Subject: Re: Adding Delta BS Height Attach.

From: [email-masked] (Carl Muhlhausen)
Date: 6 Feb 1997 19:48:46 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
SteveL1994 <[email-masked]> wrote:
>I just recieved the height extension for my 14" delta bandsaw.  I'll
>install it this weekend.  
>
>Anyone have any tips/recommendations to offer (like how to remove the bolt
>the holds the top half on)?
>
>TIA,  Steve

Here's the post I sent out after struggling with mine.

Carl

-- 
Carl W. Muhlhausen			[email-masked]
Rm. 1B-115L				(908)-576-3052
AT&T Business Communications Services
307 Middletown-Lincroft Rd.
Lincroft, NJ 07738

______________________________________________________________________
>From  ledzep@elmo Mon Apr 15 10:52 EDT 1996
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1996 10:49:19 -0400
From: ledzep@elmo (Carl Muhlhausen LZ 1B-115L x3052)
Newsgroups: rec.woodworking
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Subject: Re: Delta 14" Bandsaw Height Attachment redux
Apparently-To: ledzep
Content-Length: 4554
Status: RO

In article <[email-masked]>,
Patrick Olguin  <[email-masked]> wrote:
>In a previously-muddled thread, I surmised:
>
>[My ridiculous wrestling match with a 200lb. saw deleted]
>
>The fact that the saw was hard to separate should be considered
>a feature, not a bug. The pressed pins fit tightly, which means
>that when the saw is reassembled, it stays aligned, and stays
>put. I emphasize alignment here, because column rigidity depends
>on a host of other things, not the least of which are:
>
<snip>

As I was installing the riser block on my newly acquired 
Delta BS, I was thinking of you. I knew I was in for a treat,
so first I tried leaving the top detached from the base
so I could pull up on it while standing on the floor.
This didn't work because I kept lifting the saw off the floor.
Felt like doing dead lifts.

Then with wifey's somewhat reluctant assistance, I lifted the
top onto the base and bolted it. With graphic images of O'Deen
floating in my mind, I climbed up on the base and tried pulling the
top apart - still wouldn't budge.
At  this point I was a little riled, but danger signals were
going off in my head as I reached for my hammer and crowbar.
I mean here I have an expensive shiny new power tool and Delta's
instruction manual says "carefully lift the top of the column
off", and I'm standing there with sweat dripping off me and
a crowbar in one hand and a hammer in the other. Is there 
something wrong with this picture?

Luckily the crowbar didn't work out, but I found that taking
a block of oak and the hammer and whacking judiciously at 
selected points caused a thin glimmer of separation to appear.
Then not much else happened until I reached for my small
sledge hammer and began whacking with some more authority.
Then I was able to work a small lever bar into the crack and
pry the sucker apart. By some small miracle nothing was damaged
in the process.

Delta's description of how to reassemble it with the riser block
in place was also hilarious - " carefully place the top on the
dowel pins" or some such. I again needed a hammer to get the
top started onto the dowel pins and then pulled it together
by tightening the humongous bolt.

Which brings up another aggravation: what kind of wrench
or socket are we poor woodworkers supposed to own to use
on that #@**ing bolt? I used a borrowed socket and breaker bar, together
with a big crescent wrench to unbolt it, but the socket wasn't
deep enough to tighten the replacement bolt. A this point it
was late in the evening, the top was bearly seated on the pins,
and I was moderately pissed off. Then in one of those flashes
of inspiration, that rarely ever work out - I dug up the
headset wrench for my bicycle. Low and behold 32mm is close
enough to 1 1/4 " for this job. 

All told, I still think this is a wonderful machine that
I'm still trying to get the hang of. All the parts were there
and it adjusted pretty easily. But I do think the dear
folks at Delta - lurking in the shadows of this newsgroup -
could fix up the instructions for installing the riser
block a bit. Perhaps there are some secrets they are aware
of that might help.

Now for the devotee's of the Delta BS still with me I've got
a few questions:

	1) What's an acceptable level of vibration for this
	   machine? I followed Duginske's tuneup instructions
	   but it still doesn't quite pass the nickel test.
           The nickel stays put for a while, but eventually
	   falls over. I have it on the mobile base, which seems 
           to make it a little less stable than it would be on
	   the floor.

	2) ANy hints on resawing? I got a 3/4" resaw blade
	   from Suffolk Machinery, and installed a high fence
	   square and perpendicular to the table and blade,
	   but the cut still seems a rough compared to
	   a table saw. What's a realistic amount of waste to
	   expect when resawing a wide board? On one of my
	   first attempts I resawed an 8" wide, 3/4" thick
	   by 3 ft long piece of figured walnut. After 
	   running the pieces through the planer again and
           scraping them smooth, I ended up with two pieces
	   1/4" thick. Is this reasonable or can I hope for
	   better?

	3) How does on finish up a cut safely while resawing?
	   Do you reach beyond the blade and pull the
	   piece through?

Thank you for your patience. ANy responses to these questions
will be warmly received.

Carl
Carl W. Muhlhausen			[email-masked]
Rm. 1B-115L				(908)-576-3052
AT&T Bell Laboratories
307 Middletown-Lincroft Rd.
Lincroft, NJ 07738

---

From: [email-masked] (Alan P. Kefauver)
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 18:39:33 GMT

The top is HEAVY. Have a helper. Did mine upright. Had to pry the
halves apart with a big screwdriver and a light (well, not so light)
hammer tap. (Rubber mallet) Had to get a large wrench for the nut and
bolt at Sears. If I recall, you need a closed end wrench because an
open end is too wide for the casting. The nut and the bolt take
different sizes too!

[email-masked] (David Roseman) wrote:

>On 6 Feb 1997 14:49:53 GMT, [email-masked] (SteveL1994) wrote:
>
>With the nut removed, the bolt will come out when the halves are
>separated.  There's the rub. From my experience, plan on this testing
>your patience.  There are alignment pins that are machined to a press
>fit, and the halves can thus be a bear to separate.  You may want to
>have someone help due to the weight of the castings.  Some WD-40 might
>find its way in and help.  As I recall (tho its been a few years), I
>lay the saw on its side and finally had to persuade the halves apart
>by tapping lightly with a hammer on a thin but stiff-bladed putty
>knife _uniformly_ around the edges.  I know this sounds Phillistine.
>I'd wait for a few more posts this weekend for others with more recent
>experience, tho I don't think the saw has changed at all in this
>respect. I recommend checking the alignment of the wheels with a
>straightedge both before and after you make the modification to be
>sure they're coplaner.  That way if you have a tracking problem,
>you'll have reduced at least one variable to trouble-shoot. dcr