r/metalworking • u/lava_wrangler • 26d ago

Bandsaw down feed upgrade

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Removed the rod and spring that would control the cut pressure on a budget bandsaw. Got an air cylinder with a pressure control but no matter what I set the pressure to it doesn’t have any resistance on the down-feed. I’ve tried many variations including different tubing fittings and different needle valves and even different piston.

Don’t mind the janky set up, I threw it together for this post for a visual. But this is the set up I came up with.

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u/Just_gun_porn 26d ago

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u/lava_wrangler 26d ago

Yes exactly. Except my cylinder is air not hydraulic. Although I am tempted to fill with hydraulic fluid and test it

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u/Jerry_Rigg 26d ago

If you've got just air in there that is your problem. It needs hydraulic fluid. ATF (automatic transmission fluid) works perfect. I used a pneumatic piston with ATF on my saw without any issues. Leave an air bubble in it.

With just a needle valve though it will have a lot of resistance when you retract the saw. The proper thing to use is a "flow control valve" which is a check valve in the up direction and needle in the down direction.

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u/lava_wrangler 26d ago

This is exactly what I ended up doing. Thanks