A friend of my friend Bill the Machinist had three (yup , three!) trees fall on his shop . He had to crawl out of the mess on his belly ... Bill called me the other day to see if I could help clean out the shop so it can be rebuilt , and yesterday when I finished up Larry gave me a bandsaw ... he had it setting outside , said it was too small for what he's doing . I'm not sure if it's a 4X6 or what , but it still works , and cuts a nice straight line . The bed and pivoting frame are both cast iron , the legs are sheet . It has nice roller bearings for guides (and the guides are adjustable in 3 directions) and they're rolling freely . The only nameplate I can see is on the motor , but the print is all gone . Has a TEFC motor , three step pulleys , and it turns itself off when the cut is finished . One of the two good things that happened to me today . The other was accepting a check that more than covers our losses from the flood on May 1st . Everything else was a lot less pleasant . -- Snag BTW , Larry is the guy with the defib I was asking questions about welding/mag fields .
Free Bandsaw !
May 29, 2010
12 Replies
Hey! Are you hornin' in on MY bandsaw gloat? I had to pay, you win!
I didn't know it was a contest ... but neener neener !
Ya-but, Tom said "my Johnson" is bigger.
karl
Sorry, but I just couldn't resist!
I got a good chuckle out of it !
Y'know, this was an average 'whoa' post until you got to "he had to crawl out on his belly" -- then it turned into a "WHOA!!!" post.
I can't remember where you're located -- is it even vaguely close to the Oregon/Washington border?
It was a 'Benny Hill' flashback.
A sign on a wall said 'Bill stickers will be prosecuted!' Under that someone wrote, 'Bill Stickers is innocent!' ;-)
Nope , we're in Memphis Tn. We've had a LOT of rain this spring , the ground has been saturated and when a big wind comes , trees fall down . Larry said that if he'd been standing he probably wouldn't have survived this one . I got there after Bill had started the cleanup , but I think Larry's right . The only reason the roof didn't fall all the way to land on the machines is the vertical steel channel he has on the back of the lathe as a drop for power cords. As it is , that steel is supporting what's left of the roof over that area. All three cross braces were ripped from the top plate , the south wall is about 12-14" out of plumb and siding is ripped off from the bow in the wall .
Long time Lady Love of my life lives in Nashville. Says the rains brought her lots of customers (ER nurse at hospital in Nashville)
Gunner
He's either one lucky dude for surviving, or one unlucky dude for having it happen. Were it me I'd be staying up late trying to decide which!
I was trying to think if I wanted to trade one of my car projects for a machine tool -- then I realized that the kids would kill me if I gave up the Suburban, and no sane person would want a half-done Vega engine swap project.
Besides, I want to keep both (which, in the case of the Vega, gives you an idea about my sanity!).
I think he just got "lucky" , as these things go . Had those trees dropped about 10* counterclockwise , the whole place would have been a pancake . One of those trees was an oak that was over 30" thru the trunk . The other two were oaks 15-18" . And from what I hear , those Vega's make a screamin' sleeper ... depending on what motor you're shoehorning in there . I've seen underhood wheel wells trimmed , firewalls moved , tubs in back , all kinds of insanity . Of course thay weren't using the stock drivetrain either ...
My dad's opinion was that a stock Vega chassis could handle up to 200 horsepower with some tuning but without a rip out and replace.
My opinion was that a 3.4 liter 60 degree V-6 from GM Performance parts with an Edlebrock manifold and headers would get about 200 horsepower, which is about what you'd get from an un-modified 283 or 305 V-8, for less weight and easier access to the spark plugs.
And it's an easy fit.
Except the project just keeps getting put on the back burner. I don't even know if you can still get the engine -- I should check.
Join the Discussion
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Didn't find your answer?
Ask the community — no account required