Swag-OFF ROAD Portaband saw stand for DWM-120 and getting the saw square to the table

[vdotmatrix]

I BOUGHT A NEW DEWALT DWM-120 portable band saw and then just recieved today the SWAG Portaband table for it VERsion 3 ( for Dewalt).

Nicely made solid and so on.

When I put a square to the saw blabe it was not square to the table.

In 100mm it was off vertical by 1 to 1.5mm. It's not much, but it is not square.

I wrote the company and this is their rememdy:

As for the blade not being level this is based on the casting of the saw not being perfectly flat. We recommend removing the insert plate and filing down the casting of the saw to get the blade perpendicular to the table top.

Has anyone done this and if you have do you have any tips or considerations before I try doing this.

I aso read that the INCRA V-27 mitre to use with this application is MEH.

Any ideas? thx

[mechanic416]

I have one for my Milwaukee and its not totally square. But for most cutting it really don't matter.

[M J D]

I would try shimming before I would start taking material off on a brand new saw.

[vdotmatrix]

Yeah I hear yaz. But I will have to look closely at the "casting". I am sure these things are casted, then assembled. He was talking about filing so I am sure that it would need to be looked at closely to see if minimal filing would be a remedy...


Still looking for someone who has tried to make this setup more accurate.


Thanks for responding!!!!

I would try shimming before I would start taking material off on a brand new saw.

[tapwelder]

Might want to use it for a bit. They're not precision instruments, you can mark your metal and guide / rotate it.. How often will you cut 4 inches on your vertical bandsaw setup. So it really is not off that much in 2 inches or flat on the table.

By the way a foot pedal was a nice addition for mine.

[bigb]

Portable band saws are not exactly known for square, accurate cuts. I have the Milwaukee version and no matter what I do I cannot square it to the Swag table. I did loosen the guides and shim them a bit with copper wire and that helped a lot but still not perfect. Like mechanic416 says most of the time it doesn't matter and if I want a straight cut I just draw a straight line on the material and follow it like I would on a jig saw. I do have another one set up like a chop saw on the expensive Milwaukee stand that I got ridiculously cheap and it is right on the money but only useful for pipe at the moment with it's pipe chain hold down, but I am working on setting it up to cut square tube and bar stock. Perhaps it is so accurate because it is made by Milwaukee.

[downsizingnow48]

The table I made for my Dewalt bandsaw is adjustable for square side to side and front to back. The saw has been in almost daily use for years now. I can't say enough good things about that Dewalt saw. Totally accurate and reliable.

[John T]

I BOUGHT A NEW DEWALT DWM-120 portable band saw and then just recieved today the SWAG Portaband table for it VERsion 3 ( for Dewalt).

Nicely made solid and so on.

When I put a square to the saw blabe it was not square to the table.

In 100mm it was off vertical by 1 to 1.5mm. It's not much, but it is not square.

I wrote the company and this is their rememdy:

As for the blade not being level this is based on the casting of the saw not being perfectly flat. We recommend removing the insert plate and filing down the casting of the saw to get the blade perpendicular to the table top.

Has anyone done this and if you have do you have any tips or considerations before I try doing this.

I aso read that the INCRA V-27 mitre to use with this application is MEH.

Any ideas? thx

I had to shim my Milwaukee saw with the SWAG table.
the incra miter works OK but yes, its a little sloppy....

I sometimes have to c-clamp the work on the miter and cut very slowly..

most of the time I just scribe it and cut freehand......

[BD1]

I made my own 10 years ago. Old Milwaukee and it's great.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[vdotmatrix]

The more I looked at it, I didn't really see any rough casting. Anything I would file off would be folly. Shimming would be the best thing...I may be splitting hairs here anyway.

I would try shimming before I would start taking material off on a brand new saw.

[vdotmatrix]

I am not known for being very clear about what I am trying to write. A picture is worth .....( here is what I was trying to show) anyway I meant to say simply that the blade is off 1.5mm off vertical, which the gentleman said I could probably shim with something very thin...splitting hairs...I just took everything out of the box and remembered ready some observations from other users and especially the stuff about the miter. If I can get an accurate cut with just the setup I have without spending real dollars for real fab equipment, I will be happy. Afterall, I am a hobbyist. ( INCRA V27).

Might want to use it for a bit. They're not precision instruments, you can mark your metal and guide / rotate it.. How often will you cut 4 inches on your vertical bandsaw setup. So it really is not off that much in 2 inches or flat on the table.

By the way a foot pedal was a nice addition for mine.

[vdotmatrix]

That is really something!!!!

The table I made for my Dewalt bandsaw is adjustable for square side to side and front to back. The saw has been in almost daily use for years now. I can't say enough good things about that Dewalt saw. Totally accurate and reliable.

[TraditionalToolworks]

the incra miter works OK but yes, its a little sloppy....

One thing to check is how the bottom of the slot is adjusted, on mine I found it was tilted to one side preventing the miter from sitting down flat on the table. But loosening the front/back bolts and adjusting it flat allows the miter sit flat on the table.

My Milwaukee didn't fit properly either, I had to open up the throat on the plate. But having the miter is the whole reason to get the Swag Off Road stand, IMO, otherwise I could have made my own.

The protaband is not a highly precision machine, but it's useful to be able to cut miters on it, even if they need to be cleaned up with an angle grinder. My $0.02...(no affiliation with Swag)

EDIT: My Milwaukee is a 6236, the holes on the plate don't match up for what Swag shows for the model, but to Troy's credit he did tell me there are so many variations it's hard for them to match them all. As I said, it's not a precision saw by any means. Certainly no Ellis...

[tapwelder]

Your initial description was clear. You can use feeler gauge blades for shimming. That error might be in the bearing assembly screws? Also is it the same on the Other side? Are you sure the table insert is level, no metal chips or flex.

I found that setup best used for miter cuts I could not do on my horizontal band saw. Also great for quick trim and shaping.

Beware that small parts/shavings can /will fall onto your wheels and bearings.

[vdotmatrix]

I didn’t get the miter yet before I saw how the setup would go as far as precision was concerned, which is a big deal to me,

One thing to check is how the bottom of the slot is adjusted, on mine I found it was tilted to one side preventing the miter from sitting down flat on the table. But loosening the front/back bolts and adjusting it flat allows the miter sit flat on the table.

My Milwaukee didn't fit properly either, I had to open up the throat on the plate. But having the miter is the whole reason to get the Swag Off Road stand, IMO, otherwise I could have made my own.

The protaband is not a highly precision machine, but it's useful to be able to cut miters on it, even if they need to be cleaned up with an angle grinder. My $0.02...(no affiliation with Swag)

EDIT: My Milwaukee is a 6236, the holes on the plate don't match up for what Swag shows for the model, but to Troy's credit he did tell me there are so many variations it's hard for them to match them all. As I said, it's not a precision saw by any means. Certainly no Ellis...

[vdotmatrix]

Thank you. I have not fired anything up yet.

Yes, it is about 1,5mm off at the top in the picture and the same distance off at the bottom on the other side so the there is a right side biast. I have to look at how the base to base contact looks, how the screws are seating in the swag base and the use of feeler gauges is a BRILLIANT idea! Busy morning for me!

Your initial description was clear. You can use feeler gauge blades for shimming. That error might be in the bearing assembly screws? Also is it the same on the Other side? Are you sure the table insert is level, no metal chips or flex.

I found that setup best used for miter cuts I could not do on my horizontal band saw. Also great for quick trim and shaping.

Beware that small parts/shavings can /will fall onto your wheels and bearings.

[TraditionalToolworks]

I didn’t get the miter yet before I saw how the setup would go as far as precision was concerned, which is a big deal to me,

It is a portaband you bought so you can't blame Swag Off Road for that. They are what they are.

You don't own an Ellis band saw. You don't own a Rollin band saw. You don't own a cold cutting saw like an Evolution or a Fein.

You own a portaband. It might not be the tool for you.

[vdotmatrix]

I said above I am not a trade fabricator with the requisite professional accoutrement needed for the calling. I am not blaming anyone, are you? I am investigating whether anyone else has seen a similar result with this exact setup and possible solutions they could offer here. The saw I have is a dewalt Dwm120. The stand is superbly well built. Thanks for responding!

It is a portaband you bought so you can't blame Swag Off Road for that. They are what they are.

You don't own an Ellis band saw. You don't own a Rollin band saw. You don't own a cold cutting saw like an Evolution or a Fein.

You own a portaband. It might not be the tool for you.

[TraditionalToolworks]

I said above I am not a trade fabricator with the requisite professional accoutrement needed for the calling. I am not blaming anyone, are you? I am investigating whether anyone else has seen a similar result with this exact setup and possible solutions they could offer here. The saw I have is a dewalt Dwm120. The stand is superbly well built. Thanks for responding!

There is something you could try, and just trying to offer you some advice.

The bearings are not the best and need to be replaced often, but you might be able to kind of adjust them depending on what model of saw you have...I don't know the DeWalt, I have a Milwaukee. I took mine off and tried to readjust as the blade is not entirely aligned, but again, it's a portaband so it is what it is. You can try to shim things to get it square to the table, put a shim under one side to make it square (as you show it out of square in your pic above).

Little things like that will make it be more precise, but it is an inexpensive band saw, I just wanted you to keep that in mind.

[downsizingnow48]

I've been using my Dewalt mounted in a table for about 4 years, no problems with bearings or wandering or anything.

Before I made the table, I looked at the Swag table and at the mounting boss on the Dewalt. Just eyeballing I could see the mounting boss was not square to the blade. For a while I considered using these precision washer shims (see link) to get the Dewalt square on the Swag but I ended up making the table.

Anyway you might try these washer shims and see if that gets you where you want to be.

https://www.mcmaster.com/standard-washer-shims

[vdotmatrix]

There is something you could try, and just trying to offer you some advice.

The bearings are not the best and need to be replaced often, but you might be able to kind of adjust them depending on what model of saw you have...I don't know the DeWalt, I have a Milwaukee. I took mine off and tried to readjust as the blade is not entirely aligned, but again, it's a portaband so it is what it is. You can try to shim things to get it square to the table, put a shim under one side to make it square (as you show it out of square in your pic above).

Little things like that will make it be more precise, but it is an inexpensive band saw, I just wanted you to keep that in mind.

Yes indeed, but everything is brand new. I did see a spot on the casing that could possibly take just some very fine tuning with a file to remove some very small stuff they didn't completely remove at the factory in china.....I think the amount it may be off 80-100mm above the base of the stand, will not effect a cut just off the base even 40mm, to any discernible degree... thanks for responding....

[vdotmatrix]

Thank you!

[robert-r]

I never could get my Milwaukee square to the slot in the table. It bugged me a bit. Just gave up. Never checked to see if the blade was perpendicular to the table.
Wasn't really a problem though, I just used it the way it was.

[bigb]

I am guilty of not reading the OP carefully and I missed the "vertically" part, my apologies. It does sound like shimming is the answer though.

[bigb]

The table I made for my Dewalt bandsaw is adjustable for square side to side and front to back. The saw has been in almost daily use for years now. I can't say enough good things about that Dewalt saw. Totally accurate and reliable.

Is there a build thread somewhere?