Minimax S45 Green Bandsaw

I picked up a Minimax S45 green one the other day. I am cleaning it up and getting it ready. I think it will be the prefect size for my small shop. I can not seem to find the manual online. I can only find it for the new one the S45N.

What size is the miter gauge? It looks like 1/2 inch but I am sure it is mm size. Where to find one?

Has anybody added a fence to their S45. I am kind of thinking maybe adopting a Kreg fence over. The screws for the fence are on the cast iron top are on the bottom not the side so I guess it will make it a little harder.

The big thing is there is a switch on the motor which I don't know what it does?

hi lee,

i have a green s45. good saw. much better than any 14" saw. i usually leave a 1/2" wood slicer on it. the reason is it is a pita to change blades. original fence was gone, but rail was there. i would consider a driftmaster. i have a kreg fence. i moved the stock fence rail to the bottom surface to keep the table flat accross the front. tapped the front surface and mounted the kreg rail. to change blades, i take off both rails... works good but slow.

i bought the original equipment miter fence from mini max came from italy and cost $140. i measured slot, was .375, and stock on miter fence was .370

other things i did was change the knob that holds the upper guide to a much larger easier to loosen (metric) knob.

i added to the width of the base at the back and added wheels from a skateboard. bolted a felder mobility mount to the front that fits my felder mobility kit .real rock solid

i made a bunch off zero clearance inserts that have the blade gap at the back of the blade. you have to be careful when resawing narrow boards over gap in the table. until they are supported behind the blade, they can be forced into the gap.

also have an outfeed roller mounted to table with roller about a foot behind table

good luck w/ you saw.

keith

Lee, the manual is online at partspronto-dot-com.

The mitre slot is metric and shallow. In the past, guys have DIY'ed a gib out of bar stock, then tapped for their own mitre fence, such as the Incra unit.

Regarding fences, I've never personally seen an MM with the Kreg fence but can't see why it wouldn't work. As Keith mentioned, the Driftmaster would be a great option.

Can you post a photo of this mystery switch?

Erik

I have the older S45 model as well. The miter slot is metric and different than anything else in my shop. You just have to live with it. Mine came with the stock fence which is nothing special, just a 1" wide by 2.5" tall metal tube with a thumbscrew that locks onto a piece of angle iron.

I wanted something taller and also something that would go closer to the fence with the guides lowered. I added a Grizzly H7528 resaw fence for $55. It is the perfect length for the S45. You only need to drill one hole through the stock fence. They also have a complete package for $170 including the rails if you want to replace everything.

Steve

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Originally Posted by Steve Peterson

...I added a Grizzly H7528 resaw fence for $55. It is the perfect length for the S45. You only need to drill one hole through the stock fence. They also have a complete package for $170 including the rails if you want to replace everything...

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Steve, thanks for sharing that. I like the design of the Kreg setup better but the height of the extrusion of the grizzly fence only is nice. If it were my machine, I might buy both and use the tall fence when needed. Looks you could do them both for <$200.

Erik

With regards to the miter gauge, if it looks like 1/2" then it is 13 mm. They are nearly interchangeable. On a band saw you would not want the miter gauge with the wheel to keep it in the slot. 13 mm is precisely 0.511811" so a 1/2" would have about 11/1000 slop. That's good enough for most woodworking.

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Originally Posted by Rich Riddle

With regards to the miter gauge, if it looks like 1/2" then it is 13 mm. They are nearly interchangeable. On a band saw you would not want the miter gauge with the wheel to keep it in the slot. 13 mm is precisely 0.511811" so a 1/2" would have about 11/1000 slop. That's good enough for most woodworking.

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The issue I recall on the old S45's is not so much the width but that the channel is shallow. Agazzanis were the same way. If you lucky, you still had the OEM mitre gauge and could cannibalize the steel gib to make your own gauge but if not, it was a project.

Erik

I just realized I did not update about my Minimax S45 bandsaw thread. I found a original miter gauge. I added a Kreg 24 inch fence. I had 1 issue when I took the motor off to have it cleaned. Some how when I put the motor back in, the belt was barely dragging on the wheel which caused the motor to run hot. I pulled the motor off again and added 1flat washer on each the motor bolts to push the motor out so the belt did not touch. The saw runs great now.

Lee, I just bought a used green s45. Did you ever find a manual for yours? I went to partspronto-dot-com but that just redirected to the SCM web site. I also need a new switch. I didn't realize how hard it is going to be to get parts.

I have an S45N, it sounds like you have the same miter slot. Mine is 12mm wide (measure yours). I bought a decent miter gauge, removed the 3/4" bar and replaced it with a piece of 12mm ground bar stock. I have the original miter gauge, it is really poor. Socket head screw to adjust angle!

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Originally Posted by Kurt Merkle

Lee, I just bought a used green s45. Did you ever find a manual for yours? I went to partspronto-dot-com but that just redirected to the SCM web site. I also need a new switch. I didn't realize how hard it is going to be to get parts.

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I don't believe that there have been many changes at all to the venerable S45 over the years and it's still made today, AFAIK. It's the one bandsaw that SCM/Minimax makes in-house. PartsPronto is part of the SMC site system and you must register to get access to it.

BTW, this thread is from 2016 so you may not hear from the OP...they have not logged in since 2019.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kurt Merkle

Lee, I just bought a used green s45. Did you ever find a manual for yours? I went to partspronto-dot-com but that just redirected to the SCM web site. I also need a new switch. I didn't realize how hard it is going to be to get parts.

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I replaced the switch on mine with a double throw light switch from the box store. It's been working like that for about 20 years.