January, 2024
Now that I have a welding station in my workshop, I wanted to find a simple project to practice my welding skills. I recently purchased an inexpensive metal-cutting bandsaw and found it is a bit too low to the ground for my taste. I’d prefer it to sit up higher to make it easier to work with and to allow me to use a roller stand for long material (currently sits too low to use this). Also, when configured in the open position with the optional table installed, I have to bend down to work, which is not ideal.
Design
I didn’t bother with a CAD design on this one – just wanted something simple, and quick. My intention was to make a simple box with angle iron to match the footprint of the metal band saw (32″ x 12″). I wanted to lift the saw up 6″ so the design would have 2, identical 32″x12″ frames, joined by four 6″ legs in each corner. I’m not worries about supporting the middle since the weight will be exclusively on the corners. The saw comes with screw holes in each of the 4 corners, so I would need some flat iron parts to give me the surface area needed for the attachment – I was thinking of just using triangles to minimize the material.
The saw has 2 rubber feet on the front, and I’d like to continue to use those, so will need to find a way to mount them under the new metal frame. Also, the saw has 2 rubber wheels on the back that allow it to be moved easily (it is quite heavy). I’d like to continue to use these wheels, so I I need another metal plate to bold the wheel assembly to.
Material
I purchased the following items at my local hardware store:
Build
I then went to work using the metal-cutting bandsaw with the following cuts:
- I cut the angle iron into 12″ and 36″ lengths with 45-degree corners for a mitered corner.
- I cut a 12″ piece of flat iron bar for mounting the wheels
- I cut four 3″ triangles from the flat iron bar for mounting the feet of the saw to the frame
- I cut 6″ pieces of steel square tube
Next, I decided to do some practice welding using some scraps I had to improve the final results. I’m glad I did, because I learned a lot in the process.
- I welded the inside and outside of the angle iron mitered corners for a strong fit. However, when I wen to put the square tubes in, the welds got in the way, and there was no easy way to smooth them out with my angle grinder. I don’t own a die grinder, but attempted to use the bits in my drill and got poor results. From this, I learned to tack-weld the inside and focus on welding the outside.
- With a bit of setting adjustment on my welder, I got some good heat penetration on the 1/8″ thick angle iron.
- I played around and even managed to achieve the desirable ‘stack of dimes’ look for a few welds.
- I struggled to find the right settings on my welder to weld the 1/16″-thick square tubes. There was too much heat and it was burning holes in them. After continuing to struggle at the minimum power and feed rate settings, I just decided to scrap the tubes and use angle iron instead. I think the square tubes would have provided more strength, but I didn’t want to spend any more money to go buy thicker-walled square tubes.
- I played around with several different attachments to my angle grinder including different grit flap disks. This was a lot of fun, and I got a feel for how to finish the piece quickly.
Moving on to the actual frame, the welds were quick and easy. I used my flap disk to prepare the steel for the weld and also clean-up afterwards. I attempted to bevel the outside edges of each miter joint, and I think I did a good job of joining the corners. The welding table, clamps and dogs all were a big help in the fabrication process. Also, all the effort I put into the lighting paid off – I could finally see what I was working on!
I welded the four 6″ legs to one side, and the attempted to join it to the other – this is were I hit a problem. I’m not sure how, but one of the legs must have been attached out of square (strange because I used magnetic squares when tack-welding. I had to take a hammer to bend the leg to slide in and clamp it closed to weld it. Once I finally got it assembled, I noticed that the stress of that mis-fit leg caused the frame to warp a bit and go out of square. Grr! Next time, I’ll take a different approach when welding the legs.
Next, I welded the flat iron triangles for the legs and bar for the wheels. The flat iron was thicker than the angle iron (3/16″ instead of 1/8″), which required a different approach and some setting adjustments on the welder to get good penetration. It was a bit messy, but overall worked out. I drilled holes for the rubber feet and the wheel assembly. I started with a smaller hole and then used a step bit to widen it to the desired dimensions.
At this point, I had the basic assembly done. I used a paper template to mark the mounting holes for the 4 legs of the saw so I could drill them into the new frame. I over-sized these holes to give me a bit of play to line up the holes in the saw legs – just in case.
Finishing
My main goal for painting is to keep it looking nice and avoid rust. I used a strip disk on my angle grinder to remove the mill scale and prepare it for painting. I also did a quick wipe down using denatured alcohol – not sure if this helped or hurt, but quite a bit of residue was coming off on the paper towel I used, so I think it was a good call. I was surprised at how fast the tarnish returns to the metal – the oxidation process is much faster than I expected. I left it overnight and had to another light once-over to clean it up. I did buy some Rust Remover, but it arrived too late, so I didn’t get a chance to use it.
I applied several coats of black spray paint onto the metal. I like the Rust-Oleum 2x Ultracover because it allows me to skip the primer step. This paint helped to hide some of the blemishes caused by the stripping and flap disk process. Unfortunately, it’s pretty easy to scrape off – maybe I need to try other brands that adhere better? This piece was too big to fit in my spray tent, so I painted in sections and rotated the piece.
Assembly
Although this saw was FAR too heavy for a single person to lift, my impatience won over and I “walked” the saw up onto the stand after locking the blade. Some gentle nudges later, I the holes lined up and I inserted 1/4″ hex bolts with washers, lock washers and nuts. I used a ratchet/wrench to tighten at awkward angles.
Conclusions
Overall, success! What a big difference and extra 6″ makes in the use of this tool! The warped frame was a non-issue (no wobbles with the saw sitting on top) and I was still able to use the handle/wheels to easily move the tool around my shop. The center of gravity is a bit higher now, so I’ll need to be careful about lifting too high.
I’m now able to use my roller stand and using the saw in the vertical position is much more comfortable. All that said, this project was more about learning and practicing welding that made this project fun. I learned a new respect for the fabrication process and some valuable skills that I hope to continue to use.
This project was done over a period of several months, with many distractions along the way. I’m glad I was able to find time to focus and knock it out. Total effort was probably around 8 hours + lots of time waiting for material delivery and drying.
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