# Makita 2116 Resaw bandsaw



## Alzey (Oct 21, 2011)

A friend is giving me a bandsaw and I was wonder if anyone on here has experience with 80s model Makita 2116 bandsaw?  I am looking for info on what blades you use and what you use it for on your projects.

Thanks


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## SCR0LL3R (Oct 21, 2011)

I don't know where you can get such wide blades, but I use one of those for resawing once in awhile. It belongs to a friend of mine. The biggest blade he has for it is a 1". 

.. It's severely underpowered for resawing... At least it has thermal protection to protect that little motor. I usually need to stop and let it cool more than once when resawing a board. I don't know what they were thinking when they built that thing. I was thinking of getting a Woodslicer blade even though they only come in 3/4" max, simply because they are regarded as an excellent resawing blade and they are narrow kerf which would help with the small motor

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/woodslicer34resawbandsawblades105to166.aspx

I don't know where you could get much wider blades that would have a narrow enough kerf that they could go around a 16" bandsaw wheel. Back in the day I think you had to get them from Makita.

edit: if it can be rewired to 220 (I have no idea) and you have a 220V outlet available, it would help a little.


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## Wildman (Oct 22, 2011)

Might try looking here for information:
http://www.google.com/search?tbm=is...33l0l30230l19l19l0l10l10l0l233l1626l0.5.4l9l0

This guy sold this saw but gives some advice worth reading, especially about blades and tensioning.
http://www.oxide.org/bandsaw/

Learned you cannot replace tires, Makita would replace wheel with tires, not sure they still do that. While can replace thrust bearings. Blade guides hard to find so just use oily or hardwood soaked in oil.


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## Alzey (Oct 22, 2011)

Thanks for info. 

I picked the saw up today and brought it home.  It has been converted from a resaw with a Carter kit and came with 1 1/4 blade and 4 3/8 blades.  Still has the original motor.  After some cleaning, new belts, and minor adjustments, it is up and running.  WOW IS IT LOUD!!!!!!!!  I read where people said it was load due to the gear reducer but DANG!!!!!!!!!  This one would wake the dead!!!  Going to start looking for a new motor to put on it. My neighbors will appreciate it on a sleepy Saturday morning. Plus I need to rebuild the base to get the deck up to my level (I'm 6'4").


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## Wildman (Oct 23, 2011)

Congratulations and good luck with new band saw!


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## SCR0LL3R (Oct 23, 2011)

Just be careful that any wider blades you use are able to go around such small wheels. There is a maximum recommended thickness to go around a 16" wheel and I think a lot of bigger blades are intended for much larger wheels. If you bend a thicker blade too much it's likely to break over time.

With a bigger motor, you may have a very capable resawing machine. Congrats on the gift


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## KenV (Oct 23, 2011)

"WOW IS IT LOUD!!!!!!!! "

That is suggestive that you may want to go through it carefully.   Bandsaws generally do not need hearing protection to just run.  Cutting steel, yes the noise will be loud.

Do take the time to check the bearings and get one of the bandsaw books and follow through the processes of tuning it up.

Saws of this size will benefit from running on 220 volt --


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## SCR0LL3R (Oct 23, 2011)

Looking over it is a good idea but the motor is quite loud on this one.


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## Alzey (Oct 23, 2011)

KenV said:


> "WOW IS IT LOUD!!!!!!!! "
> 
> That is suggestive that you may want to go through it carefully.   Bandsaws generally do not need hearing protection to just run.  Cutting steel, yes the noise will be loud.
> 
> ...



The motor on this particular systems does not direct drive the belts.   There is a geared reduction system between the output of the motor and  the pulley. You can see this in the picture.  It is the thin box between  the motor and the pulley. This a common complaint about this unit.  Even with 28db ear plugs I don't intend on running this for very long until i get a new motor.

I turn the system by hand without the belts and the systems runs smooth.  Without the blade, the wheels have no slop.  The guide bearings on the conversion kit are shot and I have ordered some new ones.

I only have 1 110v circuit in my shop which i hope to rectify in another year or so.  My shop is detached from the house so I have to build a full panel system with its own ground to meet code.  I intend to get a motor that can be wired for 110 or 220.

It cuts very well.  I had forgotten how well and smooth a band saw cuts even thick woods.  Can't wait to start making segmented and laminated pen blanks.

As always, this forum is a great sounding board and great source of info.


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## Curly (Oct 23, 2011)

I have one of the Makita saws and have the bearing guide parts from Carter to put on it. I wouldn't mind seeing a few pictures of the guides you have.

The saw is indeed a screamer  and was due to the need to slow down the rpm of the universal motor. Basically it is a 3 HP router motor spinning in the 24000 rpm range and the spur reduction gears add to the noise. When mine went I happily replaced it with a 1 1/2 HP 110V induction motor. Marathon I think. That made a huge difference it the noise.  The saw was designed for Japanese timber framing type work so was intended for cutting softwoods, sometimes on the job site. Makita's blades certainly didn't like dry hardwood like Eastern Maple.

At one time I made some bearing guides of wood blocks and router bearings to replace the plastic ones. The metal on metal actually added to the noise of the machine. If the Carter guides make it too loud I will likely make some with Oilite type sintered bronze. I have always worn ear protection when using bandsaws as the high pitch sound is bad for the hearing.

Pete


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## Alzey (Oct 24, 2011)

Curly,
   No wonder it screams, 24000 RPM router motor!! Good Grief!?!?

I have not done much digging into the guides to figure out if they are still available but I did find Carter's website and they still sell lots of upgrade units.  The upper unit is a Carter CP-20.  It has one bearing wheel then 2 adjustable metal guides on each side of the blade.  Sparks a little when you run it.  Will have to figure out if this is normal. The lower unit is a Carter CP-500.  This one has 3 bearings.  A you can see from the pictures, they had to fabricate mounts.  All the bearings are 10mmx30mmx9mm.  I order a replacement box of 10 bearings for 9.95.  

There is only one original lower guide left and none of the blades.  So my resaw capabilities are now tied to what blade i can get to fit the new setup.  Which is not a problem as I was needing a band saw to make inlays and segments.

I would like to see a picture of how you put a new motor on your saw.  I am planning a new base for this one and plan to have a enought room behind the unit for new motor to mount to the base instead of on the side.


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## Curly (Oct 24, 2011)

I put the motor on the side using the existing mount and a piece of plywood. Metal would likely be better but I only had woodworking stuff at the time. Under would be better to reduce the footprint and lower the centre of gravity. 



Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner because I can't reach my desktop!


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