Easy Horizontal Bandsaw Modifications - Upgrades for Jet and Harbor Freight 4x6 & 5x6 Metal Saws

[@AerialLensVideo]

THANK you so much! Every one of these ideas is Top Notch! I'm going to do them all. I happen to have this same JET model and it has been put away for too long due to frustrations which your ideas will 95 percent fix -- Now is the time to get it going again.

[@Jim55324]

Good ideas, especially the one for cutting shorter pieces. One other idea I would use would be a syringe or dripper for cutting oil near the blade.

[@turbomkiisupra]

Nice Mods, and thanks for being straight to the point and explaining what they are used for.

[@CNTHINGS]

Just got a horizontal bandsaw. Great ideas!

[@Tunzbig]

I love it, im considering buying one of these and your mods just sold it for me

[@GerryNewton-ry8zh]

Thanks for the advice, I just bought my first one @norther tool & going to add a lubrication system to it & looking found this video & going to use all of u’r ideas, great job thanks so much.

[@JCTyler64]

Thanks Rich, i have a jet and it needs all these mods!!

[@tbarron442]

Implementing some of your ideas on my new to me 20 year old bandsaw! Good work!

[@Richard-nb4iv]

Those are some great mods, I didn't expect so many. I'm planning on buying one of theses style band saws and I will put your ideas into practice. Thanks!

[@projectswithrich22]

Thanks for watching and good luck. They are very useful tools.

[@battleminion]

Great ideas, I will include them in my band saw except for the hand wheel my workshop is very small so I see my self getting hit with that rod, I will check up for your videos great work

[@bartweijs]

great ideas! I'm going to do a couple to my saw as well if you don't mind. I already had the wheels; but I had to add a block of something heavy on the front wheels so the saw doesn't tip over backwards when upright.

[@rlm98253]

All excellent ideas. Well done, sir.

[@projectswithrich22]

Thanks! I really appreciate your feedback

[@robertwalker7457]

Great work, I found the screws that hold the red blade guard that you have to remove to change the blade really fiddly so I replaced them with hex heads that are much easier to use as the stay on the Allen key. Also replace the screw that holds the main blade guard in place with a knob. I have only just bought the machine so will be replicating you modifications. Thank your for posting.

[@projectswithrich22]

That is a good idea about the guard. Those philips screws are short and are tricky to get back in place. I always like the idea of knobs versus screws as well. The less tools you need to use with the saw the better. I keep a stubby philips in the little tool box under the saw and there is an allen wrench for the adjustable stop.

[@freon500]

Thank you.

[@AutoBeta2T]

Excellent ideas - I'll be trying some on mine. Thanks for sharing 🙂

[@CMWorks-sd2fs]

Great modifications!

[@projectswithrich22]

Thanks!

[@philipbrutz2175]

Great tips! Thank you for sharing.

[@atomicdmt8763]

think you covered all the bases! Ive seen someuse use a half circle (shell) as small parts holder/clamp addition.

[@bradley4833]

I got the same saw in Harbor freight. My biggest problem was that the wheels were too small and when rolling it around the shop if it hit something on the floor it would tip over . I went and added bigger tires and a wider axle. I liked your video on the mods you did and I will do the same to mine . thanks for the videos

[@1LoudCRX]

Thanks for a great realistic mod video for the 4 x 6. Almost every video is, check out these great mods to do to your bandsaw. Let me fire up the $70,000 CNC mill. I'm pretty sure if I had a CNC mill I would not be watching a video on how to mod a harbor freight tool.

[@patmcbride9853]

I welded up a little table with a fence that comes right up to the blade and attaches to the side used for the work stop so I can cut short pieces without the vise. You could make something that fits the rod used for the work stop or drill and tap holes to mount it. A vise grip can be used to hold pieces in place.

[@michaelfink1017]

Great job, brother! You're inspiring me to modify my Grizzly G1010 dump find ($10) Thank you! 😅

[@atunguyd]

Any chance of showing how the extra support for the large table has been done

[@plasmaguy5]

Great Video

[@wetherabble8031]

Just picked up a HF version, and the first thing I did was modify the "fixed" jaw of the vise to make switching angles easier. Rather than using the T handle underneath like you have here (it did cross my mind). I pulled a saddle quick release off of an old bike frame I have so it's all serviced from the top, and you're not turning anything when you clamp it making it easier to keep the fence where you want it while tightening. I'll probably pick up a more appropriate quick release off McMaster or Amazon eventually. I really like the idea of adding some inertia to the vise handle so it can spin on its own momentum. Might give that one a go soon.

[@DGB.]

Instead of the T-handle below for locking the rear vise jaw, I made a curved T-nut that slides in the curved slot. That way I can adjust the jaw from above. I also made a knob for the bolt that connects the moving jaw to the nut on the lead screw.

[@projectswithrich22]

That's a good idea. It would be nice to have everything above. That's interesting about the knob on the moving jaw. I may have loctited mine, I don't remember. I have it set just so the jaw will pivot without any extra play and it has stayed in adjustment.

[@daveys]

I only just got a rebadged version of this in the UK. First mod I made was to swap the nuts on the stand with nylock nuts so they don’t untighten with the vibration. I like your mini table and I think I’ll make one of those as well as making the larger table. I have some 10mm plate coming which is probably a bit overkill, but I reckon it’ll make a good solid work surface.

[@projectswithrich22]

10mm will probably work fine for the small table. It is nice to have it be rigid and it isn't very big anyway. I can't remember if I have lock washers on the stand or not. I think they are carriage bolts. Nylock nuts work great and so does loctite for anything else you don't want to have to keep adjusting.

[@daveys]

@@projectswithrich22 - Thanks for the info. I’ll post a video of the mod once I do it (assuming that it doesn’t go wrong and the saw kills me in the process).

[@marcleedy8200]

Everything looks great with your modifications. I would like request that you install a new power cord or replace the electrical plug with one that contains the ground lug. It is important to connect the saw motor to the ground rod at your work facility. This will help protect you from an electrical shock.

[@projectswithrich22]

That's a good eye. I've got another cord for it actually. The ground snapped off before I shot the video. It's definitely a good idea to have a solid ground. Thanks for the comment.

[@BobbyBrooks-g3r]

well done

[@pete-mz9vr]

Great ideas!!

I have the exact same sh... bansaw on label otmt from otelo, but it work great. I have already done some modifications as yours, but you found some interesting solutions (the small table or the stop clamping screw as exemple). I weld a small piece of rebar (8mm diam) on each nuts of the protection for the blade and everywhere it was possible on the sawblade because there are maybe 5 or 6 differents size of nuts : Realy boring. I'm steal looking for a solution to add a cooling/lubrification system to collect fluid without have a big mess in the workshop. Thank you for the vidéo.

[@projectswithrich22]

It makes sense welding something on to the nuts to make removing them faster. I think a good modification is anything that saves you time. You may be able to find someone that has a diy coolant solution for one of the 7x12 saws and adapt those ideas to fit on yours. The larger one is very similar, it's just a different scale.

@@projectswithrich22 Thank you, i already have done a mini table as yours for the saw and it's soooo handy, i use it every day, but i still must change or modify the hand crank on the wise. I'll do something like you.

[@danstultz2610]

Has anyone tried to add rubber tires to the two bandsaw wheels to be able to use 1/4” or 3/8” wide blades ?

[@gjz30075]

Hello, where did you get the degree marking strip that you have screwed to the side? Brilliant!

[@carlpenney901]

I made a saw platform useing the vice it is easier and fast than the screws. Cheers

[@projectswithrich22]

That's a good idea.

[@AerialLensVideo]

Quick question please. What is the Tab with hole shown for the stop block at 1:13 at the top of the screen? I see how this goes onto the saw bed, but not waht that little tab is for. Asking because I am making this and do not want to miss something important -- THANKS! PS: I lost my factory cast stop, so have to make the whole thing.

[@willwatlington6750]

Very nice! What welding process did you use to attach the nut to the vice jaw?

[@willwatlington6750]

Very nice! Have you done anything for downfeed control?

[@willwatlington6750]

I purchased an aftermarket hydraulic downfeed for mine, and I really like it. It works well.

[@stevecrawford1826]

I can't get my Harbor Freight horizontal saw to cut straight through the work piece, I've been trying the adjust the bearing holders and made some improvement but not enough.

[@glenbierman4076]

Add a piece of plywood to the stand for shelf and fining catcher

[@kerrywil1]

Great video. I have jet horzontial band saw. How did you get it to go vertical? I have tried mine but I not into forcing

[@stockholm-tech]

Nice series om mods and tweaks. Just a thought... could this saw be modified to take 5/8" blades?

[@narcolepticlex]

would it benifit to upgrade motor size?

[@beinghuman3225]

Couple quick ideas. 1. Holes in wo table to attach a larger one, which dubs as the vice spacer for smaller work. 2. Free float at least one side of vice, can use cylinder type shoe too. 3. Square?, no. Invest in 123 blocks, engraved angle lines negate multi-angle checking tool. Nice work by the way, keep it up

[@mohamedghasaan6297]

Hello I hope you are there can he cut an angle of 140degree

[@bobkelly2447]

I just bought a 4"x6" metal cutting bandsaw from HF..... it works right out of the box BUT I made the mistake of trying to adjust the tracking and it took me all day to get the saw blade to stay on again.... and when I finally did it's tracking worse than it was when i first got it ! could you please do a video on how to adjust the tracking on these cheap saws with 1 bolt holding the top wheel on ! and my saw starts cutting with a whole lot of pressure and ends up not going all the way through because there is no weight on the blade as the switch will hold it from shutting off adjusting the gravity feed puts more weight on the start not what you want.

[@projectswithrich22]

I've actually never adjusted the tracking on the 4x6 but I do have experience adjusting it on my vertical wood bandsaw. Once you get it close it is a micro adjustment to make it right. You are just ever so slightly changing the tilt of the wheel. When it comes to adjusting saws the key is to do things in a certain order. If everything else is right and the tension on the upper wheel is set, then you would adjust the tracking. I would check out some videos on adjusting vertical wood bandsaws. The technique is the same. The feed on mine is just a spring and I have it backed off pretty far so there is a good bit of weight on the saw. I don't know if the pressure varies from beginning to end but there is a decent amount of weight from the start. I usually just slowly set the running saw on the work piece to start cutting.

[@larrythompson2967]

Hey Bob, if you still need help with adjusting the saw, look for winkies workshop. He has several good videos on this type of saw, including one that is pretty good for the tracking adjustment. Good luck.

[@larrythompson2967]

Sorry, it's actually spelled Winkys.

[@bobkelly2447]

@@larrythompson2967 thanks Larry ! but I got it working really good now... i've got one of Winky's plates and made one out of aluminum to go under neath it...( haven't put that one on yet though)... but that little saw is impressive ...it is a bitch to set up but it does one heck of a job of cutting steel ! .(his plate did NOT fit my saw...I had to modify it on the mill) should'a measured like he said LOL

[@kaieteurcanada]

Thats one big azz crank handle.... that big bro...? Ah mean, like crazy azz huge.

[@robertbutler8004]

Instead of that stupid crank handle the smart thing to do would have been just fit an adaptor and use a cordless drill.