Acoustic Guitar Construction

I mentioned this over in a thread in the "Shoot the Breeze" forum & Ken Cierp replied that he built a shelf into the stand of his saw and put a bag of sand on it to eliminate almost all the shake.

I tried this out on my 14" Ridgid bandsaw, except instead of a bag of sand, I used a couple of 45 lb Olympic barbell plates. That did reduce the vibration by about half, but that Ridgid just has a flimsy stand. My next effort will be to replace the V-belt with a link belt. The only other thing I can think of if it still shakes is to build a rock-solid wood cabinet and toss the original folded metal junk into the trash. My wife has already informed me that I MAY NOT blow our tax refund this year on a 19" Grizzly bandsaw. LOL

What other solutions have you guys used to deal with a shaky saw?

What other solutions have you guys used to deal with a shaky saw?

A 14" Powermatic with extension for extra cutting height sounds like it would work.

My Carter parts arrived today and they look exceptionally well made.

John Link wrote:

What other solutions have you guys used to deal with a shaky saw?

A 14" Powermatic with extension for extra cutting height sounds like it would work.

My Carter parts arrived today and they look exceptionally well made.

The last thing I want to do is replace one 14" bandsaw with another 14" bandsaw - even if it was a Powermatic...or any other of the big names. I've already put a 6" lift kit,Carter roller guides and a Kreg fence on mine. Carter makes good stuff. If I can get my saw running smoothly, I can put off buying a bigger saw and add a Carter blade tension quick release.

FWIW, I have the Powermatic 14 with a riser block and it's a good saw, but I wouldn't buy it again. It might be the best 14" saw with a riser block out there but in the end it's still a 14" saw with a riser block. It was the best option for me when I had a basement shop and had to carry (slide) all the big power tools down a carpeted stairway with a 180-degree turn in the middle, because I could carry the two halves down separately and assemble it down there. The reverse wasn't too bad either when I moved from that house, but as long as you can move it I think a rigid-frame (not Rigid brand) saw would be much preferable and not much different in cost.

I did do a really cheap upgrade that improved stability - screwed the saw to a 24" square plywood base. Obviously it would be better to anchor it right to the floor but that wasn't a good option for me (I'd hate to drill into the heat pipes in my concrete floor) and this works pretty well.

I've just ordered a Power Twist linked V-belt for my Ridgid bandsaw. I'd love to replace the Ridgid with a Grizzly 17" or 19" model, but cannot justify the expense, so I've decided to go ahead and do what I can to improve the Ridgid 14". I'm going to build a heavy plywood cabinet to replace the stock bent sheet metal open frame base. I'm thinking of using a thick workbench top on the cabinet to reduce or minimize any flexing there. If I can find a bargain, I'll upgrade the motor to 1-1/2 hp. I may call my former boss and see if there's one laying around their shop gathering dust he'd part with cheap. Urethane tires and a Carter blade tension quick release should complete the upgrade.

Besides, it'll give me something to do while I wait for the order of guitar wood I just received to acclimate to my shop. :D

I installed the Power Twist linked V-belt on the bandsaw yesterday. It did reduce the vibration a bit more, but I do not think it helped as much as adding the 90 lb. of weight to the frame. It's obvious to me that the vibration - more of a shake, actually- is coming from the base frame and top just being too lightweight to properly dampen vibration and flex.

BTW Harbor freight sells an American made (I think) Fenner competitor's mulitlink belts called AccuLink. I have one in the shop not in use yet -- but honestly except for the color Green vs Red it looks identical, no kidding. Much less expensive based on the reviews it is at least a comparable product.

http://www.harborfreight.com/vibration- ... 43771.html