Ridgid 14in Bandsaw Restoration & Upgrade Part 3

Motor Update
Got my motor today. I found the seller on Craigslist, but since he lives on the opposite side of town (about an hour away). Luckily, my coworker lives near him so had him pick it up for me and then bring it to work the next day.

At 1.5HP this should double the 3/4 horses of the stock motor. It can be wired for 115/230. Does anyone know if wiring it for 230 makes it run any better?

I tried to reuse the pulley (sheave) and key from the old motor but I think Ridgid used some kind of non-nema standard motor which doesn't fit. I had to order key stock and a new pulley from Grainger. I'll update my cost list in part 1.

Balancing the Wheels

	The top wheel seems moderately unbalanced. There are drill marks on the side that is now too light. I'm not sure if they went too far or if they were just lightening the wrong side of the wheel.
	I first tried to balance the wheels using coins and Gorilla tape... probably not a good long term solution. I also didn't like the idea of epoxying coins on the wheel either. Instead, I found these peel and stick automotive wheel weights. You can cut the amount you want with a pair of tin snips. I used my kitchen scale to weigh the coins used previously and simply cut enough lead to equal that weight.
	I ended up needing a sliver more of weight. The double-sided tape seemed plenty strong for this. This is only the top wheel. I managed to remove the bottom wheel after finding out that the bolt holding it on was a counter-clockwise thread. The bottom axle doesn't spin as freely as the top so I can't tell if the bottom wheel is out of balance. If anyone knows how to remove the bottom axle so I can inspect/replace the bearings, that would definitely help. I guess I should have put on the urethane tires before trying to balance these. I'll just have to check the balance again once I replace them.

Ridgid 14in Bandsaw Restoration & Upgrade Part 2

Installing the Riser Block

I managed to get the riser block kit installed by myself without much trouble.
I used my HF 1 ton chain hoist to hold the upper part while I removed the large bolt holding it together.

 You have to make sure to support both sides of the upper assembly or else it will tip over as soon as you remove the bolt (which I found out the hard way).

Even though this was a Grizzly riser block, it fit perfectly on this Ridgid. You can buy the Ridgid version, but it costs like $170 which is a bit ridiculous to me. It looks like everybody has made direct copies of these 14" saws so the parts are pretty much interchangeable. Heck, if you want roller guide bearings, you just have to order the parts from Grizzly and install them.










One thing in the instructions that wasn't mentioned is that to install extended bar that holds the guide assembly, you need to take care not to lose the spring and steel ball that keeps the bar from falling out when you loosen the knob. As I pulled the bar out, this shot out. That fact that I still managed to find it in my mess of a workshop still baffles me.
The blade guard in the kit appeared to be bent at the end where the screw slots were. A bit of finagling and bending got it back in shape so that it could be attached to the guide assembly. Here's what the extension looks like installed.




Cleaning Up the Cast Iron Top

The top had a couple splotches of brown glue (at least I hope its glue) that I was able to scrape off with a putty knife. To get rid of the rust, I used a bunch of wet/dry sandpaper that I got from Harbor Freight. I have to say that the HF paper is horrible. All the grit seemed to come almost immediately off and the resulting slurry barely scratches the cast iron. Maybe it was my technique of using WD40 as a lubricant. I managed to get it to look like this with about 2 hour's worth of hard work. This prompted my purchase of Mirka wet/dry paper (to qualify for free shipping) for when I get back to the planer project. I then used mineral spirits to clean off the residue. Next I put on 3 coats of SC Johnson's Paste Wax, letting it dry and buffing between each coat.

Removing the bottom axle
I can't seem to remove the bottom axle. I managed to take off the wheel, pulley, and e-clip, but any attempt to bang the shaft either toward the wheel side or toward the pulley side was futile. If anyone knows how to remove this, I would be greatly thankful.

Ridgid 14in Bandsaw Restoration & Upgrade Part 1

Although I'm already working on my Makita 2040 Planer Restoration, I saw this on CL and just had to have it.
Its a Ridgid 14 in bandsaw with a Kreg fence that I got for $150.

The Kreg fence alone is worth about $100 so I figure its a good deal. The previous owner was a penmaker and this thing was full of multi-colored dust. It has a lot of vibration at low rpm's (starting/stopping) but reduces dramatically at full speed although still noticeable.

After initial inspection, the table has some rust, the thrust bearings appear to be shot and some cool blocks and thumbscrews seem to be missing.

Plans:

• Eliminating Vibration
• Replace the drive belt w/ a link belt
• Remove the rubber "anti-vibration" motor mounts and hard mount the motor
• Balance the wheels
• Increase Cut Capacity
• Install a riser block
• Upgrade the motor
• Fit and Finish
• Remove rust from table
• Replace worn out bearings
• Vacuum out the mountains of dust

As I do this, I want to keep track of my spending to see if I would have been better just buying this:














So far I have spent the following:

Grizzly
H3051P Riser Block Kit	$69.95
Shipping	$11.70
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Total	$81.65
Peachtree Woodworking
4' Fenner Power Twist V-belt	$25.90
Urethane Bandsaw Tire	$29.50
Shipping	Free
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Total	$55.40
Highland Woodworking
Cool Blocks	$12.99
1/2" x 105" Woodslicer Blade	$29.99
Shipping	$8.99
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Total	$51.97
Craigslist
Ridgid Bandsaw	$150.00
1.5HP 1725rpm Dayton Motor	$75.00
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Total	$225.00
Grainger
Key Stock 3/16" x 3/16"	$1.24
5/8" bore 2.80" Diameter pulley	$16.00
Tax & Shipping	$10.31
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Total	$27.55

My grand total so far is: $441.57. I still need to buy thumbscrews, bearings, and/or electrical tidbits to get it working.