OK,

Pardon my igorance, but I have a 14" El-Cheap-O Harbor Freight wood cutting bandsaw(belt driven) that I got for next to nothing. If I slowed that sucker down as much as I could and put an appropriate blade on it(possibly some stronger guides too?) could I do some stock cutting with it, or is this just a ridicuouls idea??? Would that be an extraordinarily bad idea for reasons that I am not aware?

Any advice?:confused:

Reid, the biggest problem is slowing it down enough. I use to have a Sears 14" bandsaw. They made a geared speed reducer for it so it would run slow, much slower than I could ever get by just exchanging pulleys on the band saw. I don't know how slow the motor was slowed for sure, but I think 200 rpm. Don't know if Sears still sells them or not. I gave mine away, but wish I would have kept it.

Mine did not have ball bearing guides, but those would be a good idea for metal cutting.

Depending on what kind of cutting. I've done it and its OK for now. Blade teeth per inch and pitch become more important at higher speeds also the feed rate of the stock. Overheating the blade is the biggest issue. Wax lubricant is very helpfull for that. I'm assuming you will be using it for flat stock and not big bar stock? As mentioned above, bearing guides are almost essential. The rub guides are junk but work in a pinch.

Hey, Reid:

Of all the tool-shaped objects on which I've wasted money at Harbour Freight Tools, the one I least regret buying is their metal-cutting bandsaw. The base, motor/belt guard, and table are (surprise!) thin metal stampings, but the cutting action is really pretty good.
My expectations for this machine were quite low -- I bought it specifically for a single run and intended to trash the saw afterward; the saw survived cutting 200 or so parts and curiously still functions.

I say that because at $125 on sale it might be worth buying this model and keeping your current wood-chewing saw for that purpose.

NOT a fan of HFT, but in this case the devil gets his due. Good luck!

Leland

Edited April 18, 200917 yr by Leland

Hi Ried
I use a circa 1920 yates american bandsaw originally for wood in my shop.
A metal bandsaw wants to move real slow, about 100-150 FeetPerMinute.
You can figure this mathematically. Motor RPMxdiameter of driving pulley divided by diameter of driven pulley=rpm at bandsaw wheel. diameter of bandsaw wheel x 3.14=circumference of wheel©. CxRpm=fpm. You can bring the speed down in several ways. 1-gearbox with appropriate ratio and HP rating 2-Jackshaft 3-variable frequency drive. I think the cheapest way would be a jackshaft. I have a couple of spare gearboxes if you want to go that route.