Extreme band saw hack

[twistsol]

This looks like it started out as a HF 14" bandsaw and hacked to be able to rip a full sheet of plywood.

https://www.core77.com/posts/80270/Man-Hacks-a-Bandsaw-to-Rip-4x8-Sheets-in-Half

[cwsmith]

Okay, but from my point of view (I agree it might be pretty narrow) I don't get the point. First off, I wouldn't rip plywood on a band saw and it looks too unstable (and much too large of a mouth) to resaw, although it does look like you could in principle resaw about a 30" piece of stock. I also don't like that much blade exposed at the back support area...just looks dangerous to me.

The one advantage I see is that you could certainly pass a wide piece through that opening... would that make this, previously 14-inch, band saw now about a 28- or 30-inch band saw? Wonder what size blade he buys for that, or does he weld up his own?

I wonder what the gentleman's intentions are.

CWS

[capncarl]

Boy I bet that would be a PIA to keep the band tracking on the wheels!

[tfischer]

Maybe he cuts HUGE circles lol

I have that same base bandsaw. I did some upgrades, but not this one lol.

[MountainLesli]

I just joined this site today, and was SHOCKED to see the exact saw that we need help with! My husband has an old Reliant 14" band saw, and needs to find SQUARE COOL BLOCKS. I found a forum from Woodworking mag, that said that this HF saw is exactly the same, but hope that you can tell me if the cool blocks on this model are square or round? We need the square ones, and cannot find replacements anywhere. In one magazine, there was a photo of Delta Cool Blocks, but I cannot find a model # for the Delta. Also, if your band saw cool blocks are square, would you mind giving me the model #? I am hopeful that we can get them from HF, but if anyone knows where we can find them, I would so appreciate your reply.

[d_meister]

I just joined this site today, and was SHOCKED to see the exact saw that we need help with! My husband has an old Reliant 14" band saw, and needs to find SQUARE COOL BLOCKS. I found a forum from Woodworking mag, that said that this HF saw is exactly the same, but hope that you can tell me if the cool blocks on this model are square or round? We need the square ones, and cannot find replacements anywhere. In one magazine, there was a photo of Delta Cool Blocks, but I cannot find a model # for the Delta. Also, if your band saw cool blocks are square, would you mind giving me the model #? I am hopeful that we can get them from HF, but if anyone knows where we can find them, I would so appreciate your reply.

Maybe these?

https://www.rockler.com/ceramic-guide-blocks-for-bandsaws-4-pack

[tfischer]

The cool blocks on the HF saw are square. The ones it came with are plastic and I promptly threw them away and replaced them with roller bearings. Those work fine although are a little noisy. Had the saw for over a decade now, using that setup.