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Bandsaw "slicer"

Rick Wize

PRO Member
Has anyone built a bandsaw jig similar to the accu slicer? I have a Mini Max S45N bandsaw with a unique size miter slot (12.5MM) & the accu slicer is out the question because of the miter slot size.

I have some ideas I want to attempt, but thought I would see if anyone here has already attempted making a homemade jig similar.

Thanks,

Rick
 
I have not made a jig. I generally just use the band saw fence to cut the rings/slab. Then run them through a drum sander to thickness and get rid of saw marks.
 
I use a tenoning jig for splitting rings and cutting layers such as when doing a bowl from a board. Not my idea however, "borrowed" the idea from Wayne Miller;) (current president of Segmented Woodturners)upload_2017-8-7_12-58-4.jpeg
 
Thanks. The thread on splitting rings was exactly what I needed to jog the brain! Especially the pictures of jigs.
 
Hi Rick,
I know this is an old post, but maybe you will find it interesting. I've been experimenting today with an improvised bandsaw wedgie type sled with 2 fences and a stop stuck to the sled with double sided tape. The sled has runners that fit into the miter slots on my bandsaw table. I did this little experiment for 2 reasons; firstly to see if my digital protractor was accurate enough to use for setting the dual fences for angle that the Seg Easy wedges do not cover, and secondly to see what kind of joints I would get straight off the bandsaw just for fun. After I finished and came back from my shop I got a notice in the mail to pick up the wedges I had ordered from Seg Easy. Big coincidence!

Below are a couple of photos of my sled, one with digital angle finder which I used to set up the 15 degree angle and the other with my brand new 15 degree wedgie. It fit perfect. I do not think the digital angle finder replaces the wedgies due to size, but maybe helpful with smaller 8 and 12 segment rings. BTW my bandsaw slots are also odd sized.

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I cut some trial rings from pine to see how accurate they would be. I set the fences to 15 degrees and cut two different sized 24 segment rings. The only sanding I did on the segments was to remove the fuzzies from the cut edges. I was surprised and amazed that the segments fit perfectly. The quality of the joints are not quite as good as segments cut with a sharp tablesaw/mitersaw blade, but there are no gaps. The rough bandsaw cuts could probably be perfected with a few swipes of the cut edges on a flat sanding platter, but I didn't do that. I'm not sure the Accu Slicer could do much better. I have seen their videos and it seemed like a laborious process and probably pretty expensive. You of course will have to be the judge of that. The photos below show the rings I made. I glued them up using rubber bands. I had to make a simple nail jig to get the bands on the larger ring.

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Mike,

Interesting post. Thank you for sharing. I was interested in the slicer to actually cut rings post glue up. My interest was to cut very thin slices of the completed rings to offset the results in a bowl pattern. Unfortunately, I have a Mini Max S45N which although is a sturdy Bandsaw has an unconventional miter slot (smaller than normal) & the slicer requires a different sized miter slot. On a separate note for anyone considering a Mini Max product, I also have had issues with the motor failing and no help from the Mfr (poor customer service on top of it). Thanks again, Rick
 
Rick,
I have sliced the rings seen in the photos above to use them on a practice project. I had to slice the usable part to slightly more than 3/16" (5.5mm), which left a waste ring slightly more than 1/16" (2mm). I did this by sticking the ring to a board with double sided tape and the ring at bottomed at the bottom of the board. Unlike the way Gordon Rock did his I taped my ring to a board standing on edge, which provides for a larger tape surface and I gives much more vertical stability. I ran this through my bandsaw against the fence and got a near perfect cut. I did make sure my fence was exactly 90 deg. to the blade first. I can't think that the accu-slicer could do a much better job, especially since the ring would have to be sanded afterward anyway. I hope you get your band saw problems ironed out.
 
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Has anyone built a bandsaw jig similar to the accu slicer? I have a Mini Max S45N bandsaw with a unique size miter slot (12.5MM) & the accu slicer is out the question because of the miter slot size.

I have some ideas I want to attempt, but thought I would see if anyone here has already attempted making a homemade jig similar.

Thanks,

Rick

Rick

If you call or write them I think they can hook you up. I gave them all my info and I just have to save a little more and I will get mine. I forgot the gentleman's name but I think he invented it and he is a really nice fella.
 
Arlin,

Thanks for posting. I did reach out to John Manura at Accu Slice (inventor) & he indicated there was no interest in providing a tool for a different sized miter gauge slot. Unfortunately, when i purchased the Mini Max I didn't realize the miter slot was not a typical size (I guess being its made in Italy) - but as stated in an earlier post I have really struggled with the Mini Max customer service & would not recommend them.
 
BTW, the MiniMax bandsaw I have is an S45N with a .375 wide miter slot (I see on the Accu Slice website they reference other MiniMax bandsaws - they must have a wider miter slot).
 
Sorry for that Rick. Also sorry you are having so many problems with your bandsaw. I do know others that have a minimax but they have large ones and love them. I never seen one before.

Hope you can return the bandsaw and get a better one like maybe a Grizzly or Laguna. I know the Laguna bandsaws have nice guides for the bandsaw.

Also someone here shown how to do the same thing with a tennon jig and I looked up Grizzly's and looked at theirs for $90 and if I taken off the front arm which holds the wood to the jig and screw on some 1" wood to the front of it that it should work great. Only thing is I could not tell if the bottom of the jigs miter jig is able to be unscrewed from it and if it is you can buy some of the plastic stuff that is 4' long and then put it on the bottom or you can make a sled for it on the bandsaw which might be better.
 
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Mike,

Interesting post. Thank you for sharing. I was interested in the slicer to actually cut rings post glue up. My interest was to cut very thin slices of the completed rings to offset the results in a bowl pattern. Unfortunately, I have a Mini Max S45N which although is a sturdy Bandsaw has an unconventional miter slot (smaller than normal) & the slicer requires a different sized miter slot. On a separate note for anyone considering a Mini Max product, I also have had issues with the motor failing and no help from the Mfr (poor customer service on top of it). Thanks again, Rick
Have you thought of making a miter bar to fit the saw, either a hard wood, or poly plastic. Both make good runners but a wooden one can have an adjustment screw in each end to fine tune the runner to slot.
 
Jack,

Yes, I considered that, but apparently the miter bar on the slicer is an integral part and cannot be replaced by a different size or component per the manufacturer.
 
Well, I mostly finished my bandsaw slicer / resaw fixture. I ran one slice off it before I quit for the day. The wood I cut was Ash and the blade in the saw is just a cheapy 3/8" wood blade from Fleet Farm.
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Bob

I like how you are doing some of yours. Mine is about the same but with V ball bearings to fit into the L angle which I have 6 of them. I am also starting to put two tracks in it one 3" in front of the blade and another 3" behind the blade so I can micro adjust the wood into the blade to whatever thickness I wish and still have the part stationary.

This is what I got from Ebay

Title: ALUMINUM BAR FLAT STOCK (2 - Lengths) 1/4" x 1" x 6' Unpolished Finish Alloy 672550800418 | eBay

Title: U-Channel,AL 6063,1/2 In Leg,1 In x 8 ft ZORO SELECT 6ALZ1 | eBay
 
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