Bandsaw conversion

[AdamMurphy]

Hi guys, I have an old nothing fancy bandsaw for wood and I want to convert it to metal use. Now I have a 24 v motor with reduction gearbox from a stair lift and was wondering would it be possible . I would need to replace the cog wheel for a pulley. What speed is acceptable for a metal cutting say . It's for DIY stuff

 

[ChaiLatte]

Instructions for the ubiquitous 6" x 4" metal cutting bandsaw are here:

https://www.tooled-up.com/artwork/ProdPDF/SM5_V3.pdf

They tell you (on page 2) the blade speeds used on that machine. A wise person would copy them.

 

[AdamMurphy]

Instructions for the ubiquitous 6" x 4" metal cutting bandsaw are here:

https://www.tooled-up.com/artwork/ProdPDF/SM5_V3.pdf

They tell you (on page 2) the blade speeds used on that machine. A wise person would copy them.

Thank you , I truly am wise

 

[Fergie 307]

I used a 12v 250W DC 9:1 reduction gearbox bike motor on a little Clark CBS190. Only thing I had to do was to make a new shaft for the gearbox output, so it had the same end as the original motor. I just made a completely new shaft in high tensile steel. Variable speed controller on the motor and I can run it down to below 1/10 of the original motor speed. Works a treat. You just need to do some calculations given the diameter of the wheels so you can work out what shaft speed you need for your desired blade speed. Variable speed is handy for cutting different materials and thicknesses.

 

[AdamMurphy]

I used a 12v 250W DC 9:1 reduction gearbox bike motor on a little Clark CBS190. Only thing I had to do was to make a new shaft for the gearbox output, so it had the same end as the original motor. I just made a completely new shaft in high tensile steel. Variable speed controller on the motor and I can run it down to below 1/10 of the original motor speed. Works a treat. You just need to do some calculations given the diameter of the wheels so you can work out what shaft speed you need for your desired blade speed. Variable speed is handy for cutting different materials and thicknesses.

Thank for that fergie 307

 

[Fergie 307]

Typically you are aiming for about 1-1.5m/sec blade speed as a ball park figure. Many wood saws will be operating at ten times that speed, or more.

 

[AdamMurphy]

Typically you are aiming for about 1-1.5m/sec blade speed as a ball park figure. Many wood saws will be operating at ten times that speed, or more.

Thank you for that Fergie 307

 

[Sideways]

My Milwaukee portable bandsaw which is mainly aimed at metal has a variable speed 0 to 2m/s

It works great at the slow end of that range.

 

[Fergie 307]

I have the sheppach portable one, very good apart from the built in vice which is pretty useless. I use the Clark one mostly for accurate cutting of sheet.