My fingerscale and bronze nut project completed, I am hungry to continue down this dangerous modifying road. After years of denial, I think I am ready to put a larger blade on the saw. I have concluded that an 8.5" blade would be ideal as it would still allow the blade to go beneath the table.
A good read on this subject is the pdf by robert vaughn http://www.owwm.com/files/PDF/FAQ/HammondGlider6.pdf
I am not convinced to go to an arbor. In talking to fellow junkie mrdouglas, we came up with the notion of replacing the intermediate faceplate with a steel plate that had more tapped holes for extra stability and a 5/8 arbor to eliminate the need to rebore standard blades.
Forrest sells an 8.5"blade that is my targeted fit http://www.forrestblades.com/chopmaster.htm
That's it for now, just reporting my twisted thoughts of the evening.
Pete
Franken-Hammond Fitting a Larger Blade
Moderator: crzypete
Franken-Hammond Fitting a Larger Blade
Last edited by crzypete on Sun Mar 04, 2012 10:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
OK.
You have my attention. As you can see I have both and 8 1/2" and 9" blades in stock so I was hoping to rig them in place for photos but I ran in to some immediate problems. I am sure that every hammond from different years are slightly different.. My table gap is too narrow to accommodate 1/8" thick blades. I am sure that with the mod to the "Face plate" accommodation could be achieved for the thicker blade.
I taped a finger to the blade to emulate the swing of a 9" and then 8 1/2" blades. All I discovered is that it is much easier to fit the 8 1/2" blade. There are two places that require modification. one is visible. In the front of the blade the table gap will have to be opened to allow the blade all the way up. This will look fine if done carefully.
finally there will have to be a channel cut out of the casting where the back of the blade meets the saw. This could be hacked and would not affect the look of the saw.
Finally a question...How do you sink an 8 1/2" blade under the table? This is how much blade I would have sticking up.
You have my attention. As you can see I have both and 8 1/2" and 9" blades in stock so I was hoping to rig them in place for photos but I ran in to some immediate problems. I am sure that every hammond from different years are slightly different.. My table gap is too narrow to accommodate 1/8" thick blades. I am sure that with the mod to the "Face plate" accommodation could be achieved for the thicker blade.
I taped a finger to the blade to emulate the swing of a 9" and then 8 1/2" blades. All I discovered is that it is much easier to fit the 8 1/2" blade. There are two places that require modification. one is visible. In the front of the blade the table gap will have to be opened to allow the blade all the way up. This will look fine if done carefully.
finally there will have to be a channel cut out of the casting where the back of the blade meets the saw. This could be hacked and would not affect the look of the saw.
Finally a question...How do you sink an 8 1/2" blade under the table? This is how much blade I would have sticking up.
Nice Job taking the bull by the horns.
Sinking the blade beneath the table is going to require first an adjustment, and then possibly a modification.
The adjustment is on the raising and lowering screw. There is a stop collar which limits the height that the saw blade will raise to. I believe this is adjustable so you can set a precise height that the blade will go to when you are using the lead trimmers. We don't use the lead trimmers so you can move this stop. As it happens this stop can hit a rib in the underside of the casting which pivots the blade. Try this first.
If that does not allow the blade to disappear, the rib can be altered to allow for more downward motion.
Also I was thinking more about the Bob Vaughn modification. He cut the blade clearance slot in the back casting extra wide so you could remove the blade from the arbor. I don't think this is necessary as blade changes take place with the saw blade raised up a ways, this would allow it to clear the casting.
Pete
Sinking the blade beneath the table is going to require first an adjustment, and then possibly a modification.
The adjustment is on the raising and lowering screw. There is a stop collar which limits the height that the saw blade will raise to. I believe this is adjustable so you can set a precise height that the blade will go to when you are using the lead trimmers. We don't use the lead trimmers so you can move this stop. As it happens this stop can hit a rib in the underside of the casting which pivots the blade. Try this first.
If that does not allow the blade to disappear, the rib can be altered to allow for more downward motion.
Also I was thinking more about the Bob Vaughn modification. He cut the blade clearance slot in the back casting extra wide so you could remove the blade from the arbor. I don't think this is necessary as blade changes take place with the saw blade raised up a ways, this would allow it to clear the casting.
Pete
I am back in on this project and have much to report.
BLADE/ TABLE CLEARANCE
Firstly, Nektai, I have diagnosed your blade lowering issue. There is a collar on the screw which raises and lowers the blade. This collar acts as a stop for the upper limits of the blade raising. It also has a double purpose of bumping a nub of cast iron to provide a stop at the lowering end. Here is a picture, you can see the collar and the nub right above it.
At one point I moved my collar to get a bit more height out of the saw, this inadvertantly made the nub hit the screw as the lower end stop allowing a bigger blade to drop below the table. The nub could be ground smaller and the blade would be able to drop even farther.
BLADE SIZE
I talked to Forrest today and my original plan had to change. They didn't like the use of their chopmaster on the tablesaw. They really wanted a WW1 or 2. My options then became a 8.25" or 9" blade. Through a similar measuring exercise to Nektai, I found that the 8.25 will give me 2.375 above the table, while the 9" will give me 2.75. The current blade that I have is billed as a 7.25" but in reality it is smaller- Forrest said it was intentionally smaller, but the other blades would run true to size. With all of this is mind I chose to go slightly smaller and ordered the 8.25, The height should be plenty for me and will entail less saw modification for fitting.
THE ARBOR DEBATE.
I eventually decided to make a conventional arbor for this saw. I feel it will be more stable than the faceplate and I have other saws which can be used in the event I want to do face trimming. I have almost completed my arbor and will be posting plenty of process pics shortly.
That is all for now.
Pete
BLADE/ TABLE CLEARANCE
Firstly, Nektai, I have diagnosed your blade lowering issue. There is a collar on the screw which raises and lowers the blade. This collar acts as a stop for the upper limits of the blade raising. It also has a double purpose of bumping a nub of cast iron to provide a stop at the lowering end. Here is a picture, you can see the collar and the nub right above it.
At one point I moved my collar to get a bit more height out of the saw, this inadvertantly made the nub hit the screw as the lower end stop allowing a bigger blade to drop below the table. The nub could be ground smaller and the blade would be able to drop even farther.
BLADE SIZE
I talked to Forrest today and my original plan had to change. They didn't like the use of their chopmaster on the tablesaw. They really wanted a WW1 or 2. My options then became a 8.25" or 9" blade. Through a similar measuring exercise to Nektai, I found that the 8.25 will give me 2.375 above the table, while the 9" will give me 2.75. The current blade that I have is billed as a 7.25" but in reality it is smaller- Forrest said it was intentionally smaller, but the other blades would run true to size. With all of this is mind I chose to go slightly smaller and ordered the 8.25, The height should be plenty for me and will entail less saw modification for fitting.
THE ARBOR DEBATE.
I eventually decided to make a conventional arbor for this saw. I feel it will be more stable than the faceplate and I have other saws which can be used in the event I want to do face trimming. I have almost completed my arbor and will be posting plenty of process pics shortly.
That is all for now.
Pete
Finally my 8 1/4" Forrest Woodworker 1 showed up today> I had made my arbor almost a month ago http://machinejunkie.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=493
So here is the blade next t my older 7 1/4" blade (which was really a 7 1/8" blade)
Step 1 I removed the little table to notch it.
Quickly notched via vertical bandsaw, hacksaw and file
Next is a back notch cut with my angle grinder
This is quickly achieved and really not a big deal. If I lose my mind i will buy some touch-up paint, but this is inside the saw, so just not a big deal.
The first cut in thick wood- beautiful
The height measurement- 2 3/8"
and yes Nektai, It makes it under the table without modification- Barely
I am eager to put it through its paces. I re-calibrated my finger scale tonight and should be good to go.
Pete
So here is the blade next t my older 7 1/4" blade (which was really a 7 1/8" blade)
Step 1 I removed the little table to notch it.
Quickly notched via vertical bandsaw, hacksaw and file
Next is a back notch cut with my angle grinder
This is quickly achieved and really not a big deal. If I lose my mind i will buy some touch-up paint, but this is inside the saw, so just not a big deal.
The first cut in thick wood- beautiful
The height measurement- 2 3/8"
and yes Nektai, It makes it under the table without modification- Barely
I am eager to put it through its paces. I re-calibrated my finger scale tonight and should be good to go.
Pete