AMT 14" Bandsaw

[bfrikken]

Our local CL has an ad for a 14" AMT Bandsaw. It says that the table is broken, and the picture shows what looks like only the trunnions are broken (I think that is what they are). I emailed the person to ask if the saw at least runs and if he has a blade. I'm entirely guessing that I can find blades to work and either find some old replacement parts or rebuild a table. The price is right if it works fine (50 bucks)

http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/tls/706339447.html

Anyone know anything about AMT or have one themselves? i'm looking around the web quite a bit and at least thought I'd post here.

[Hoover]

http://www.accuramachinetools.com/band-saw-parts.html

The above link should be able to supply the parts you might need.

[Uncle Cracker]

That is a pretty cheesy-looking trunnion unit. Spare parts may be available, but perhaps not. I'm not sure how easy it would be to fabricate. They have to handle a pretty good chunk of weight. What I would be more concerned about is how they got broken. It looks like the kind of thing that might result if the saw had been knocked over, in which case I would also think there might be other issues, such as bent wheels, frame out-of-line, bent spindles, etc. These would be very hard to spot visually. You should not buy the thing without running it first to see if everything still lines up. Another odd thing is the location of the on/off buttons. It looks like you'll be banging your head on the table or the workpiece to operate them.

[bfrikken]

Another odd thing is the location of the on/off buttons. It looks like you'll be banging your head on the table or the workpiece to operate them.

Hehe, maybe that is how the table got broken?

[Knottscott]

The motor alone is worth more than $50.....you just might be able to find trunnions from another Taiwanese 14" BS. Keep us posted if you get it!

[bfrikken]

that's kind of what i was thinking. i mean if everything runs fine, and the blade is fine, then i'll get more hten my money's worth. May be able to either find a old table somewhere else, or parts, or just build my own.

[mikel]

I got one of those AMT's last year on CL and have put new tires on it and the top alighnment assembly broke when I got it. I used parts from a Grizzly 14" saw. The person at grizzly helped me figure out what parts I might need. I had it machined to get the AMT shaft into the grizzly bracket. It takes reg 14" saw blades I forget the length. I now hear the top bearing going and the guides are just OK.

Still just a cheapie saw. I wish I had gotten a better one. I would rather make sawdust than fix my tools.

YMMV

...mikel

[LCHIEN]

all in all, given Mikels experience and the real flimsy construction of the parts you can see (e.g. the trunions), that does not look like a real well made saw. Just sounds like a continuing maintenance headache fixing to happen.

[Uncle Cracker]

...fixing to happen.

Your Freudian slip is showing, Loring...

[bfrikken]

thanks for the feedback mikel. I haven't heard back from the guy. He's an hour away as well, so as it looks right now, I suppose I can forget about it.

[bfrikken]

Heard back from the guy today. He says it runs fine and he has 4 different blades for it (different tooth counts)

[Thom2]

Trunnions don't look any different than a lot of offshore stuff I've seen. HF's would probably even work in a pinch. The table extension is sure interesting, not sure I've seen one of those quite like that before.

For $50 with blades, I'd say go for it ... I'm sure you can get $150 or more once it's back in working condition.

[Hoover]

The web site I listed previously has the trunnions mentioned. Yes both trunnions are broken. The trunnions supplied by Accura are much sturdier.