Trash to treasure
Happy Thursday!
This is the story of my band saw.
When I was looking for tools for my woodworking hobby, and still today when I need something, I check marketplace first. I’ve learned that you can find some really good deals on marketplace if you’re patient and spend a little bit of time searching. My 14 inch floor model bandsaw is probably the best example of that.
I found it listed on marketplace for $60. The listing said “bandsaw, don’t know much about it, suitable only for parts”. I figured for $60. It was at least worth my four legged quality manager and I taking a short ride to check it out. We met the seller at a storage unit, he showed me the bandsaw, covered with dust, table a little rusty, covers loose, sitting in the back corner. The story was, he had inherited it from a family member and didn’t know anything about it except “it makes a really bad noise and rattles when I turn it on“. There was no way to plug it in and test it out so I figured it was worth a chance. I offered him $50 and he accepted. We wrestled this 25-ish year old behemoth, 200 pounds and nearly 6 foot tall saw into the back of my Highlander and I was on my way.
Got it home, got it into my garage with the help of stubbornness and gravity, plugged it in and turned it on long enough to confirm that it did in fact make a hideous sound when it ran, but at least it ran. It sat there, untouched for about two months until one rainy weekend. I decided to invest some time in it. Took the covers off, cleaned it up, applied a little WD-40 where it needed it. In the process, I discovered two badly frayed and stretched belts, a dull, rusty, misaligned, and poorly tensioned blade, and two spiders nests, which I quickly evicted. Made a quick trip to Lowe’s with the old belts and blade in hand for reference and picked up some good quality replacements. Total cost: $47. Got home, installed the parts and fired it up. The hideous sound was gone. Part one complete. Tried to cut through a piece of walnut and it looked like it had been chewed by a beaver with a dental problem. Consulted the expert: chatgpt. Got instruction on adjusting and tuning and 30 minutes later, I had a fully functional old-school sturdy, professional size bandsaw.
Total investment $97 and about 2 hours of time. Not only do I have a bandsaw now, but the knowledge of how to tear it apart and make it sing. That’s a win as far as I’m concerned.
Take care of yourselves and take care
of each other…. Pirate out. ⚓️