Erik's pantorouter XL and 14" bandsaw

Hereby a little writeup about the Pantorouter XL an the 14'' bandsaw.

The build of machines went well and your plans where easy to follow. I followed your plans relative closely. The tool-stands are also by your design and came out very sturdy! Most of the used wood are reclaimed leftovers.

The Pantorouter XL is a fantastic machine. I do not have as much flex in my pantograph as you, I guess this is mainly because I used oak for my links. Maybe also because I was kinda lazy while making a reamer and only cut a small groove in the shaft with a hacksaw. This made my shafts relative tight in the pantograph links. They did line up pretty good, thought I had to fill up one hole to re-drill it.

I used a heavy Bosch 1600W router and in anticipation of your trouble balancing the pantograph I ordered springs from 2.5mm wire instead of 2mm wire to balance my pantograph. To mount the springs to the base of the pantograph I used M6 screws with a eye I had kicking around, which seemed easier. The pantograph is well balanced and stands by itself. The router itself is mounted securely in the pantograph at the front with stainless steel plates (point-welded together), but also in the middle and at the back with screws. The router and the circular LED light are controlled at the back of the pantorouter mainly because its very hard to get a cable from the back of the pantograph to the underside of the table without going around the machine. The router does not have a build in speed controller so I made one myself according to this website: http://www.electronics-lab.com/project/ac-motor-speed-controller-using-u2008b . This works fine and I never use the router at full speed. The LED light (I got from Ebay) is 13W and gives plenty light, the main thing to watch out for is to use a well isolated power supply because the contacts at the LED are exposed. Also I made sure to have a good strain relief on the cable. To make the linear glides I bought a extra set of slides, just for the extra ball-cages and balls. They did not needed any adjustment, but I did use the maximum length of ball-cage with all the balls in place.

The 14" bandsaw is a proven design by now I guess. The re-saw hight is plenty and the tilting table is a handy feature. It has a 2hp / 230V motor I found second hand, it comes from a old water-pump. I made a wooden pulley for the motor and that seems to work fine, no signs of ware so far. I mounted a LED strip in the top door which gives good light while working. I also added a dust-port underneath the table to connect a shopvac, but now the stand is finished I use passive dust collection in the top drawer.

The tool stands are easy movable on rough terrain with there big wheels, they are reused from heavy welding equipment (Esab Arc 810c). Just move the handles forward, hook the metal ring behind the support and drive them like a wheelbarrow. The front legs are adjustable and the wheels are lockable to make the toolstands stand solid while working.

It is possible to lift the pantorouter XL from the toolstand, the purpose is to be able to place future machines on that toolstand (like a router table for instance). The toolstand for the bandsaw is more permanent because of the hole for the dust collection. The bandsaw is attached with 3 thumbscrews for easy disassembly. The drawers glide on UHMD tape with some silicone grease.

I hope you like the little writeup, in case you have any questions please feel free to ask me!

Greetings,
Erik

14" bandsaw     Reader built bandsaws
Pantorouter XL   Reader built pantorouters