Milwaukee band saw table

[xnaron]

Man I am just blow away with how fast I can bring projects to life using the plasma cutter. I decided to build a table for my milwaukee band saw. Version 1 is very solid and works great. I wanted to see if I could build a table using the fusion 360 sheet metal tools as I saw another user on youtube build a similar one. I started version 2 which would have 13 gauge (measures 2.5mm) bent to make the parts. I made the bends for the legs with a hydraulic press attachment. I wasn't able to use it for the table apron so I needed to use a bench vise to do it. It was very difficult and I needed to extend the handle on my vise with a pipe. Honestly I expect something was going to break but to my surprise I made it through all the bends

Version 1

Version 2

[adbuch]

Nice work! I bought one of those vise finger/press brakes from Grizzly very similar to yours, and it works pretty well if enough pressure can be applied to the bench vise. I have a small press brake kit from Swag Offroad installed into a HF hydraulic press - I'm assuming that you used something similar to bend the legs. That Mag Switch work clamp is pretty nice as well. I like your lead-in/lead-out paths to give a nice edge. Is that something that you set in your software, or?
David

[tinspark]

A lot of guys will cut slots along their brake lines to reduce the amount of pressure that is required to bend things. I regularly bend 1/8" in my 16 gauge finger brake by cutting 1" long slots and leaving 3/8" - 1/2" between. if I need the strength back I weld those slots back in. Usually a leg or something similar is fine without closing slots back in..

[djreiswig]

That's what I do. Makes it a lot easier to bend things.

[xnaron]

Nice work! I bought one of those vise finger/press brakes from Grizzly very similar to yours, and it works pretty well if enough pressure can be applied to the bench vise. I have a small press brake kit from Swag Offroad installed into a HF hydraulic press - I'm assuming that you used something similar to bend the legs. That Mag Switch work clamp is pretty nice as well. I like your lead-in/lead-out paths to give a nice edge. Is that something that you set in your software, or?
David

I was definitely at the limits of my vise. I am attaching a pic of the press attachment I used in my hydraulic press that I used to bend the legs. I found out really fast that it wasn't going to work to press all the bends in the apron piece. This is the first time I have made a project where I needed to bend metal. The vise worked ok but I'd like to get a better setup (maybe better vise and press attachments). I am not sure what other options I have.

The mag switch was a suggestion by another member in another thread. It seems to work well so far.

The lead in/out were done in sheetcam. You can still tell where they are when you look at the piece but much better than I had before.

[xnaron]

A lot of guys will cut slots along their brake lines to reduce the amount of pressure that is required to bend things. I regularly bend 1/8" in my 16 gauge finger brake by cutting 1" long slots and leaving 3/8" - 1/2" between. if I need the strength back I weld those slots back in. Usually a leg or something similar is fine without closing slots back in..

That is a really good idea. These were pretty short bends on the apron piece but I could try a slot in the middle.

[xnaron]

Got the table done and ready to go. Here are some pics. The screws are temporary. I am replacing the tops with countersunk and the legs with black button head. I am going to paint it with the black bedliner. I also added some tile to the bottom of the water table to catch the slag when I cut at 65 amps to avoid the situation in the picture (last pic).

[acourtjester]

I did the tile trick sometime back but found out about 3" of water does the job.

[xnaron]

A lot of guys will cut slots along their brake lines to reduce the amount of pressure that is required to bend things. I regularly bend 1/8" in my 16 gauge finger brake by cutting 1" long slots and leaving 3/8" - 1/2" between. if I need the strength back I weld those slots back in. Usually a leg or something similar is fine without closing slots back in..

For the slot you are just cutting on a line with no offset right?

[tinspark]

correct, centerline cut. Nice project!

[xnaron]

I did the tile trick sometime back but found out about 3" of water does the job.
tile in water table.JPG
plasma gunk for the water table.jpg

Unfortunately I can only get 2" in my water table.

[xnaron]

correct, centerline cut. Nice project!

Thanks. The slots would also make great bend markers. I'm going to give the apron another go tomorrow with slots.

[djreiswig]

For the slot you are just cutting on a line with no offset right?

And no lead in or lead out.

[tinspark]

For the slot you are just cutting on a line with no offset right?

And no lead in or lead out.

Correct. No lead ins or lead outs. Just down and dirty cut lines. Makes it much easier to bend.
90% of the time I just leave the slots. They don't really look that bad.

[xnaron]

I painted the legs and apron this morning.

Later I tried cutting an apron with slots for bending. It was going well but I had a false limit trigger on the outer perimeter (see arrow in pic). I was able to clear the limit turn the torch on and resume the cut. The little divot will be covered with a leg thankfully. I had 20ms debounce time set in uccnc and haven't had a false trigger till today. I bumped it up to 30ms. I didn't do any research though to see what was an appropriate value to use. I'll see how 30 goes. I am just glad I was able to resume the cut.

The slots worked very well for bending. Much less force and I used them as a guide for lining up the bend.

I ended up making another set for another table. I am going to see if I have any luck selling them locally.

[djreiswig]

Looks good.

[Zukzilla]

What did you draw it up on. I use fusion 360 but the way you got it to bend is beautiful compared to what i get

[xnaron]

What did you draw it up on. I use fusion 360 but the way you got it to bend is beautiful compared to what i get

I am using the fusion 360 sheet metal tool to draw out flanges. Make sure to set it to the right material thickness. It defaults to 2.5mm thick material. This was my first sheet metal project. Maybe I just got lucky?

[tinspark]

Looks pretty awesome. Good job!

[adbuch]

What did you draw it up on. I use fusion 360 but the way you got it to bend is beautiful compared to what i get

I am using the fusion 360 sheet metal tool to draw out flanges. Make sure to set it to the right material thickness. It defaults to 2.5mm thick material. This was my first sheet metal project. Maybe I just got lucky?

Thanks for all the information about Fusion 360. This good to know.
David

[Zukzilla]

Ahh yeah. Drew the top first then flanged the legs?

[adbuch]

Ahh yeah. Drew the top first then flanged the legs?

Please elaborate on your question.
David

[xnaron]

I started with a sketch of the 4 shapes as pictured below. I used those to start the flanges.

I built the leg and foot as additional components.

[xnaron]

Finished table

[kenosh]

I'm trying to help my dad with building a table like yours. Could you help me with the measurements for the notch for the saw mount. I'm trying to help draw it from home away from where saw and cutter is. Thanks Ken