Another Band Saw Conversion, But With Gearhead Motor

[Brnoczech]

This was my father in law's wood saw. The motor was bad and I replaced it with a new one at 1750 rpm, and then adjusted the size of the two pulleys in order to slow it down. It still ran too fast. Also, the pot metal blade guides both broke when they were tightened. The first pictures below show the top of the saw now. I took the table to the mill and drilled and tapped so I could put in an aluminum block that was the same height as the table vise on the saw. I also sawed off one side of the vise in order to get in closer to the blade, and then drilled and tapped for an aluminum guide on the bottom of the vise to fit in the table groove.


The picture above also shows the new blade guide that I made from 7075 aluminum, with 1/2 inch drill rod for the adjustable contact points. The picture next to it shows the bottom guide that I also made/replaced.

The pictures below show the pulleys that I replaced, with maximum large and small sizes. Also the new motor installation. I eventually removed the replacement motor and then found a gear head reduction motor on ebay that appeared to be unused when I received it. Normally, the motor base mounts to the side with the original saw configuration. The gear head motor I bought does not use the 45 degree gear arrangement, but simply extends on the end and has a parallel shaft that comes out directly above where the motor shaft would normally exit. This gear head gives a 20 to one reduction in speed. Because mounting this motor normally would cause the shaft to be offset to the side, I had a piece of steel cut and bent and attached it to the normal mounting plate, with allowed me to mount the motor with the reduced speed shaft directly above where a central shaft would otherwise exit, so the drive pulley would be directly below the larger pulley. Hopefully the pictures are clearer than this explanation. I get about 105 sfm with the saw now, which is fine for aluminum which is what I usually cut, and a bit fast but still satisfactory for the occasional steel. With the gearhead extension on the motor I had to cut out the front of the saw base, and since I get some swarf in that area I made a shield to keep swarf from being sucked into the motor. Pictures below.

 

[Franko]

Nice work, Brnozech. I did a similar slow-down on my Delta band saw by using a 2" and 12" pulley.
I like your vise miter thingamadoodle.

 

[Brnoczech]

Thanks. I believe that my top pulley is 8" in diameter. I wanted to keep the protective sheet metal box around it, and as you can see its a very tight fit. With the gear reduction I am still in good shape. The one thing I have not done, but am still thinking about, is trying to come up with a steel brush or similar arrangement to keep the swarf from the saw getting sandwiched between the saw blade and the rubber on the drive wheels. As you know, unlike a horizontal saw, the swarf just follows the blade down to the drive wheel. I'm thinking some type of small brass cleaning brush, or two, toothbrush size, with some way to catch the swarf that it collects or knocks off. Haven't really seen anything like this yet, but am still thinking about it.

 

[Kernbigo]

i use a tooth brush on mine

 

[Charles Spencer]

I also did a speed reduction with pulleys and got the saw down to around 110 fpm. I cut steel at that speed without any problem that I can see.

I saw an old Doall video on youtube. It showed them clamping the stock in the vise upside down, i.e. the bottom of the vise is on top. That holds the stock down on the table and lessens the amount that the guide needs to be raised. I did that for the first time today and it worked pretty well.

 

[hman]

I don't know if you have enough space under your table, but here's what I did with a wood cutting bandsaw (that I also use for thin aluminum). I took two 2" HF chip brushes, shortened the bristles to about ⅜", removed the wooden handles, and backfilled the ferrules with epoxy. I then bolted the brushes to an aluminum plate and attached it under the table. It's at about a 45 degree angle to the blade, so sawdust/swarf is guided away from the teeth. It's worked pretty well for a couple of years now, and the brushes are dirt cheap to replace.

PS - I absolutely LOVE your vise and spacer block!

 

[Brnoczech]

Thanks for the idea on the brushes. It does look like you have a bit more room than I do. I know I don't have room for a catch basin like yours, and the shield over the lower wheel on my saw sits very close to the blade guide. I may try something similar, but also try to rig up a fitting that I can put my shop vac hose into that will gather up whatever the brushes knock off. My shop vac sits pretty close buy and the hose would reach over without a problem. Thanks again for the idea.