Zambus Hokus Pokus

[David Winer]

Deep down in a recent lengthy thread, MM24 Mobility 01-03-2011, Van Huskey offered a detailed method for installing Zambus casters on the MM16 (and larger) band saw. I definitely needed that. Following his instructions, while aware of the hazards of being pinned down by a large ferrous object as discussed in the thread, I managed to do the trick without assistance.

It took some planning and uses of wedges to raise the rear end for the second set of casters. First, there is no foot brake to attach the Johnson bar to. How to get a jack under this end? Think of this maneuver as a variant of Van's procedure. I used his concept of a board under the machine near the middle so that once the jack and safety boards were removed from the front end, the saw could be rocked over the board which acts as a teeter-totter fulcrum.

This geometry and nomenclature is hard to visualize. As we say in computers, a picture is worth 1024 words. I've attached a photo to show how the feat was accomplished. What this picture doesn't show is that I had to resort to wedges to raise the rear end high enough to get the jack under, then proceed as before at the front. (Glowing with success, I forgot to take that picture.)

The saw rolls easily now. Anyone want a free mobility kit that should properly be labeled an immobility kit?

[Jim Becker]

Creativity is what makes the world go round!

[Van Huskey]

You don't know how glad I am it is done and you are SAFE!

[Rye Crane]

David,

Congratulations on your installation of Zambus casters on your MM16. I haven't seen Van's tutorial on his installation but I did a similar
conversion when I installed the Zambus Casters on my MM24. Most of the weight is at the base on these bandsaws and I just used my
floor jack under the foot pedal to lift the saw up in the front. Installed the two casters and then with a fulcrum board like yours just rocked it over
so it was up in the rear and installed the two remaining casters. I did make sure I was well away from the possible tipping accident, but no problem, thank Goodness.

It's sooooooo much easier now to pull that saw around when necessary. I can get it moving with one hand and a grunt. Reposition it and relevel it quickly.
What a improvement over the "mobility" kit. I danced with tham darned thing one time for about a half hour to get it where I wanted it. It wore me out, best
arobic exercise I've had recently!

I hope you are enjoying your MM16, these are great saws and so many applications you can use them on. I took a class with Sam Blasco when he was
located at the MiniMax offices in Austin, Tx., Sam showed us how to joint a board, do joinery, cut cabrole legs, edge joint, and face joint a board, probably
a few more things with just a few simple jigs. Sam even mounted his three wheeled power feeder from his MM CU410 Elite S Combo on his MM24 and was
able to run board after board through it to resaw, using a Aigner bracket and the hold down from the combo machine than secures the power feeder.

Good machinery all around. A couple of things I did to quiet my MM24 down was to polish the guide faces, replace the 2 v-belts with aftermarket replacements
the same metric size, level the saw carefully and using a home made jig I hand sanded the tires so there were no high/low spots, made sure the wheels were both
in balance. It's my go to machine for ripping, joinery, resawing, and a quick cut instead of setting up my table saw.

Rye Crane
Pittsburg, Ca.