that came without the base. I am going to build a cabinet base with drawers for storage. I am wondering what's the best size for the cabinet. The saw as you face it is 17" wide from the left of the table to the right most of the motor. The depth from the back of the frame (furthest point back) to the front of the table is 23". Building the cabinet only 17" wide seems like it might be too narrow. From the base of the saw to the top of the table, it is 17". Won't be doing any resawing of heavy stock on a 12" saw, so including the casters what would you recommend for height of the cabinet? I'm new to the use of a band saw so don't know what the ideal height would be when used more for detail or scroll work than resaw. My neighbor would let me use his 14" saw that has a 6" add on riser should the need to resaw arise.

[mpc]

I would make it so the table is at your hand height when your upper arms are straight down by your sides and your elbows are 90 degrees. Maybe a little higher if you are nearsighted and use bi/trifocals. For fine work, it helps if you can rest the sides of your hands or wrists on the table... just using your fingertips to push and guide the work. Make sure though that you can still reach the tensioning knob with sufficient leverage to actally tension the blade.

Cabinet size: big enough to store blades... either twisted into triple-loops for storage or in whatever size boxes your news blades arrive in.
mpc

[Jim Frye]

Here's the one I made for my 10" band saw from 2by scraps mounted on 3" casters. I store my OSS inside with the band saw blades stored on the inside of the door. The overall size was dictated by the size of the OSS, but the height was set so the saw table height was the same as a floor standing band saw. Using 2by stock makes the base pretty heavy and stable.

[LCHIEN]

FWIW, my Delta 12" bandsaw which will be similar to yours, has the table located 42 inches off the floor, but I have it on a mobile base so its probably more like 41.25" - 41.5" or so off the floor.
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[Carlos]

I also would make the saw's table about elbow height. This will be ideal. As far as the footprint of the cabinet, larger is more stable to a point, but it doesn't need to be huge. Unless space is a challenge, I'd make it a bit larger than the saw itself.

[capncarl]

I don’t think that ther should be a set height for a band saw table. I believe that the height depends on the operators height, arm length and eyesight. I like my band saws table at a height where I do not have to bend my back any while operating it, even if I have to bend my arms up at my shoulders. I want the table high so I can really see my workpiece. With a band saw you have to have your fingers closer to the blade than a table saw so you really need to be able to see and concentrate on what is going on. If you are not comfortable with your stance at the saw you could easily end up with a nasty nub. I use my band saw a lot and have led lights on flexible arms all over the place so I can see what’s going on. I also have plenty of dust collection vacuum on the cabinet, under the blade and above the blade so I don’t have to contend with dust and small pieces and do something stupid with my fingers trying to brush away the trash!