deere x475guy...bandsaw Q

[Arbo]

Bob,

I recently bought one of the import saws very similar to yours. I noticed while going through some old posts that you completely replaced the spring on yours with a hydraulic unit. How is it working for you? I am considering doing the same, and wanted some input. I was looking on eBay for the valve and cylinder that you have, but all I can find is the kit that the guy wants $44.00 for. I have to think I can get away cheaper than that. Maybe you can enlighten me on where you got yours. One other question...I assume that your cylinder extends as the saw lowers, contrary to the way that most factory models are set up. Is that correct? Thanks!

[deere_x475guy]

Hi Arbo, Aaron pretty much covered most of what I was going to say. The only addition I have is there are a few benefits to the hydraulic over the spring that I really like. For instance, with the valve you can let you blade down to just above your work piece and lock it in place. This holds it there and then position your piece for an exact cut. Another benefit is you have a great amount of control over your speed of cut. Will and I used different ways of mounting the cylinder. Take a look at Wills post and you will see what I mean. I actually like his method better than mine. As far as viscosity of fluid in cold temps my garage is not heated but it is well insulated and can get as cold as in the 20's. I did use it on a couple of occasions during this cold spell and didn't not notice anything that really bothered me about the way it works. And trust me I am pretty picky. Will is working long hours now and does not get on the board as often as he use to. He should be on in the next couple of days and tell you how much he paid for all of it and the specs. I believe that I had less than $20 for both not including the plumbing I used to make mine up. Also Will has indicated that he wants to shorten the length of his plumbing. His does not lift as easy as mine does.

Hope this helps....

Bob

[deere_x475guy]

Aaron, I have the box to attach my quick connect system built. It was pretty critical building and I really had to pay attention to distortion. There are 2 holes drilled in each plate that had to match perfectly with the mount on the tractor. It was slow going and thinking ahead to plan for the distortion and it worked out great. It clicks right into place. I am using the exhisting lift hydraulic cylinder for lifting the bucket and I think I have located the 2 hydraulic cylinders for dumping the bucket. I also located the bushings and pins I will be using for the pivots. I took pictures of all the scrap in its raw form before I started and took pics at each step. I will be posting them soon.

Going to have lots of painting to do real soon.

If this works out (and I think it will) I will be designing and building a front end loader to build by fall.

Cya..
Bob

[Will]

Arbo,
I got the cylinders on E-Bay as well as the valves. The cost will vary with the bidding process, but I got the cylinders for about $10 each with shipping, and the valves were about $11 each. As Bob said, his lifts easier than mine, but I used about 2 feet of 1/4 inch hose to remote the valve. Bob's is mounted on the cylinder, and has maybe 5 or 6 inches of 1/4 tubing. So the extra pressure drop in the hose is a problem. Also, I am using more of the cylinder stroke. I use almost the full travel of the 8 inch cylinder. Bob's uses around 5 inches as I recall. So I am moving more fluid for the same amount of saw travel. It isn't a big problem, but I will shorten the hoses when I put the saw together...I finally got the stand and tray painted during the weekend warmup here in Michigan. I'll post the final pics when I get it all put together. As Aaron mentioned, I too am interested to see how the cylinder behaves when the weather gets hot. Bob has oil in his and I have ATF in mine. Will post if either of us have any problems. I do like the fine control of this set up. We cut a piece of 1.5 inch solid round stock on Bob's saw this weekend, and the cut was very smooth...no burrs.