What speed should your bandsaw run?

Fish30114

Fish30114

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Jan 5, 2014
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I have a friend who has offered me one of his bandsaws at NC it is a 14" Delta, he says he bought it about 12 years ago, for around 1500 bucks. He has others, (big boys) that he uses in his woodworking shop, so this one has just sat idle for many years. He says he will bring it over in a week or two, and asked me if I knew what speed we should try to set it up to run to cut metal. I told him I would ask here since I have no idea. Do you need to run a bandsaw at different speeds, for say cutting out scales from wood/micarta/c-tek/kirinite and then for cutting steel blanks into shape? I know you should use a different blade, but what other info can ya'll share about a bandsaw?

Thanks for any advice/input--Don
 
Thanks Jill, I actually meant to post this in Shop Talk under the 'General Knifemakers Discussions' Sorry everyone.
 
Much slower than a woodworking bandsaw is capable usually. In the 200 fpm range for steel and as low as 70-100 fpm for stainless.
 
Most wood bandsaws run something like 2000-4000 feet per minute, as Patrice said with metal, you're looking at 100fpm or so.

Most conversions I've seen use a geared motor, or a gearbox scrapped from a gearmotor. You're going to be looking at anywhere from 30:1 to 50:1 to get usable speeds on ferrous metals.
 
OK guys, is it possible I should just say no to this one, as it most likely was intended for wood usage. My friend has told me Delta, as a company is kaput. I don't really know a lot about this thing, except that is about 12-15 years old, for whatever that's worth.
 
Thanks Count, that Grizzly saw was actually what I was thinking of, but didn't know I needed to go so slow for steel. I thought the lower speed of 1725 would be low enough. Do you use the Harbor Freight saw with a Swag table or such? Oh and by the way, Ian and Patrice, the saw lists speed in RPM's not FPM, how do I go about converting one to the other, and also thanks you two guys for your input.

Thanks for the help.
 
Fish30114 said:
Thanks Count, that Grizzly saw was actually what I was thinking of, but didn't know I needed to go so slow for steel. I thought the lower speed of 1725 would be low enough. Do you use the Harbor Freight saw with a Swag table or such? Oh and by the way, Ian and Patrice, the saw lists speed in RPM's not FPM, how do I go about converting one to the other, and also thanks you two guys for your input.

Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

Here's how I did my Harbor Freight saw.

 
For the budget conscious the portable bandsaw is the way to go. There are almost as many ways to customize it as there are people with a desire to do so. My own customizations were much simpler and essentially free... but nowhere near as pretty.

In any case, as was noted before, owning a separate bandsaw for cutting handle materials would not be a bad idea. The portable bandsaw can do it, but the tendency would be to just change the speed and not the blade, which will result in a messy mix of stuff building up inside the saw. You'd probably be better off keeping them separate (though I still use one portable bandsaw for all my cutting needs).
 
Fish,

The 14" Delta is a wonderful saw, I would dare call it legendary amongst woodworkers. That model/style/size has been copied and cloned by numerous other companies, for good reason. It fills the gap between the hokey benchtop "homeowner" saws you see at the local home improvement store, and between the large professional saws you'd find in a shop.

In fact, it is not entirely uncommon to find them with gearboxes, vfds, or reduction pulley setups, having been converted to metal cutting.

In my case, I have the 14", and the Harbor Freight Portaband clone, and use both regularly. If you've been offered a 14", I'd take it if you have room. It's a terrific saw and has many uses in knifemaking, even if not being used for metal.

You can see my 14" in this photo, and my HF Portaband is peeking out behind my toolbox in the lower left.

4tgqYzi.jpg
 
Ian and tiguy, thanks for the input. Your new shop looks good Ian, I hope I can own a lean how to use a milling machine like you've got someday. I think I will talk to my friend, and take this off his hands either way. I can always buy a portaband and a SWAG table if it is needed.
I appreciate ya'lls feedback.
 
An option you may have is if you own a grinder with a VFD. You can put a 3 phase motor on the saw, say 3/4-1 h.p. and control the speed through the drive. Upgrade to roller guides and tune the saw with a quality blade and keep in mind the limitations of the saw. I have a rigid 14" saw that is un-modified and not near the quality of the delta you are getting. But I have no problem with a quality blade cutting .500" 6061 aluminum plate.
 
melsdad, I appreciate the feedback, I don't have a VFD drive, but that doesn't mean I would be opposed to getting one for this saw--I guess it's just a feasibility question. Anyone have input on what that would cost, I'll try my Google-foo, and see what I can come up with.
 
My Delta dual purpose 14" band saw has a 110V 1HP motor and requires a 20 amp circuit. It can be rewired for 220V, but I don't use it enough to bother.
 
Fish30114 said:
melsdad, I appreciate the feedback, I don't have a VFD drive, but that doesn't mean I would be opposed to getting one for this saw--I guess it's just a feasibility question. Anyone have input on what that would cost, I'll try my Google-foo, and see what I can come up with.
Click to expand...

The drive would be your biggest expense, but will be very useful in a knife shop! Used motors should be able to be found pretty cheap on craigslist, ebay, etc. Call the nearest motor rebuilding shop. They always have used motors sitting around that are usually freshly rebuilt. At-least the one near me does.
 
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