Popular Woodworking 2008-04 № 168, страница 71

Custom dust collection. This "wrap around" dust extraction allows full table tilt to 45°. The door ledges stay clean!

Guide Setting

Metallic guides are always set with one sheet of newspaper clearance away from the blade. Lignum is well lubricated by its natural oils, wears relatively fast and can be set with zero clearance, though I always turn the wheels over by hand to check that they are not too tight or stick on a bumpy weld. The condition of your guide blocks is vital as they prevent the blade from twisting in the horizontal plane. After heavy use the surfaces become convex, allowing more and more twist and slop. The ends of mine are trued regularly on a disc sander equipped with a simple wooden fence.

Guide setting is a delicate operation, as the blade must not deflect at all for precision work. My blocks slide easily in their holders. I bring the first one up to the blade with gentle finger pressure. The blade tension is sufficient to slide the block out again if I have pressed too hard. This guide is now secured with the brass knob. The second guide is then pressed gently against the opposite side of the blade. If any deflection is seen, I allow the blade to push it back, then secure its clamping knob. By alternating several times from side to side, it is quite easy to arrive at zero clearance with no deflection.

When running free, the blade should just clear the saw's thrust bearing, which is the support behind the blade. I like to check that the thrust bearings on both the upper and

Bevel here to avoid a step when free-running (not cutting)

Lignum block

■ Bevel here to clear set of teeth

The shape of your guides. Small chamfers on my guides allow me to set them with zero clearance.

shape was so good that a few shavings from a plane or spokeshave completed the profile of the back legs. This saves a great deal of time if the shape you want is amenable to this technique.

The template is secured to the top surface of a rough blank with double-stick tape or small screws in the end waste. The blank has been thicknessed and sawn about ¹/8" oversize. The guide or follower is supported on a stick, which is a fraction thicker than the work.

lower sets of guides fire up and start rotating when sawing commences.

Dust Extraction

After many hours of thought and experiment, I managed to build the "wrap around" dust extraction unit, which you can see at left. This allows the table to tilt to 45° and collects dust as near to the source as possible. It makes the machine more pleasant to use. Most extraction points are too far from the throat. Wind generated by the wheels and blade carry dust around inside the case, over the top and eventually blowing it in your face. With my setup, I find virtually no dust at all on the ledges of the door and casting when the blade is changed.

Template Sawing

I learned this cunning technique from a magazine. Some years ago, I was asked to "make up" a set of Edward Barnsley dining chairs. Having made an accurate template from melamine-faced hardboard, I was able to saw the gentle curves with total repeatability. The resulting

Summary

It is quite impossible to cover all aspects of this fabulous machine in one article. I have not mentioned circle cutting or the benefits of a tilting table. My machine table tilts all the way to 45°, and I find it much safer to make bevel cuts here than on the table saw. Unfortunately I have heard that some modern machines are now limited to a fairly useless 30°, for "health and safety reasons."

The "meat & fish" blade is a wonderful thing, with its fine kerf and excellent surface finish. Who would have thought that a massive, ancient band saw could do work of such finesse? With a little tender loving care, a heavy old cast machine will outperform many lightweight modern ones. A sharp blade, true tires, good tension and accurate guides are capable of the finest work. PW

David is the author of three books and five DVDs, including the new "Chisel Techniques for Precision Joinery." He teaches woodworking classes in his shop in Devon, England. More information is on his web site at davidcharlesworth.co.uk.

Cutting copies. Above is shown my template sawing setup. The guide follows the template (which is attached to the work) and copies its shape onto the work below.

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