I have had one small bandsaw. Pretty good, it have served well.
It only really needed oil change and a new blade.
Right from the start I build a better stand and an extension to cut long pieces (not shown here, it's detachable).
After few hours I startted to think some kind of cooling pump and went trough few different bodges.
I also build too small tray and then too big tray. Which was chopped smaller and bend for bigger list - just in case I'll end up building flood coolant to it.
I also went trough few iterations on hydraulic downfeed.
Wife didn't like her stepper anymore and when I was taking it appart to recyle metal I noticed the torture cylinders that had an adjustement....
http://www.recycler.com/Uploads/20d1ca5a-c105-469b-ad23-036d84926215-500.jpgUnfortunately the adjustement range was not not sufficient....how hard can it be to tweak it a little. Someone might be better modder but the stepper cylinder was not very good on this purpose. I used outer skin (reservoir) and after playing some time with cylinder, piston and rod ended up using only cylinder (liner?). Cylinder needed honing, for some reason it was somewhat more shaped like a coke bottle than cylinder.
Then made rod out of hydraulic tube (not very round or straight stuff), why do I get these ideas?
Then made piston...twice. First one was too tight and too long bearing surface...potentially too much friction, galling and whatever.
Rest of it was easy. Whatever pneumatic material I had on hand. Worked first time.
Levers and lost-movement-mechanism was drafted on paper to produce max cylinder piston movement on max diameter, look "right", and clear parts. This was the part I was least confident and desided to bodge and try how it works before really committing...see pictures and you understand what I mean.
I was mostly surpriced when this contrption worked on first try....pneumatic needle valve gave over 5 turns of usefull adjustement range on cutting down speed. Spring seems to balance ok, I'm trying to get constant down feed speed.
I'm trying it out some time and maybe then I finish it and bolt everything on their final places.
Pekka