My SWAG table review: I make my first cut right here with you guys. In the process of making the video, I found a problem and fixed it. www.Swagoffroad.com
I have watched dozens of these Bandsaw conversions some extensive and expensive and others simple and low cost. All before l decided what I was going to do. I’m glad l made my own table stand for the Klutch Portable Bandsaw. All out of scrap stock that people threw away. So pretty much close to zero cost and it cuts perfectly square.
Thanks for the heads up. I checked mine as soon as I installed it and sure enough it was out. I filed it all down nice and flat and it's sitting perfect now.
This is what I am using it for - and I think the key here is you are cutting flat stock and then grinding it. It not being square isn't critical for you. He needs his square stock to be square - but given that is a HF saw and a file fixed it - all seems well to me.
Nice video, enjoying watching. Other bandsaws like Milwaukee and others, there is a screw on the table to adjust the blade/saw to the table, no filing needed
Great video and also the only one I've seen address this issue. Another idea would be to drill and tap the tabletop and install some set screws, aka grub screws to push through the bottom on either side of the saw mounting base area.
Thanks man. I appreciate it. I went and looked at my saw/table closely. I would not call your idea and “idea”. I’d call it a 100% viable solution. In fact I may add 2 grub screws to add rigidity. Strong work. Frankly, your idea is so good Swag needs to hear it, because it is something they can incorporate from the factory.
@@texacajundiy A viable solution if such critical precision is required would be to weld 4 equally spaced dots on one side of each gage slot, remove the Delrin buttons, draw file the opening for a sliding fit.
@@waynespyker5731 Thanks Wayne, Really! This is what people need, ideas! The next guy to watch may read your idea and go for it. 19 year old kids with zero male influence are building their own forges, building saw jigs, turning pens, hunting, fishing & machining...all from the maker/information revolution. When I comment on anything on TH-cam I try to imagine that kid reading it, and try to encourage him. I hope you'll consider subscribing and provide your insights on other videos.
Good fix. I had the same problem but the table was leaning to the opposite side as yours. I loosened the screws a bit and used a feeler gauge to determine how far of it was. .024 brought it to square. I was lucky enough to find a scrap of 16oz. Copper sheet that matched up and just made a shim. It has worked very well. I do like your idea and if i ever have issues with the shimming I'll take my time to file it like you did. I was initially upset that it wasn't square out of the box but that isnt any fault of Swag. The casting is just off. On a side note i like the Incra but i dont like the way Swag didnt allot for the T slot attachment to slide out of the backside of table. It basically made the T for the T slot unusable. Without the T if you pull the sliding gauge back even to the edge of table it falls cause its so back heavy. Hope your enjoying your swag table as much as I.Thanks for the vid 🙂
That may have been the harbor freight saw off. What you should do is put the factory harbor freight guide back on and see if it's out after filling.but you are absolutely correct about the entire saw is supported by just 2 bolts.. that's too much weight on those 2 bolts. There needs to be additional support added. You are the only TH-cam swag reviewer that addresses the swag design flaw. I had a similar concern about the swag table mount.
I just use a speed square on the table to line up a 5inch piece of 3/16 thick angle iron as my fence and I lock it down with vise lock clamps. Works a treat. And I can do angles.
I just got mine the other day and I'm going through the same issue.. im going to have to mess with it some more when I get back home. I drive trucks so I'll have to wait until the weekend.
Good job.....you would think swag off-road would know about this issue and recommend a fix just like you figured out. Thanks for your time and effort for the fix.
awesome video thanks, I was about to suck it up and buy a new higher quality portaband and ditch the Bauer, but I am headed out to do some filing now! the casting is really off on the Bauer, which as you said isn't really meant to be used in this way so no hard feelings. Mine is slanted in the same direction.
Could they just pilot drill all the holes on the mounting plate, instead of drilling them all to final size and countersunk? I have heard that the these finished holes are collecting small cut offs and metal shavings. That way a person would final drill and countersink only the holes they need, to mount the plate to their saw. Just a thought.
Hey thanks for the video.Just got my table. I have a DeWalt hooked up to the Swag. My blade is also not 90 degrees to the table. I'll try some fixes suggested here. Also the blade is angled about 5 degrees left in relation to the squareness of the table and I'll have to counter sink the four corner holes in the table top as they have burrs left on them that cause the material to catch and drag. Pretty cool table though. I like it.
It is a SWAG tool. Remember what SWAG stands for. I knocked out the fancy cut pieces on the end because I didn't want anyone looking at it and thinking I approved. This is about the only thing on the market but it needs a lot of tweeting starting with filing off about 1/3 of the heads of the two little screws that hold the entire contraption together.
Seems like a nice idea that is not finished. It needs a more secure mount and a way to fine tune the adjustment, that and I can see this thing wobbling from side to side.
My Swag bandsaw stand V3.0 with a genuine MILWAUKEE SAW(FWIW) had the same issue as yours did and then some! I also bought the miter guide from swag but mine must be the older version because it’s different. Still adjustable but different. The second issue is that the saw isn’t square to the miter guide on my table. I have to compensate for the 2* that it is off on every cut. So both planes of my combination are out of wack. The screw holes that mount the plate to the saw were not fully countersunk when I got it either. I complained to Swag in my review on their site and got a reply from the owner who argued that it couldn’t have been that way. They then deleted my review. Ever wonder why companies have sooo many 5 star reviews for their products? Yeah. They delete anything that they don’t want you to see. I didn’t trash them over it or get nasty. I just stated that I had to clean up the mounting holes. Anyway I have to figure out what to do to square it up with the miter. Other than that it is a nice little stand. Thanks for posting your video.
A thought: Pull the band saw off the table. Fill the original hole that is holding the saw out of square to the miter guide. use a square you trust to scribe a line where the hole should be. Drill & counter sink. That may seem to be more work than its worth because 2 degrees oughta fill pretty easy with weld. However, (and I know you've run into this) those little 2 degree floated welds are enough to pull what you're building all over the place if you aren't careful. Let us know what you did to fix it.
Good fix, but I don’t think I would have gone to the band saw first to make a correction. I would have gone to the bottom of the plate and scrapped off the coating on the plate where the band saw mounts. I’d also see if there were any burrs around the screw holes to make the bottom of the plate true.
Great video man. Have you thought about adding a set screw to the plate to act as an adjustable peg to tilt it as needed. Guess she's square now ;) Liked subscribed
"It came with a sticker!" Lol, buy the tone of ur voice it sounded like the sticker made up for all the Perfecting u did, great video brother I'm looking at buying this table for my bandsaw and was concerned about the issues u addressed and I think it's worth the adjustments vs building 1 from scratch.
So I think Swag did the best they could to build this table out nice. They absolutely could not account for the slight casting differences in each individual bandsaw, and between powder coat and castings it would literally be saw to saw. The stuff I did just took a few min., and it has maintained square. I use the heck out of it. To put this setup’s versatility in perspective: when I upgrade, it will be from this to a $3,000 Ellis saw. Do over: I’d buy it again, same exact setup.
@@texacajundiy awesome deal! Ya I couldnt agree more, for it's small size and price u just cant beat it, I look at it as even if I upgrade I can always keep this setup on the bench for small parts like pins and handles(I'm a knifemaker) I was on the fence about getting bare steal and painting it myself or the poo owdercoated option, after how its arrived I think I'll just opt to paint mine to match the saw or a basic gun metal grey! Btw I got a pack of coyotes near my house too, it sounds exactly the same as urs lol
Yeah, I forgot about that. Do not pay for the powder coat. Check out the dupicolor metalcast paints. Neat colors & translucent. For durability I’ve found no better paint than POR15.
@@texacajundiy awesome! Thanks for the paint info brother! 🤜🏼🤛🏻 I'll definitely look into that line, I wish u could get just the legs played so it will not rust, I'm in FLA and man with our humidity u can take a brand new peice of steel leave it on ur workbenches and within 24hrs it's already starting to rust, for the top it would be nice to get it in stainless steel so u can keep it bare but not deal with any rust BS, how do u feel about all the extra holes for other saws? I dont like the look and was thinking about plug welding them to clean the look up some. Any ideas on that?
@@dylanbennett3851 Honestly, now knowing now that you are in FL, I'd go for the powdercoat and touch up as needed. That will cover all the nooks and crannies.
No, that’s a fair question and it COULD be a problem unique to the Bauer, BUT That particular part on all of them, regardless of brand, is cast aluminum with powder coat on it. Other brands may turn out square every time(doubtful). IF you saw doesn’t end up square, no matter the brand this is the fix.
Gives review on a made in America table and complains about a China made portaband not being square 🤦🏻♂️. Just go buy a $400 Milwaukee portaband and Milwaukee table for $4-500 and will probably be as bad if not worse lol.
I have watched dozens of these Bandsaw conversions some extensive and expensive and others simple and low cost. All before l decided what I was going to do.
I’m glad l made my own table stand for the Klutch Portable Bandsaw. All out of scrap stock that people threw away. So pretty much close to zero cost and it cuts perfectly square.
Thanks for the heads up. I checked mine as soon as I installed it and sure enough it was out. I filed it all down nice and flat and it's sitting perfect now.
I 'm a hobby knife maker, and have used mine for 4 years and have had great results .
This is what I am using it for - and I think the key here is you are cutting flat stock and then grinding it. It not being square isn't critical for you.
He needs his square stock to be square - but given that is a HF saw and a file fixed it - all seems well to me.
This worked for me on my bauer too. I took it off to file and square up probably 10 times, but it's perfectly square now. Great product.
Nice video, enjoying watching. Other bandsaws like Milwaukee and others, there is a screw on the table to adjust the blade/saw to the table, no filing needed
Great video and also the only one I've seen address this issue. Another idea would be to drill and tap the tabletop and install some set screws, aka grub screws to push through the bottom on either side of the saw mounting base area.
Thanks man. I appreciate it.
I went and looked at my saw/table closely. I would not call your idea and “idea”. I’d call it a 100% viable solution.
In fact I may add 2 grub screws to add rigidity. Strong work. Frankly, your idea is so good Swag needs to hear it, because it is something they can incorporate from the factory.
@@texacajundiy A viable solution if such critical precision is required would be to weld 4 equally spaced dots on one side of each gage slot, remove the Delrin buttons, draw file the opening for a sliding fit.
@@waynespyker5731 Thanks Wayne, Really! This is what people need, ideas!
The next guy to watch may read your idea and go for it.
19 year old kids with zero male influence are building their own forges, building saw jigs, turning pens, hunting, fishing & machining...all from the maker/information revolution. When I comment on anything on TH-cam I try to imagine that kid reading it, and try to encourage him.
I hope you'll consider subscribing and provide your insights on other videos.
Good fix. I had the same problem but the table was leaning to the opposite side as yours. I loosened the screws a bit and used a feeler gauge to determine how far of it was. .024 brought it to square. I was lucky enough to find a scrap of 16oz. Copper sheet that matched up and just made a shim. It has worked very well. I do like your idea and if i ever have issues with the shimming I'll take my time to file it like you did. I was initially upset that it wasn't square out of the box but that isnt any fault of Swag. The casting is just off. On a side note i like the Incra but i dont like the way Swag didnt allot for the T slot attachment to slide out of the backside of table. It basically made the T for the T slot unusable. Without the T if you pull the sliding gauge back even to the edge of table it falls cause its so back heavy. Hope your enjoying your swag table as much as I.Thanks for the vid 🙂
I can tell you, I’ve been using the heck out of it and it’s held square.
That may have been the harbor freight saw off. What you should do is put the factory harbor freight guide back on and see if it's out after filling.but you are absolutely correct about the entire saw is supported by just 2 bolts.. that's too much weight on those 2 bolts. There needs to be additional support added. You are the only TH-cam swag reviewer that addresses the swag design flaw. I had a similar concern about the swag table mount.
Thanks for the video! was trying to find a video showing a portable bandsaw with a miter gauge worked. Thanks again!
I just use a speed square on the table to line up a 5inch piece of 3/16 thick angle iron as my fence and I lock it down with vise lock clamps. Works a treat. And I can do angles.
Great video man, about to order my table from SWAG, great to know what I'll need to do to make it cut square!
I just got mine the other day and I'm going through the same issue.. im going to have to mess with it some more when I get back home. I drive trucks so I'll have to wait until the weekend.
Good job.....you would think swag off-road would know about this issue and recommend a fix just like you figured out. Thanks for your time and effort for the fix.
Thank you.
I would bet its the cheapo saw
@@skimark8275 Then how do you explain DeWalt and Milwaukee saw owners reporting the same issue?
awesome video thanks, I was about to suck it up and buy a new higher quality portaband and ditch the Bauer, but I am headed out to do some filing now! the casting is really off on the Bauer, which as you said isn't really meant to be used in this way so no hard feelings. Mine is slanted in the same direction.
Could they just pilot drill all the holes on the mounting plate, instead of drilling them all to final size and countersunk? I have heard that the these finished holes are collecting small cut offs and metal shavings. That way a person would final drill and countersink only the holes they need, to mount the plate to their saw. Just a thought.
Hey thanks for the video.Just got my table. I have a DeWalt hooked up to the Swag. My blade is also not 90 degrees to the table. I'll try some fixes suggested here. Also the blade is angled about 5 degrees left in relation to the squareness of the table and I'll have to counter sink the four corner holes in the table top as they have burrs left on them that cause the material to catch and drag. Pretty cool table though. I like it.
I’m about 2 years into it. My squareness has held up, and the whole setup has held up.
There is also adjustment points whitch I would take a look first, blade square depends both of supporting ends and bearings.
when i first heard you start talking i said this cat has to be from Louisiana, great video
It is a SWAG tool. Remember what SWAG stands for. I knocked out the fancy cut pieces on the end because I didn't want anyone looking at it and thinking I approved. This is about the only thing on the market but it needs a lot of tweeting starting with filing off about 1/3 of the heads of the two little screws that hold the entire contraption together.
I had the same issue with a Wen Portaband. This fixed it right up.
Seems like a nice idea that is not finished. It needs a more secure mount and a way to fine tune the adjustment, that and I can see this thing wobbling from side to side.
Its really stable enough. After years of semi-daily use, its still square from this mod.
I'm about to pull the trigger on a Swag for my Bauer Swag. Thanks for the info..
Just put my together tonite and worked great
My Swag bandsaw stand V3.0 with a genuine MILWAUKEE SAW(FWIW) had the same issue as yours did and then some!
I also bought the miter guide from swag but mine must be the older version because it’s different. Still adjustable but different. The second issue is that the saw isn’t square to the miter guide on my table. I have to compensate for the 2* that it is off on every cut. So both planes of my combination are out of wack. The screw holes that mount the plate to the saw were not fully countersunk when I got it either. I complained to Swag in my review on their site and got a reply from the owner who argued that it couldn’t have been that way. They then deleted my review. Ever wonder why companies have sooo many 5 star reviews for their products? Yeah. They delete anything that they don’t want you to see. I didn’t trash them over it or get nasty. I just stated that I had to clean up the mounting holes.
Anyway I have to figure out what to do to square it up with the miter.
Other than that it is a nice little stand.
Thanks for posting your video.
A thought: Pull the band saw off the table. Fill the original hole that is holding the saw out of square to the miter guide. use a square you trust to scribe a line where the hole should be. Drill & counter sink.
That may seem to be more work than its worth because 2 degrees oughta fill pretty easy with weld. However, (and I know you've run into this) those little 2 degree floated welds are enough to pull what you're building all over the place if you aren't careful.
Let us know what you did to fix it.
I have the same setup and I've noticed the same problem.
American elbow smarts! Love it.
Good fix, but I don’t think I would have gone to the band saw first to make a correction. I would have gone to the bottom of the plate and scrapped off the coating on the plate where the band saw mounts. I’d also see if there were any burrs around the screw holes to make the bottom of the plate true.
The powder coat on the plate is very thin & even. The plate is well made, no burrs.
WOW. WELL DONE! Learned a lot. THANK YOU!!!
Dude your Allen wrench set is wicked pretty.
Those Germans.
Thank you for your response. my saw is made in Brookfield Wis. and yes it is a Milwaukee! Also America is spelled with an "A". Have a good day.
Nope sorry for ya. It’s made in China. Even the owners manual is printed in China.
‘Merica...
So was it the hf tool or the swag bracket that was out of square? Good no and review though.
The HF tool. This tweak will need to be done to most all saws regardless of brand.
To fix your issue with the bandsaw cutting on an angle. Just shim the one side of the resting plate. All I had to do to fix mine.
My table will arrive today. I agree, I'll shim rather than file on my brand new Dewalt saw.
There is a screw in the table to adjust the. band saw 90% to the table.
It's on my V.04 for Millwaukee saw.
Screw doesn’t exist on the 3.0. I should have gotten the 4.0. Haven’t taken this thing apart but 2x’s.
@@texacajundiy 👍
niiiice 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾 thanks for posting
Great video man. Have you thought about adding a set screw to the plate to act as an adjustable peg to tilt it as needed. Guess she's square now ;) Liked subscribed
Thanks man. This fix has held square for about a year now & I routinely cut tool steel(annealed but still)
"It came with a sticker!" Lol, buy the tone of ur voice it sounded like the sticker made up for all the Perfecting u did, great video brother I'm looking at buying this table for my bandsaw and was concerned about the issues u addressed and I think it's worth the adjustments vs building 1 from scratch.
So I think Swag did the best they could to build this table out nice.
They absolutely could not account for the slight casting differences in each individual bandsaw, and between powder coat and castings it would literally be saw to saw.
The stuff I did just took a few min., and it has maintained square. I use the heck out of it. To put this setup’s versatility in perspective: when I upgrade, it will be from this to a $3,000 Ellis saw.
Do over: I’d buy it again, same exact setup.
@@texacajundiy awesome deal! Ya I couldnt agree more, for it's small size and price u just cant beat it, I look at it as even if I upgrade I can always keep this setup on the bench for small parts like pins and handles(I'm a knifemaker) I was on the fence about getting bare steal and painting it myself or the poo owdercoated option, after how its arrived I think I'll just opt to paint mine to match the saw or a basic gun metal grey! Btw I got a pack of coyotes near my house too, it sounds exactly the same as urs lol
Yeah, I forgot about that. Do not pay for the powder coat.
Check out the dupicolor metalcast paints. Neat colors & translucent. For durability I’ve found no better paint than POR15.
@@texacajundiy awesome! Thanks for the paint info brother! 🤜🏼🤛🏻 I'll definitely look into that line, I wish u could get just the legs played so it will not rust, I'm in FLA and man with our humidity u can take a brand new peice of steel leave it on ur workbenches and within 24hrs it's already starting to rust, for the top it would be nice to get it in stainless steel so u can keep it bare but not deal with any rust BS, how do u feel about all the extra holes for other saws? I dont like the look and was thinking about plug welding them to clean the look up some. Any ideas on that?
@@dylanbennett3851 Honestly, now knowing now that you are in FL, I'd go for the powdercoat and touch up as needed. That will cover all the nooks and crannies.
Excellent video. Thanks for taking the time.
Thanks jeff
Thank You for showing us how to make it square. Nothing is more irritating than get a tool and it not working correctly
Hey, just found the channel, I'm thinking about picking up one of these stands for my shop.
You’ll like it. I’ve made about 50 or so cuts with it. My work to make the table square to the blade held up.
The red knob needs a washer on it to make it flush with the table
Perfect 👍
Excellent information!!! Thank You!!!
Good job thanks
Of course you're going to be because you can't drop the top roller bearings down to give your blade support down where you need it
this
Those 2 screws i bet hold to about 1,000 lbs tinsel strength. Unless u drop it. Bet it will be fine
Thanks and you are correct. It has held up, they haven't loosened, and it hasn't lost square.
That seems more like a HF defect than the table itself. Mine sits flush right out the box
Is it square?
Nice job!
I welded mine together and then had it powder coated
I’m bout 2 years in and this thing has help up.
I am not being an ass, could it be that you have the cheapest of bandsaws?
No, that’s a fair question and it COULD be a problem unique to the Bauer, BUT
That particular part on all of them, regardless of brand, is cast aluminum with powder coat on it. Other brands may turn out square every time(doubtful). IF you saw doesn’t end up square, no matter the brand this is the fix.
@@texacajundiy cool. Good video b.
How much$$$
I want to say this was like 140.00
Depending on your saw and exactly what options you want(powder coat, etc), the price changes.
Just pay $100 for the V1.0 with pedal and build your own legs.
Gives review on a made in America table and complains about a China made portaband not being square 🤦🏻♂️. Just go buy a $400 Milwaukee portaband and Milwaukee table for $4-500 and will probably be as bad if not worse lol.
I think Wayne must have a relative that works for Swag!
Poor Wayne! Bless his heart!