I bought a DRO (digital read out) off ebay for my Doall C-916M bandsaw. This would allow me to measure cuts without a tape measure. I thought I would rig something up to install and be done quick. I was wrong.
Normally if a bandsaw works, you don't think about them. Well when I started looking at it closely, it was missing several parts. In fact there was nothing original about the outfeed side of the saw.
The guy before me made some hacks. I made few hacks. Each hack worked to solve a specific problem. They just didn't all work together. After looking at some pictures/video of the original saw, I decided to start by making an outfeed tray.
The tray would catch parts. It would also keep coolant off the floor and DRO.
I didn't really have a stock saw to measure so I took a picture from a Google search and guesstimated.
I built everything in place. I used some scrap shelving as a tray placeholder. I put it in CAD to make sure the DRO has room. Make sure to unplug any electrical before welding to it!
The tray is made from plasma cut 16 GA HRS, 1/8" angle iron, and both 1/8" & 1/4" HRS bar stock. I tried mig spot welding like they do on auto sheet metal to avoid distortion from the heat. My patience ran out and I made some larger welds. It was a bit distorted, but nothing a hammer, hydraulic press, and torch could not fix.
It is definitely not show quality automotive, but good enough for a industrial bandsaw! It ain't gonna break! Stay tuned for the DRO!
Thanks for looking! There are more pics, CAD, and CAM here... If you need some help on your project, let us know.