Nashville TJ's Build - Continued

Those of you who have followed my build over the years will recall occasionally seeing me pull out my big Laguna Band Saw. Another of my hobbies is woodworking (I occasionally build fine furniture - I'm also a hack at that hobby) and for woodworking this band saw is about the best. 18", 4.5 Horse Power Baldor Motor running on 220, and a 155" blade. I've resawn 16" oak on this thing. It weighs over 500 pounds - it's a beast.

IMG_9764.JPG


But, it's a single speed at 3500 feet per minute, and because of that it cannot be used for ferrous metals like steel (although I have used it to cut aluminum). There have been countless times I've wished I could use it to make a cut in steel.

Over the years I've considered many ways to make it a variable speed saw, including gearing or running a variable frequency drive, but none would have been practical on this saw. So, I decided to sell it and replace it with a vertical band saw which could also cut steel.

It's a pretty expensive and specialized piece of machinery, so I figured it would take a while to find a buyer. It sold in 2 hours on Facebook Marketplace. I bought it new in 2006 - and I sold it for more than I paid for it. I can't believe how fast it sold. I'm also sad to see it go.

Meanwhile, after a bunch of research I've ordered a new Jet VBS-18MWEVS 18" Metal / Woodworking saw which should be very close to the Laguna in wood, and very good with metal. It will run from 100 fps up to 3600 fps. It's also a beast. As with everything else right now, there is a bit of a delay - but it should be here in early January.

Jet Band Saw.jpg
 
Last edited:
Those of you who have followed my build over the years will recall occasionally seeing me pull out my big Laguna Band Saw. Another of my hobbies is wood working (I occasionally build fine furniture - I'm also a hack at that hobby) and for woodworking this band saw is about the best. 18", 4.5 Horse Power Baldor Motor running on 220, and a 155" blade. I've resawed 16" oak on this thing. It weighs over 500 pounds - it's a beast.

View attachment 289693

But, it's a single speed at 3500 feet per minute, and because of that it cannot be used for ferrous metals like steel (although I have used it to cut aluminum). There have been countless times I've wished I could use it to make a cut in steel.

Over the years I've considered many ways to make it a variable speed saw, including gearing or running a variable frequency drive, but none would have been practical on this saw. So, I decided to sell it and replace it with a vertical band saw which could also cut steel.

It's a pretty expensive and specialized piece of machinery, so I figured it would take a while to find a buyer. It sold in 2 hours on Facebook Marketplace. I bought it new in 2006 - and I sold it for more than I paid for it. I can't believe how fast it sold. I'm also sad to see it go.

Meanwhile, after a bunch of research I've ordered a new Jet VBS-18MWEVS 18" Metal / Woodworking saw which should be very close to the Laguna in wood, and very good with metal. It will run from 100 fps up to 3600 fps. It's also a beast. As with everything else right now, there is a bit of a delay - but it should be here in early January.

View attachment 289694
GIven your affinity for lots of cutting power do you find that little drill press to be sufficient? My next tool purchase will be a beastly drill press... or ill give up and get a grizzly.
 
GIven your affinity for lots of cutting power do you find that little drill press to be sufficient? My next tool purchase will be a beastly drill press... or ill give up and get a grizzly.
Ouch - that cuts deep, Boom...

:)

I think the picture makes it look smaller than it is. It's a 20", 1 3/4 hp with a 3/4" chuck. It stands about 6' tall. It works well for my needs.
 
  • USA Proud
Reactions: B00mb00m
Ouch - that cuts deep, Boom...

:)

I think the picture makes it look smaller than it is. It's a 20", 1 3/4 hp with a 3/4" chuck. It stands about 6' tall. It works well for my needs.
OH wow, ya that's a pretty powerful drill press. You think that's the min for serving jeep fab needs?
 
Not trying to start a dick swinging contest or anything, but you can't beat old iron when it comes to certain things. Drill presses are one piece of machinery that benefit from the good old days, but are still simple enough machines that pretty much anyone can rehab one.

I'd keep an eye out for something older, at least 17" or bigger. The Delta 17", Buffalo Forge 18", Walker Turner 20" are all very nice machines, somewhat abundant still, and just a lot heavier built than anything you can buy new for a similar, but more often higher price.

I didn't do a very good job capturing the difference in scale, but this is my 20" Walker Turner next to my old 15" craftsman. Not even a comparison between the two in actual use, and having a smooth running drill press that doesn't slip belts, and doesn't chatter everytime it's used is an absolute pleasure.

Not sure on the total weight, but I could pick up the Craftsman and carry it sideways, even with the motor off on the WT I can barely slide it around, don't think even two big guys could move it around very well

IMG_20201120_132936.jpg
IMG_20210406_173956770.jpg
 
OH wow, ya that's a pretty powerful drill press. You think that's the min for serving jeep fab needs?
You can certainly get away with something smaller, but Trevor's advice is spot on. I'd rather have something a little too big, than a little too small. Before I had this Jet I had a smaller Delta woodworking press - very similar to the Delta in Trev's picture above. It was frustrating once I started getting into bigger bores in metal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: B00mb00m
Not trying to start a dick swinging contest or anything, but you can't beat old iron when it comes to certain things. Drill presses are one piece of machinery that benefit from the good old days, but are still simple enough machines that pretty much anyone can rehab one.

I'd keep an eye out for something older, at least 17" or bigger. The Delta 17", Buffalo Forge 18", Walker Turner 20" are all very nice machines, somewhat abundant still, and just a lot heavier built than anything you can buy new for a similar, but more often higher price.

I didn't do a very good job capturing the difference in scale, but this is my 20" Walker Turner next to my old 15" craftsman. Not even a comparison between the two in actual use, and having a smooth running drill press that doesn't slip belts, and doesn't chatter everytime it's used is an absolute pleasure.

Not sure on the total weight, but I could pick up the Craftsman and carry it sideways, even with the motor off on the WT I can barely slide it around, don't think even two big guys could move it around very well

View attachment 289715View attachment 289717
That thing is sweet, Trev. Is it tough finding bits for it? I've never seen a press without a jacobs chuck. What is that style of "chuck" called?
 
Last edited:
Those of you who have followed my build over the years will recall occasionally seeing me pull out my big Laguna Band Saw. Another of my hobbies is wood working (I occasionally build fine furniture - I'm also a hack at that hobby) and for woodworking this band saw is about the best. 18", 4.5 Horse Power Baldor Motor running on 220, and a 155" blade. I've resawed 16" oak on this thing. It weighs over 500 pounds - it's a beast.

View attachment 289693

But, it's a single speed at 3500 feet per minute, and because of that it cannot be used for ferrous metals like steel (although I have used it to cut aluminum). There have been countless times I've wished I could use it to make a cut in steel.

Over the years I've considered many ways to make it a variable speed saw, including gearing or running a variable frequency drive, but none would have been practical on this saw. So, I decided to sell it and replace it with a vertical band saw which could also cut steel.

It's a pretty expensive and specialized piece of machinery, so I figured it would take a while to find a buyer. It sold in 2 hours on Facebook Marketplace. I bought it new in 2006 - and I sold it for more than I paid for it. I can't believe how fast it sold. I'm also sad to see it go.

Meanwhile, after a bunch of research I've ordered a new Jet VBS-18MWEVS 18" Metal / Woodworking saw which should be very close to the Laguna in wood, and very good with metal. It will run from 100 fps up to 3600 fps. It's also a beast. As with everything else right now, there is a bit of a delay - but it should be here in early January.

View attachment 289694
Very nice. I'm also a hack woodworker. Haven't done much since I bought the Jeep though. I picked up the wood working from my dad, who has some really nice tools. He has a single speed jet band saw, 18 inch. Very nice
 
  • Like
Reactions: NashvilleTJ
That thing is sweet, Trev. Is it tough finding bits for it? I've never seen a press without a jacobs chuck. What is that style of "chuck" called?
That is actually just the spindle, some of the older ones liked to have the spindle protruding out to ease the process of ejecting the morse taper with a drift. Your drill press uses the same style of spindle, though you have to extend the quill to expose the slot for the drift.

I have quite the collection of Morse taper drills, they have a matching Morse taper ground on the end, so the drill inserts directly into the taper and eliminates the need for a chuck

I also have quite the collection of chucks. An old competitor of Jacobs, called Supreme made very nice drill chucks and being lesser known means they go for quite cheap on eBay compared to the equivalent Jacobs. All of the parts were hardened to around 50-60 Rockwell so they tend to be in pretty decent shape even 50-60 years later, though I can still find NOS rebuild kits for some too

IMG_20210609_150456515.jpg

A bunch of 1/2" supreme chucks all completely brand new I got for $40 because the cosmoline had hardened a bit and the seller thought they were defective
IMG_20210713_152836173.jpg

And both of my 3/4" chucks in use, I rebuilt the top one completely, it's very smooth
 
If you have followed me for a while you know that I have a Grandson named Luke (I call him LJ - but no one else does...). I believe reading is very important for a developing mind, so I picked up a book for LJ for Christmas.

It is a heartwarming story about a snow plow and a tow truck who save Christmas.

BDLC8548.JPG
 
If you have followed me for a while you know that I have a Grandson named Luke (I call him LJ - but no one else does...). I believe reading is very important for a developing mind, so I picked up a book for LJ for Christmas.

It is a heartwarming story about a snow plow and a tow truck who save Christmas.

View attachment 294785
That's hilarious
 
If you have followed me for a while you know that I have a Grandson named Luke (I call him LJ - but no one else does...). I believe reading is very important for a developing mind, so I picked up a book for LJ for Christmas.

It is a heartwarming story about a snow plow and a tow truck who save Christmas.

View attachment 294785
My wife loves books and has them all over the house. I wonder if she'll say anything when I get one of these as a coffee table book? :ROFLMAO: