Hot Rodding the Central Machinery #32208 Band Saw

[dbhost]

As you may know I am in the process of hot rodding as it were, my Harbor Freight 32208 14" band saw. The work so far has been..

#1. Harbor Freight Universal Mobile Base.
#2. Craftsman Professional Universal Band Saw Fence. (functional, but certainly NOT great, planning on picking up some small HF C clamps to help it out. The clamps this thing somes with are garbage.)
#3. Harbor Freight riser block kit. Priceless add on for this saw.
#4. Accura Micro Adjustable Roller Bearing Blade guides.
#5. Acculink link belts.
#6. Timberwolf blades.

These mods have been done for quite a while now, and I have been picking up the design ideas, bits and pieces to move forward with bigger mods. The biggest is my Grizzly tension release lever.

Due to some comments in the Grizzly Tension Release on a HF bandsaw thread, there has been some confusion to which parts to order for the tension release. I have double and triple checked the part #s against the Grizzly G0555 parts list.

33 P0555033A 1 Blade Adj. Screw Assy 7"
131A P0555131A 1 Fixed Spacer A.
131B P0555131B 1 Fixed Spacer B.
133 P0555133 1 Lever Rod
135 P0555135 1 Bushing
137 P0555137 1 Bracket
140 P0555140 2 Support Plate
141 P0555141 1 Fixed Base

Now the rest of this stuff SHOULD be findable at your local hardware store for a LOT less money than Grizzly sells it.
If you are wanting to go with the Metric to be 100% up to speed with Grizzly, the parts are...
130A PSS05M 1 Setscrew M5-.8x10. (Required to get this size, the Grizz parts are threaded for it!)
130B PSS07M 1 Setscrew M5-.8x5. (Required to get this size, the Grizz parts are threaded for it!)
132 PW04M 1 Flat Washer 10mm
134, PW01M 6 Flat Washer 8MM
136, PSB82M 1 Button Cap Screw M8-1.25x20
138, PB15M 2 Hex Bolt M8-1.25x40
139, P0555139 2 Nylon Nut M8-1.25
142, PLW04M 2 Lock Washer 8MM
143, PB09M 2 Hex Bolt M8-1.25x20

Per the original instructions, if you have SAE tap / die set, you can substitute SAE hardware for the metric stuff. Those components are...
2 @ 5/16-18 bolts 1 1/2"
2 @ 5/15-18 bolts 3/4"
1 @ 5/16-18 button cap screw 3/4"
7 @ 5/16 flat washers
2 @ 5/16 lock washers
2 @ 5/16-18 nylon locking nuts

All of the parts for my Grizzly tension release lever from Grizzly are in. I figure since I will be into the bandsaw for this conversion, I am making a couple of other mods at the same time. One of them related to the conversion.

#1. Replace the OEM tension spring with a Carter Cobra Coil. (On order from Woodcraft). Woodcraft item #14497.
#2. Return OEM guide assemblies fitted with cool blocks. The micro adjust on the roller guides is nice and all, but has been a hassle adjustment wise over time. I am wishing I hadn't done this particular mod. Cool Blocks Woodcraft Item #49H02.
#3. "Enhanced lower blade guide dust port" made from 4" S&D, pine, screws, and adhesive sealant. The DC will come into a 4x4x2.5 wye, the 2.5" will go up to the upper blade guide. I have tested the idea by bungee cording the hoses where I want them, and it works GREAT, I just want to set up a more proper mounting / hood system.

Not coming in quite yet, but planned for the next round of upgrades.
#1. Add Harbor Freight #90766 75 Watt Magnetic Base Light. (This will be moved from tool to tool as needed. I rarely need it for the bandsaw, but find lighting around the lathe to be pretty lousy...)
#2. Carter Urethane bandsaw tires. Woodcraft item #144969.
#3. Carter Clean Sweep wheel brush. Yes I can shop build one, but for the cost, I would be more money and LOTS more effort into a shop built brush.
#4. Rockler Safety shut off switch. I have hated the OEM switch mount location of my saw. Always felt it was unsafe. I want to move the switch to the frame, AND provide a large paddle STOP mechanism for the saw. (See the Steel City 14" band saw for ideas). I am planning on not plugging in as other members here have done, but actually wiring the switch to the motor in proper fashion, and eliminating the OEM switch. This will leave a switch plate hole in the stand. No biggie. Home Depot sells metal block off plates, simply use the threaded insert of a wall box spacer to back up the block off plate. Not sure if I can color match the stand, so chances are it will get a couple of coats of gloss black paint and then a couple of coats of clear.

Now I KNOW that if I try to sell it, I will never get out of this saw what I have in it. That's not the point. Unless something major happens to the frame, table, or trunion, I have no intention of getting rid of this saw. It's a good cutting machine, and has been very accepting of the various mods.

For those that are going to ask why not just buy a saw like a Grizz GO555 with the mods already done in the first place. Well aside from the blade guides, fence, and of course the tension release, the Grizzly would need the same mods. Now on sale, with the 20% off coupon, the 32208 runs just under half of what the Grizz does. Not to mention in all honesty, I like tinkering with machines too.

[cgallery]

Not to mention in all honesty, I like tinkering with machines too.

Nuttin' wrong w/ that.

Unless you're one of the lucky ones that never experiences machine failures, you're gonna have to learn how to work on the stuff anyway. I'd rather figure it out sooner, rather than later.

Impressive list, BTW.

[dbhost]

Thanks, one item that I am not putting on that list until the OEM one dies is...

Dayton 1.5 HP motor.

Friend of mine had one out of an old Rockwell band saw. It's actually an NOS replacement for a Rockwell. 110V capable, all the mount holes, pulley shaft etc match up. I figure I want to wear out the OEM one first... And from what I have heard, that is going to take a LONG time.

Of course IF I manage to wear out the bearings, I will upgrade those at that time as well with some nice Timken's...

[Hoover]

How do you like the Grizzly tensioning mod? Does the short handle do the trick for you? I don't have the Central 32208, but I have the Cummins bandsaw, bright yellow in all its glory(yeah, right).

[dbhost]

Dunno. Parts just came in yesterday...

[dbhost]

***update***

In regards to the Grizzly tension release upgrade...

I finally got all of the needed parts in tonight. I also picked up the tap, and a fresh center punch for fear of not being able to find one.

Had I ordered ALL of the correct parts the first time, and the error from the original thread didn't cost me a second shipment charge from Grizzly, this entire modification would have run me a total of $80.00 with shipping, and sales tax on locally sourced parts.

Before folks stammer about how that is too much, remember I am adding a Cobra Coil at the same time. Might as well since I will have the assembly apart...

Now if I can keep LOML from keeping me tied up with other stuff, this weekend, we operate...

[dbhost]

Okay boys and girls, the tension release, cool blocks, and Cobra Coil are done.

All the pieces and parts for the upgrade.


The set of cool blocks in the OEM blade guide assemblies replaces the aftermarket Accura blade guide assemblies. The Accuras were nice, but were a pain to reset every time I swapped blades.


The completed tension release assembly in the released position.


The completed tension release assembly in the tensioned position.


The tension release assembly was pretty straight forward just following the originally linked Photo HOWTO and using the Grizzly parts list as a guide as to how it should go together.

The hardest part of the entire process was adjusting it once it went together...

One step that I feel is VERY important that the originator of this mod did not mention in the tutorial, is that once you find the centers of where you want your holes, you really MUST center punch the spot you want your bit to drill to prevent the drill bit from skating on you.

[dbhost]

How do you like the Grizzly tensioning mod? Does the short handle do the trick for you? I don't have the Central 32208, but I have the Cummins bandsaw, bright yellow in all its glory(yeah, right).

So far so good. Time will tell, but it seems really well thought out. Not sure how to describe how much force on the handle is required to tension / detension the thing though. It is not loose, but it's not like I am trying to twist off a well torqued bolt either... The handle is long enough that it provides sufficient leverage, yet short enough it doesn't hang way off the machine and hang on stuff. After looking at the Carter lever, I really think I like this setup better...

I want to thank the person that dinged me on the 20th saying it looked like I needed to boost my post count. I am sorry you didn't like my updated postings, but I do have people that have flat out asked me to post my updates on these projects as they are interested. If you don't like my posts, please put me on your ignore list.

[Hoover]

Thank You for the updates and the PM. I personally like all the work that you have done on the mods, and the pictures. With all that you have provided I'm going to order the Grizzly parts, and do the mod.

The work you have done on the 32208 Central bandsaw is interesting to me and shows what can be done to personalize it. Thanx.

[BrazosJake]

Okey dokey, whatever floats your bubble. A little like hot-rodding a Yugo, though.

[dbhost]

If it works well, why not? (Oh by the way, there are guys that build race cars out of Trabants too!)

The following story is from http://daveyugo.com/_wsn/page3.html

A Drag Racer Turns Handicap
Of His Yugo to His Advantage
By DAN MORSE
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL


ATCO, N.J. -- Dave Benton revs up his engine as the announcer at Atco Raceway calls the action over a scratchy public-address system. "Eighty cubic inches," announcer Max Scherwin tells the crowd of about 2,000. "I know motorcycles that got bigger motors than that."

And Mr. Benton is off. It's his third drag race of the morning, all in a 1986 Yugo.

Let people laugh.


Dave Benton and his Yugo

The arthritic 62-year-old challenges 17-foot dragsters, souped-up Chevys, roaring Mustangs -- taking full advantage of a handicapping system that gives his baby-blue hatchback up to an eight-second head start in quarter-mile dashes. Under the emblem "Underdog Racing," Mr. Benton has become something of a legend around New Jersey's weekend drag-racing circuit.

Mr. Benton is a throwback to a time when drag racing wasn't about who could spend the most money muscling up a car. What drivers couldn't afford, they simply made themselves. A clutch release? Mr. Benton slapped an old air-conditioner magnet on the floorboard that he activates with a switch on the stick shift. To lighten the Yugo, he uses a battery from a garden tractor; gas is held in a 1-gallon oil tank taken from a Honda motorcycle.

In seven years of racing, he has cut his time to 14.785 seconds from 21.9, hitting speeds of around 90 miles an hour.

But ... a Yugo? The $3,990 car that Consumer Reports once called "a grab bag of barely assembled nuts and bolts"? The vehicle that after it was launched with a slogan of "Everybody you know needs a Yugo" scored worst in its category on U.S. government crash tests? The car that for years became a staple on the joke circuit (Why do Yugos have rear-window defrosters? To keep your hands warm while you push it)?

Actually, in many ways, Mr. Benton is as unique as the Yugo.

A lifelong New Jersey resident, Mr. Benton was born with a clubfoot and wore a leg brace through grade school. At the age of nine, he took apart his first engine. "A '37 Chevy," Mr. Benton recalls. He remembers, he says, because "I never got it back together."

He studied forestry for a year in college but dropped out to pursue a string of disparate careers: Porsche mechanic, cowboy, bulldozer operator, motivational speaker, instructor of automotive technology.

By 1986, Mr. Benton and his wife, Linda, a high-school math teacher, decided to downsize from their '73 Cadillac and old Chrysler station wagon. The first compact they test-drove: an '86 Yugo GV. A half-mile into the ride, Mr. Benton was so taken by the car's pep and handling, they turned the thing around, zipped back to the dealer and bought it. As it happened, Yugo America Inc. was headquartered just up the road in Upper Saddle River. And in 1987, Mr. Benton got a job there, in the technical-services department.

Inside Yugo America, though, things weren't going well. The company had recalled its first 9,000 cars because some of the seat belts weren't bolted on according to specifications. And though Fortune magazine had singled the Yugo out as one of the products of the year in 1985, the car's sales fell consistently short of annual goals of 200,000; they never reached one-quarter of that.

In 1992, Yugo America filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation, stopped importing the vehicles and left American dealers to take dramatic measures to sell off inventories. One pitch: "Buy a Buick, Get a Free Yugo."

Mr. Benton was once again out of a job. But when his desire for an inexpensive hobby drove him to New Jersey's amateur drag-racing circuit in 1992, Mr. Benton opted for the Yugo. His first quarter-mile time, 21.9 seconds, was only slightly faster than a greyhound could have run it.

One day, returning home from the Atco Raceway, Mr. Benton was clipped by a passing Camaro. He was forced into the center guardrail, flipped four times -- and walked away, unscathed. "Tough little cars," Mr. Benton says.

Getting Serious

After the wreck, Mr. Benton salvaged the 80 cubic-inch engine, Yugo's largest ever, stuck it in a replacement Yugo he bought at a junkyard for $100 and really got serious about making a fast car.

Over the next five years, he ran about 400 races, generally competing in "bracket" divisions. Under that format, drivers submit the time they expect to run. Typically, Mr. Benton might submit a 14.91, while his competitor would post something like a 10.04. Then Mr. Benton would get his 4.87-second head start. The winner: whoever is closest to his predicted time -- without going under it.

Still, he feels the need for speed. This winter, Mr. Benton rebuilt the engine's short block, looking to shave more ticks off his time. And on May 15, he and two Yugo Underdog buddies -- Pete Mulhern, 57, and Dave Greason, 63 -- have gathered in Mr. Benton's driveway to finish up the engine so Mr. Benton can unleash it the following day at the Atco Raceway.

Mr. Benton still limps. Mr. Mulhern also moves slowly: He has had two heart attacks and suffers from emphysema. Mr. Greason, a diabetic, has had open-heart surgery and has a condition called essential tremor, which makes his head shake. He figures he doesn't have all that long to live. "It's winding down for me now," he says. "It's time to have some fun."

Yugo Central

Behind the three, a dark garage has been turned into a Yugo parts center. Six engines lie on the floor. Exhaust systems rest against the wall. Nuts and bolts are stored in old Planters Cheese Balls cans, or are scattered on the concrete floor. The mess spills into the driveway, where six parked Yugos extend into a weed-caked front yard.

Mr. Benton climbs behind the wheel, and flips the ignition switch-piercing the quiet neighborhood with what sounds like a lawn mower on steroids. Mr. Mulhern, wearing a white fishing cap and reading glasses, tweaks the carburetor with a long, thin screwdriver.

Eventually, Mr. Benton declares the new engine ready for battle.

Early the next morning, Mr. Benton packs for the day: lunch, soft drinks, a plastic sandwich-bag filled with vitamins and various medicines. Mr. Mulhern arrives, and the two hitch the drag-Yugo to the back of Mr. Benton's everyday-Yugo. They drive to the track, arriving before most of the other racers, and start replacing the standard front tires of the dragster with racing ones.

Within minutes, a younger man, Kevin Thomas, bounds up to check out the car.

"I heard about you!" he says. "I heard about the Yugo!" Mr. Thomas, who drags a Subaru station wagon, tells Mr. Benton he has a turbo kit on order. "I want to become an Underdog too. I want to scare some people."

Dropping Weight

Other racers and spectators wander by, some shaking their heads, some laughing. But the jokes don't last long in this crowd. Mostly, it's Mr. Benton's mechanical skills that impress his fellow racers -- and have helped him cut down the weight of the car to its current 1,340 pounds from about 2,000.

The morning goes well for Underdog Racing. On this day, Mr. Benton is racing only against cars his own size and speed, in the "Sportsman Import" division. In his second practice run, Mr. Benton sets a new personal record: 14.785 seconds.

He eventually loses in the semifinals to a Mazda RX-7, but he has done well enough for a swing by the awards stand after the race. He picks up a trophy, $85 in prize money (he has won money just three times before) and climbs back into the dragster. En route to his space in the pits, Mr. Benton drives by hundreds of fans and racers -- cracking open his driver's side door and thrusting the 18-inch gold trophy into the air. The crowd cheers.

Mr. Mulhern has been waiting patiently in his lawn chair, by now exhausted from an afternoon in the warm sun.

"We did it again," Mr. Benton says, showing him the cash.

[chopnhack]

oh man...... you didnt just take it there... wow

[dbhost]

oh man...... you didnt just take it there... wow

I never said I was sane.

Actually I was thinking it was more like Hot Rodding a Smart Car...

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/240685/smart_car_vs_ferrari/

[dbhost]

So I am I think 14 years into owning this band saw, and I think until the motor dies, I am DONE with modding it. Let me list fo the mods and agree or disagree you at least have an idea of what I put into my saw to get it where I am totally happy with it...

1. AccuLink belts replaced the OEM belts. The OE belts had a distinct hump to them that made the saw vibrate a LOT, these smoothed it out. Same thing with my drill press.
2. Central Machinery riser block kit. Good luck finding one these days they have been out of production at least 7 or 8 years...
3. Timberwolf blades, various sizs, not sure if tehse count as mods, but LOVE these blades...
4. Grizzly G0555 tension release mechanism. As detailed above.
5. Carter Cobra Coil tension sprint replaced the floppy OE tension spring.
6. Harbor Freight, whatever brand they call them, mobile base.
7. Rustoleum Hunter green paint for the base. Overexposure to a blow out on the water softener killed the OE finish on the base...
8. Accura Roller bearing blade guides. The accura upper guide holder does NOT fit the Central Machinery with its micro adjuster, BUT... the yoke for the bearings fits the Central Machinery part, so I swapped yokes and installed the rest and boy does it work great!
9. Jet 2.5" dust port in place of the OEM port.
10. 2.5" dust port in the lower wheel guard.
11. Carter wheel brush.
12. Urethane tires replace the OEM tires.
13. Rust removal and table polished via 320 sandpaper and WD40.
14. MLCS on the post relocated safety style on / off switch replaced teh factory switch that I have apparently been bothered by for at least 14 years...
15. And finally today, the Kreg Precision Bandsaw fence.

Once the motor has cut its last curve, or resawn its last bit of lumber, I am planning on upgrading to a higher quality 1.5HP model. Not sure of the brand, was leaning toward Dayton so many years ago, but there are so many good ones now I am not sure...


Early riser block, blades, tension mechanism installed, early attempt at upgrading dust collection tried, and jetissoned.


The tension release mechanism installed and in the detensioned position. I have since added tension / detension labels to allow me to see at a glance the status.



THe Hunter Green paint is on the other side of the stand, you can see the dust ports, kind of as well as the switch and of course the fence. I guess I could have used a better hunk of cable than an extension cord, but it was the right gauge, and it worked...

So that should in theory be the endo fthe Band Saw hot rodding saga that is way too many years in teh making, funny how life gets in the way sometimes.