I know there are many mods to the HF lift table (#69904). I've read the horror stories about the bending safety bar but for my Christmas present I took the gamble.
This lift did come with the solid bar, not the tube. But it still looked to be a liability with the gap between the moving arm and the base. Over a 1" gap there, so instead of the arm being used in a shear motion it's just a bending movement. bending is much easier to do then shear cutting.
A quick trip to the local steel shop and I scored a 2"x3" piece of angle, .250 thick and 2' long. Just about perfect size and cost all of $5 since it was in the cut-off pile. Stopped by the hardware store and bought some good bolts.
I knew the 2" was bigger then I needed but I figured with the band saw in a vertical format I could rip the length to width. Wrong!! Not 1/4" thick stuff. Well, I could but it would take me the better part of 2 days. Break out the angle grinder and chuck up a cut-off disc.
Clamped the bar into place, put a 5/16" cobalt bit in the corded drill and grabbed a bottle of cutting oil. Slow speed and straight pressure are needed. Half a dozen holes later and some grade 5 bolts I call it good. Now with a 1/8" gap I think the bar can do the job it was intended for.
One improvement down and more to go...
This lift did come with the solid bar, not the tube. But it still looked to be a liability with the gap between the moving arm and the base. Over a 1" gap there, so instead of the arm being used in a shear motion it's just a bending movement. bending is much easier to do then shear cutting.
A quick trip to the local steel shop and I scored a 2"x3" piece of angle, .250 thick and 2' long. Just about perfect size and cost all of $5 since it was in the cut-off pile. Stopped by the hardware store and bought some good bolts.
I knew the 2" was bigger then I needed but I figured with the band saw in a vertical format I could rip the length to width. Wrong!! Not 1/4" thick stuff. Well, I could but it would take me the better part of 2 days. Break out the angle grinder and chuck up a cut-off disc.
Clamped the bar into place, put a 5/16" cobalt bit in the corded drill and grabbed a bottle of cutting oil. Slow speed and straight pressure are needed. Half a dozen holes later and some grade 5 bolts I call it good. Now with a 1/8" gap I think the bar can do the job it was intended for.
One improvement down and more to go...
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