There is a manual for a Trademaster bandsaw in an earlier thread, you may want to check it out and see if it applies to the one that you have. http://www.routerforums.com/busybee-manuals/28041-b227-aw14-m1-hung-li-hsing-14-bandsaw.html

 

Thanks Tom. I found this earlier, and did dl the older manual. However, I DID NOT look at the summary file at that time. That was an interesting read.

 

Well, after MUCH cleaning, it looks a lot better than when I started. Had to reinforce the top of the stand as it flexed quite badly. And will probably need bearings for the guides eventually. The ones on there now are free turning, but I can feel the dirt in them when I turn by hand, so think replacements are in order.

And. I still need tires for it.. thought I could source some locally, but so far they havn't come across with a set. Haven't quite decided to put urethane tires on it, or try and find rubber tires like the originals. Any thoughts on this? Carter Products recommends going with what was on from the factory. Lots of urethane ones available on Fleabay.

 

I have an 18" Elephant Brand. All Thunbs knew the actual Taiwanese factory name. Outfit that sold it to me in Edmonton quit handling them and couldn't (or wouldn't) help me with new tires when the original tires went. They recommended an Industrial belting dealer in town. I took the wheels to them and they lagged some belting on them and they shipped them back to me in BC for about $70 I think it was. They ran way smoother than the tires and have already lasted twice as long and still going.

 

this may be worth a try:


Paulette Thoms
TradeMaster Parts & Service
205 Frobisher Drive
Waterloo, Ontario Canada N2V 2G4
Tel: 519-747-7728, Fax: 519-747-7282
pthoms@trademasterservice.ca

may be dated but around 2010 it was good info,

 

Thanks Charles, and Bill.

Actually called Carter Products after I made this post. Person I talked to said rubber tires were subject to dry rot and cracking.... (just like mine were) and urethane were the way to go. Alex Snodgrass, in his demo, says to use what the factory put on it. IDK... Think I'll hit the Rockler store on Monday and pick the urethane ones up and be done with it.
@TwoSkies57 l Just googled that company, and they do appear to still be in business. Of course, it being the weekend, AND our Thanksgiving, can't contact them until Tuesday.

 

Thanks Charles, and Bill.

Actually called Carter Products after I made this post. Person I talked to said rubber tires were subject to dry rot and cracking.... (just like mine were) and urethane were the way to go. Alex Snodgrass, in his demo, says to use what the factory put on it. IDK... Think I'll hit the Rockler store on Monday and pick the urethane ones up and be done with it.

@TwoSkies57 l Just googled that company, and they do appear to still be in business. Of course, it being the weekend, AND our Thanksgiving, can't contact them until Tuesday.

you won't regret the move o Carter Products...
good stuff...

I believe a 10A motor is one HP or slightly less...

Online Conversion - Electric Motor FLA/HP calculator

 

When you go for blades keep in mind that more teeth require more power. If you want to resaw you want as few teeth as possible with deep gullets to remove the waste. I tried a 10T/inch 3/4" on my saw and it's only good for fairly thin material and it gets hot quickly.

I had the same problem with the rubber tires on my machine. I don't recommend them. I'm not familiar with how the urethane performs but I sure am happy with the belting on mine. Industrial belts can last for decades as long as they are protected from UV so I'm hoping that I never need to worry about them again.

 

Well, it lives again. Got the tires on yesterday with the help of my son and made a couple of test cuts and I think it'll do. Still needs some tweaking and adjustments, but all in time. Both top and bottom wheel hit the covers for some reason. Maybe the covers got bent by the previous owner?? IDK. Think that's the only way I am going to get them to clear the wheels is by bending them. Will try some shims first before I do anything to destructive... Think I need to adjust the blade tracking back just a bit too. And I should probably fab up a blade guard as well. It got removed at one point.

 

way to go Brian...

 

Band saw is working great. Now, I need a fence. Did a youtube search and, of course, there are LOTS to choose from. I had envisioned making one and using magnets to hold it in place, in particular, these ones: magswitch

And, then I saw this one:

And this one:

These are just 2, of a LOT of examples on Youtube. So, I'm looking for suggestions. What has worked for you, and what has not.


Also looking for suggestions on dust collection for it. It's old, so there was no thoughts given to that when it was made. I'm thinking of just fabricating a mount at the bottom front corner for a hose and call it done, as that seems to be where most of the dust ends up. I've looked at pics of newer saws and the hose connection seems to be either on the side, or back, right under the lower guide bushings.

 

Brian:

I've seen Alex Snodgrass do band saw demos at the Hamilton Woodworking show a few times and he always used their product - Mag Fence. I don't see that one on their web site but do saw another version, so not sure if that is still available or they've upgraded. Here's a pic anyway.

 

That was one of the fences shown on youtube. It looks like it would work fine, but I think a home-made one would work as well, and probably be a whole lot cheaper. That one, if it's like the one on youtube, has several rare earth magnets on the bottom. The fence is released by forcing it up via levers on each end. Actually, just googled it and the "new and improved" version has switchable magnets similar to what I had envisioned using. Apparently the original with the rare earth magnets was NOT easily adjusted once it was in place.