Bandsaw downfeed control

[spro]

I did mention using other parts. Not the way to go if the manifold is placed on the cylinder. There are smaller ball valves which would work better or various other ways.

[spro]

I have a couple of small Hoke valves which are so cool I never used them. I didn't want to hoard a dozen either. As hydraulics go, this is low pressure, so the idea of a bypass makes sense to the operation described. I'm not there to know where the manifold is mounted but one HP flex line allows it to another place, at the base near where the power switch is. It is all controlled right there.
I see it isn't one line, two maybe but brake lines go through this continually.

[Rich_Carlstedt]

Too complicated for me
My 1983 Taiwan cutoff had a crap control
I now have a selection of brass and steel rings ( 6" OD x 5 "ID x 1" ie.) for weight that I just hang on the Blade adjusting handle
depending on the load at hand. Works slick and no maintenance
Rich

[Harold_V]

I dunno! Seems to me it's just not that difficult.
I own a little Wells A7, which I purchased new, way back in '67. It has a needle valve fitted with a knurled knob, maybe 1½" diameter. It turns freely, and is easy to regulate. When I want the arm of the saw to move quickly, I open the valve. When I want to regulate the speed for any given cut, I start out at a creep and open the valve until I'm satisfied. Works fine, and has operated without attention for almost 52 years now. My only regret is the blade size. ½" x .025" blades do not make good cuts in large material.

H

[whateg0]

Mine is pretty sensitive, it seems. Just a bump is all it takes for it to go from cutting well, to trying to catch on every tooth. Sure, I could go to a finer blade, and might in the future, but this one works well, as long as it's kept from feeding too fast. So, for a single cut, sure adjusting it full open to just past 2 on the dial is no big deal. But the other night, cutting about 3 dozen parts, that got old because each time, I would have to fiddle with it to get it to cut fast enough to not be there all night, but not so fast I start losing teeth. Sure, I could just lift it up and let it feed down to the work at the same pace it feeds during a cut, but that, too, would have resulted in a lot of wasted time.

[SteveM]

Too complicated for me
My 1983 Taiwan cutoff had a crap control
I now have a selection of brass and steel rings ( 6" OD x 5 "ID x 1" ie.) for weight that I just hang on the Blade adjusting handle
depending on the load at hand. Works slick and no maintenance
Rich

I did the same with my reciprocating saw, as the weight on the blade wasn't enough to take a decent cut.

Only problem was it wore out the teeth on the backstoke, because it wasn't one of the saws that lifted on the way back.

Have a HF horizontal bandsaw now and while it is pretty rough, it gets the job done a lot faster.

Steve

[BadDog]

I have a Wells Saw with what for all practical purposes amounts to a non-adjustable (rather not readily adjustable) hydraulic feed as OEM. I just raise it up to just clear the work, at what I estimate will be about ready to start cutting when I've located the material in the vise. If I'm going to be longer, it has a ratchet/pawl setup that will hold the saw just above the material while I take my time. When done, you lift a fraction to disengage the pawl, and it enters the cut shortly after. However, I have been known to apply hand pressure to speed it up entering (or in) the cut from time to time.

My Roll-In vertical has a more refined mechanism similar to what Rich describes. It has a nice hydraulic feed limiting device to control the *rate* of advance. It then has a moveable weight on a long lever arm that can be used to adjust the cutting pressure. But again, if you offset the table too far, it's tedious waiting for it to get to where it needs to be. I usually just use the foot operated return to hold it just off the piece while locating, essentially drafting my foot to provide the function of the Wells locked position mechanism.

[whateg0]

I just raise it up to just clear the work, at what I estimate will be about ready to start cutting when I've located the material in the vise.

I was having trouble feeding the different pieces in like that because of where I was working at the time. So, I had to lift the saw up far past the top of the vise. I see what you are saying, though.

... it's tedious waiting for it to get to where it needs to be.

Yes, it is! And that's the part I'm trying to avoid. Partly because I'm impatient and it's inefficient to be standing there waiting for it just to get to the material, and partly because the other night when I was cutting pieces, I was outside racing the weather. I don't see any good reason for taking over an hour to do a half-hour's worth of cutting.

Dave