Where to get a riser block for a Delta 14" BS with Hex Bar?

[CPeter James]

Any ideas as to where to get a riser block kit for a Delta bandsaw with the hex bar on the upper blade guides? It seems that they have been discontinued.

CPeter

[Bob Lang]

I don't think the hex bar has been available for a long, long time. I added the riser to a late 40s saw in the early 80s and could only get the round bar then. The round bar fits and works, but it doesn't keep the upper guides in line the way the hex does. Early example of "value engineering". I believe that the hexagonal bar is a stock steel item, so you could get a piece of that if you're ambitious. I got used to holding the round one while raising and lowering it. Some one on old woodworking machines may be able to hook you up.

Bob Lang

[Bruce Wrenn]

Ittura Design used to list them in his catalog.

[John TenEyck]

Ittura stills sells a hex bar. I bought one last year from him.

John

[Randy Gillard]

I did this.

Here's my old 1966 Rockwell Delta bandsaw.



I got it off Kijiji pretty bare bones for cheap. Added the Kreg fence (half price - sweet deal thanks Wally), and a 1 HP Doerr farm duty motor (also off Kijiji). Took the 1/2 horse that came off the saw and put it on my Beaver 3400.
After some cleaning tweaking aligning, the saw ran great. I have a project coming up that requires me to resaw some 8" boards, so I was scouring Kijiji for another bandsaw, hemmed and hawed about buying the Rikon 14", almost lost my mind and bought the Laguna, was on the verge of ordering the riser kit from Amazon, on and on. You get the drift.
Stumbled on a guy on kijiji selling a saw similar to mine and had the resaw kit separate. I got the kit for $75 and figured I'd give it a go.

The riser block and blade guard stuff fit perfectly.



Ran into an issue with the guide post. Mine was hex, and the one in the kit was round.



It was supposed to fit, but apparently my model was one of the rare ones where the castings in the saw were not machined large enough. Mine was a tight fit for a 7/8 hex and the 15/16 rod would not fit through it.



I got some 7/8 hex rod from metals supermarkets for $15.
Buffed it up on the wire wheel,sprayed on some Top Cote and good to go.



My original guide post had the bottom machined 7/8 round and that fit into a hex shaped hole in the guide block assembly. I figured that was there to fine tune the alignment of the blocks and I was thinking I would have to machine my rod as well.
Turns out I was needlessly worrying. It aligned bang on.



While I was installing the block, I fine tuned the saw and made sure it was co-planer and replaced the old thrust bearings in the guide block assembly.

Tonight I put on a new 3/8" 3 tpi blade from Allblades Canada (a $12.00 blade) and tested the resaw on a 12" piece of oak. It sliced through it at a moderate feed rate with little difficulty. The motor didn't even seem to be working that hard.
Cut quality was pretty good too.



Note the upper saw casting just above the block. It is solid, not webbed like the newer saws. This machine is very stiff and the riser didn't change the feel or dynamics of the saw at all.
In fact, the saw runs better now than before I put the riser on.

To those who poo poo resawing on these machines I say poo poo 2 U. For hobby shop use and occasional resawing, it is just fine. And I used to own a Minimax 16" with 3 HP motor, so i know from where I speak.

Very happy with the new setup. If anyone is considering doing this feel free to PM me and I can pass on any finer points or answer any questions that I can.

Last edited by Randy in Calgary; 12-08-2012 at 05:31 PM.

[Myk Rian]

+1 on what Randy said, especially the re-saw.

Every now and then risers and hex posts show up on OWWM BOYD, but they can be rare items.
The present day riser fits all Delta 14"ers, and the hex post can be made from a piece bought after-market.
The only real difference will be the extended blade guard. The OEM guard on my 1966 Metal/Wood model is a piece of sheet steel.
It's bent to slip onto the upper wheel cover.

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[Michael Dunn]

Ummm... What's Kijiji?

[John TenEyck]

Ummm... What's Kijiji?

Canadian Craigslist.

John