New-to-me Bandsaw

[Cord]

I picked a crusty Grob NS-18 bandsaw up last week. Paid $400 for it, partly because it couldn't be tested because the seller didn't have 3ph and partly because it was so ugly. Somebody had painted it and the paint was failing. Took it home and pressure washed it and the saw looked even worse because a lot of the paint blasted off. I'm now sanding the saw so I can repaint it. I'l be adding a vfd to run the existing motor on dual phase. The saw it's self is in really good shape mechanically. Still has the original motor, other than a two door knobs everything is free and works fine. The guide for the power feeder is missing but that's no big loss for me. Honestly, I don't think this saw has a whole lot of hours on it. The disconnect was replaced once, but the on-off switch is still like new.

Anyways, the one feature the saw is missing is a fence and miter gauge slot. I'll use a Kreg fence if I can get a longer fence from them. The missing slot is another problem though. The only way I can think to add it is to buy a 1/2" plate and then have a shop cut a blade notch and the slot in it. I could then laminate the new table on the existing one. This won't be cheap but I could end up with a larger table which is always nice. It's not possible to cut a slot in the existing table because it's cast and there isn't enough thickness between the webs.

 

[robbyr]

Wow, that's a relic. Never seen one like that before. Been using band saws daily at my job for 30 years and the oldest one I've seen was an old Sears Craftsman. That looks really heavy duty. Good luck with it.

 

[Spanner]

Great-looking piece of industrial heritage equipment !! Painted with a 'Hammered-finish' coating it will look outstanding.
Can you fit an extension to the table edge to create a slot for the fence? Even if you have a groove milled into your table and it cuts through to the webs it should work ok. You'll just have a bottomless groove - Useful for letting the sawdust fall through!

:wrench:

 

[Big Barn]

Double wow. Were Grob's designed mainly for metalworking?

That is a project I would love to have! Keep us updated on progress PLEASE!

Terry

 

[Cord]

Grob made the NS-18 for at least 50 years and we see them around here pretty often. There's probably 3-4 on ebay at any time. Factory is only 10 miles from me. https://grobbandsaw.com/ Yea, these are metal saws. This one is a 18. Would have rather had a 24, but they're hard to find. A bit slow for wood, but they'll cut.

Wife claimed the adjustable lights off the machine yesterday. Wants a couple steam punk style lamps for up north. I agree, they are pretty cool lights and will look awesome cleaned up. Now I need to find some new work lights. Anybody know of one that falls between an expensive commercial model and junk chinese sewing machine light? I need some for my drill press so I'd like to buy 4.

As much as I'd hate to admit this is just a spray can rebuild, honestly the machine doesn't need all that much. Electric was it's biggest failing and with the vfd I'll give it all new modern controls.

Like the idea about bolting an extension onto the side. Gotta look into that further. Not certain about cutting the top. Don't want to ruin it, also the table tilts in both the X and Y axis so I have to check to make sure everything will continue to function.

 

[sandman2234]

I wouldn't mess with the table, if you need a slot in it, build another table top out of something like 1" plate and cut the slot in it. Can probably use C clamps to hold it down on the existing table, OR make a recess in the new table to fit down over the existing table, so that you can just drop it on top of the existing table and use a set screw in the top layer to hold it tight against the bottom one.
You will need a "friend" with a machine to build this, because it will probably cost too much to have built by a shop. Anyone with a milling machine can do this pretty easily.
Nice Grob...I have a 20 inch Roll-in that also tilts, but the table will roll towards to blade to allow it to cut instead of having to feed the material into the saw.
David from jax

 

[Cord]

Couple of progress photos before we painted. I would have taken a post paint photo, but we had to move the saw inside and there wasn't enough light for a good photo. Found there was a thickened spot under the table to receive a groove so I'll take the table over to a machinist tonight. The thickened spot was really hard to spot because it's intercepted by so many webs from the brackets to allow the table to tilt in both directions. The Grobe logo got damaged when we peeled the tape off. Even the blue tape had too much tack.

 

[Spanner]

:thumbsup:

:wrench:

 

[ultrarunner]

Spent many hours cutting stock on one just like it... we had the 18 and 24 and both had welders so could buy coils of band saw blade.

Does yours have the foot pedal feed in tact?

 

[Cord]

Yep, the feed system is intact and appears to be functional, but I'm missing the feeder that would go in the slot. I was thinking I'd just put a piece of cold rolled in the slot throat to close the hole. Not certain I really need to use the feeder.