Metal vs wood bandsaw

T

Taz

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Apr 28, 1999
Messages
2,784
Whats the difference? I just got access to an old Delta bandsaw with 1/3 HP motor. Wil lthis work for blanking out blades? How can I convert it to a metal bandsaw? Ill get the model number later tonight and post it.
 
The only difference is speed. Wood saws are very difficult if not impossible to convert to metal cutters because it's hard to slow them down enough. I have a saw similar to the one you're probably talking about. Old Delta with a 1/3 hp motor. I put the biggest pulley I could find on the blade end and the smallest on the motor and it was still way too fast. I bought an old horizontal vertical and coverted it to upright only, and it wotrks great. The metal saws have a gear drive that slows them way down. I'm not sure of the feet per minute speed, but it goes slow enough that you can count the complete revolutions per minute of the blade. Harbor Freight sells them for around $150. They sure are a handy item to have!!

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Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!http://www.nebsnow.com/L6steel
Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms!!!
 
mcmaster carr sells speed reducers, i had one on my bandsaw for a while, but returned it, becuase i liked using it better, just for wood. it would be better if you could buy a variable speed motor. 0-1750 is nice to have.
 
Well, I got the model number and specs. The bandsaw is labeled:

Delta Rockwell Homecraft, Des. Pat 152225 HBS 751 and the serial number is BK 3017 and is powered by a 1/3 HP, 1725 RPM motor. How much will a speed reducer cost and how hard is it to mount? Also, what type of blades will I need to blank out A-2 and stainless (440C and ATS-34)? The hacksaw is really killing my arms!
 
I'm not experienced with it, but have you thought about friction sawing???

There are quite a few threads in the archive on it. I know of a handful of makers that use this method to cut out steel and titanium using dull blades on wood-cutting band saws.

It seems to be the rule of thumb that your saw run at 3000 sfpm. That's a lot of surface feet per minute, and sounds a little scary to me. However, I hear it works wonders.

Nick
 
Well, I think the bandsaw was bought new in 1955 or sometime around then. It is really old! What exactly is friction sawing??
 
I never thought of this, but theres always a couple motors on ebay that have gear heads on them. I saw one a guy ran 3-4 times for $29 and it was a baldor motor. I never thought of using it to slow down a band saw.

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Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!http://www.nebsnow.com/L6steel
Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms!!!
 
Taz
Friction cutting involves using a wore out hardback or friction blade (no teeth) at a very high SFM (surface feet per minute). This
generally requires a very rigid saw with good guides.

Normal sawing uses 60 to 80 SFM with 18 to 24 pitch blade works well for most knifemaking requirements.

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Jeff Harkins
 
Taz
Friction cutting involves using a wore out hardback or friction blade at a high surface rate SFM (surface feet per minute). This generally requires a very rigid saw and good guides.

A basic saw for knifemakeing would run around
60 to 80 SFM with a blade pitch between 14 to 24 teeth per inch. The type of material and thickness also come into play. The thin the stock the more teeth per inch required.
The harder (tougher) the stock the slow the speed. .......unless your friction cutting... then just turn it up and be carefull.


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Jeff Harkins
 
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