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Greetings from Germany

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Greetings from Germany

Postby Mike » 10 Aug 2020, 16:25

Hello all,

I retired last year from the U.S. Department of Defense and remained in Germany. I thought I would have lots of free time in retirement to pursue my woodworking hobby, but that has not been the case. If someone had told me that there would be less free time during retirement, I would have been skeptical, yet it is true. The difference is I am now busy with the things I (and my wife) want to do instead of the things I have to do.

My basement shop is still a work in progress, and my latest project is getting my Record Power BS350S bandsaw in order after being dormant for several years. The more I work with it, the less pleased I am with it and might replace it with a better machine.

I look forward to being a contributing member here, and already recognize a lot of names from UKW.
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby TrimTheKing » 10 Aug 2020, 16:51

Hi and welcome aboard Mike

Yeah you'll recognise a couple of names from UKW and a lot of new names.

Good to have you here, hope you enjoy your fora a a bit quieter and less volatile than UKW. Not that UKW is a bad place at all, but it's much more sedentary and dare I say friendly over here most of the time.
Cheers
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby Mike G » 10 Aug 2020, 16:53

Welcome Mike. This is a smaller and more gentle place than UKW, and I hope you enjoy your time here.
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby Andyp » 10 Aug 2020, 16:53

Welcome aboard Mike.
What problems are you having with the bandsaw? There are a few very knowledgeable chaps on hear that might be able to help if you start a thread in the Tools and machinery board.
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cheers
Andy
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby Malc2098 » 10 Aug 2020, 17:14

Yo! Hiya Mike and welcome from deepest Mid-Devon!

I've got a 14" SIP that I'd like to replace, but I get by with some good blades and a bit of maintenance, oh and some new guide bearings, and some table wax, and a new drive belt and new tyres.

It'll be a hassle to get the old one out and up to the road to a new buyer collecting it and a new one into the workshop! :)
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby DaveL » 10 Aug 2020, 18:00

Hi Mike,

Welcome to the forum. Quits

You have found the truth about retirement!
DaveR posted a comment that retirement is getting up in the morning with nothing to do and going to bed, not having done half of it.

What blades the are you using on your bandsaw? A good blade will make a huge difference in how the machine works.
Regards,
Dave
My tool kit is almost complete, only a few more to get.
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby Mike » 10 Aug 2020, 19:19

Thank you, everyone!

The problem I'm having with the bandsaw is mostly the blades. I wanted to order a couple of blades from TuffSaws, but they are delivering only to the UK now. I ordered an Axcaliber high carbon 1/2-inch 3TPI blade from Axminster.

After I set the tension (flutter method), I noticed the blade was constantly jerking along the axis of the cut. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the blade was not welded accurately. The back of the blade was not straight, and there was a visible gap at the weld when I put a straight edge along the back of the blade. Likewise, there was a bulge on the tooth edge at the same point, so the blade was joined with a slight angle at the weld. I'm waiting to hear back from Axminster, but the blade is useless to me. I put one of the no-name blades that came with the saw, but it is a placeholder until I can find a good blade. If I had access to a blade welder, I would redo it myself, since I've made hundreds of blades.

The other problem (annoyance) with the bandsaw are the upper and lower guides. I can work with them for now until I either replace them with bearing guides or replace the saw.
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby MJ80 » 10 Aug 2020, 20:45

Hi Mike,

Enjoy the forum, I'm also in Germany, where about are you?
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby DaveL » 10 Aug 2020, 20:57

Ian at Tuffsaws used to ship to Germany, I wonder why he has stopped?
Is it covid or the dreaded B word?
Regards,
Dave
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby Mike » 10 Aug 2020, 22:13

MJ80 wrote:Hi Mike,

Enjoy the forum, I'm also in Germany, where about are you?


I'm in Gernsheim, which is between Darmstadt and Mannheim. Where are you?
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby Mike » 10 Aug 2020, 22:14

DaveL wrote:Ian at Tuffsaws used to ship to Germany, I wonder why he has stopped?
Is it covid or the dreaded B word?


I sent and email to TuffSaws this afternoon asking when, or if, they will be shipping to Germany.
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby MJ80 » 11 Aug 2020, 13:05

Hi Mike,
I'm further north, up near Bielefeld
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby Woodbloke » 11 Aug 2020, 13:17

Mike wrote:Thank you, everyone!

The problem I'm having with the bandsaw is mostly the blades. I ordered an Axcaliber high carbon 1/2-inch 3TPI blade from Axminster.

After I set the tension (flutter method), I noticed the blade was constantly jerking along the axis of the cut. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the blade was not welded accurately. The back of the blade was not straight, and there was a visible gap at the weld when I put a straight edge along the back of the blade. Likewise, there was a bulge on the tooth edge at the same point, so the blade was joined with a slight angle at the weld. I'm waiting to hear back from Axminster, but the blade is useless to me. I put one of the no-name blades that came with the saw, but it is a placeholder until I can find a good blade. If I had access to a blade welder, I would redo it myself, since I've made hundreds of blades.



If you've found a dodgy weld on an Ax blade, they will unquestionably sort it out for you, but rather than email, give them a ring and ask to speak directly to somebody in Technical Services (or similar) - Rob
I no longer work for Axminster Tools & Machinery.
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby Andyp » 11 Aug 2020, 14:34

Mike wrote:
DaveL wrote:Ian at Tuffsaws used to ship to Germany, I wonder why he has stopped?
Is it covid or the dreaded B word?


I sent and email to TuffSaws this afternoon asking when, or if, they will be shipping to Germany.


Mike I had this response from from Ian about shipping to France.

Unfortunately not I'm afraid - with the amount of admin involved and parcels
going missing it's just too much hassle and expensive at the moment.

If Axminster can see the benefit of shipping to Europe I think Ian ought to have a second look at his delivery methods and costs.
As I said elsewhere unless you are a tradesman ( reduced VAT in France) buying affordable quality tools and accessories is not easy.
See my thread in the general Woodworking Board maybe droogs could forward them on to you.
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cheers
Andy
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby kirkpoore1 » 11 Aug 2020, 15:07

Welcome aboard, Mike. I'm one of the token Americans on the site, and am a contractor working on Scott AFB in Illinois.

Although I agree that getting your blade replaced would be the best bet, you can also go with a splicing kit. Lee Valley sells one:
https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/power-tool-accessories/41049-bandsaw-blade-splicing-kit?item=03J5901
You need a grinder or file and a propane torch. It works really well, and they include enough silver solder to fix a fair number of blades.

For tools, consider trying to find used ones. If you don't mind doing the fixing up yourself, the price can't be beat. And working on woodworking machines is way easier and cleaner than working on cars.

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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby RogerS » 11 Aug 2020, 18:04

Welcome from me as well,Mike. Happy to act as an intermediary. Tuffsaws send to.me and I forward on to you.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby Mike G » 11 Aug 2020, 18:58

Generous of you Roger. :eusa-clap: :eusa-clap:
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby SamQ aka Ah! Q! » 11 Aug 2020, 19:01

Welcome Mike, yes, this is an altogether more dignified and transparent place than UKWS - which presently, seems to be some kind of Orwellian nightmare transformation. "Newspeak" don't y'know?

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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby Mike » 11 Aug 2020, 19:43

MJ80 wrote:Hi Mike,
I'm further north, up near Bielefeld


Only a few hours away. One of my friends used to live in Paderborn on the weekends and work in Wiesbaden during the week.
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby Mike » 11 Aug 2020, 20:17

kirkpoore1 wrote:For tools, consider trying to find used ones. If you don't mind doing the fixing up yourself, the price can't be beat. And working on woodworking machines is way easier and cleaner than working on cars.

Kirk


Kirk, now you are no longer the token, unless both of us are token Yanks.

Sourcing tools here is not a major problem, it the accessories that can be a challenge. Some tools simply aren't available, such as cabinet table saws. Apparently, there is no market for them in Germany and the available saws are contractor saws and sliders, with nothing between. Cabinet saws that are readily available by Grizzly, SawStop, or Axminster cannot be found here, and Axminster won't ship their Craft or Trade equipment to Germany.

When I originally bought some of the power tools, I didn't do a lot of research and didn't buy as wisely as I should have. The two power tools I regret buying are the Holzmann J/P (or P/T) and the BS350S. Money and availability was not the issue, knowledge of the market and the change of my shop location mid-stream were the issues. I went from a mobile garage-based shop to a mostly fixed basement shop, and even that has more than doubled in space since I started. Knowing what I know now, I would have bought the Minimax S400P (MM16) bandsaw and the Minimax FS30 J/P. As soon as either of the items I have fail or I can sell them to make space, I'll replace them with the better items.

After I changed location to the basement, the determining factor for any large equipment was the ability to transport it down a flight of stairs, since the basement was completely below grade with no external doors. Almost all of the equipment I purchased had to be disassembled to meet the weight restrictions for the stairs, or just to be manageable by two or three people. My Minimax SC2 Classic slider saw was delivered mostly disassembled by the distributor, but I had to strip it down further in order to move it to the basement.
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby droogs » 11 Aug 2020, 22:21

Mike
Which Holzmann do you have? I ask as I have my eye on a TM410
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby Mike » 11 Aug 2020, 22:41

droogs wrote:Mike
Which Holzmann do you have? I ask as I have my eye on a TM410


I have the HOB 260NL, which is very similar to the Axminster AC250PT. I wouldn't be surprised if these were made on the same factory floor.

I'm not familiar with the TM410. Is this a UK designation? All of the P/T on the Holzmann website start with HOB, which I think is an abbreviation for "Hobelmaschine", or planer.
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby droogs » 11 Aug 2020, 22:57

It is a 410mm planner/400x230 thicknesser industrial 3 phase machine. Seems newer versions now have the HOB prefix
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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby kirkpoore1 » 12 Aug 2020, 17:17

Mike wrote:...

After I changed location to the basement, the determining factor for any large equipment was the ability to transport it down a flight of stairs, since the basement was completely below grade with no external doors. Almost all of the equipment I purchased had to be disassembled to meet the weight restrictions for the stairs, or just to be manageable by two or three people. My Minimax SC2 Classic slider saw was delivered mostly disassembled by the distributor, but I had to strip it down further in order to move it to the basement.


Ah, the basement dilemma. When I first moved into this house my shop was in the basement, and I had to drag the tools (mostly Powermatic and Craftsman) down the stairs. When I built my shop extension to the garage, I had a move-in party to drag them back up the stairs, and I built a sled to get the heavier ones (Powermatic drill press and table saw) up after disassembly. Even with that, I had left my big tools in the garage because it was impractical to take them downstairs.

I suppose that for accessories on line is going to be your friend. What sort of things are you looking for? After market attachments? Blades?

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Re: Greetings from Germany

Postby Mike » 13 Aug 2020, 15:36

kirkpoore1 wrote:I suppose that for accessories on line is going to be your friend. What sort of things are you looking for? After market attachments? Blades?


I was trying to find a good source for quality bandsaw blades, and that was resolved this afternoon. :)

Normally, anything that can be mailed or shipped by commercial carrier hasn't been a problem; however, that changed with COVID as shops closed and manufacturing crawled to a halt. I put off ordering a LS25 positioner from Incramental Tools, and by the time I got around to it, the delivery time increased to 15-18 weeks. I ordered one anyway, and it arrived yesterday. Now I can add it to the sliding bed of my SC2C and give it sliding rip capability. I still have to make a Fritz & Franz jig for it, but I have plenty of time (I hope).
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