Another Dinosaur Comes Back To Life

[projectnut]

I've had a Rockwell 28-113 wood bandsaw sitting in the back of the shop since I bought it new in 1974. It's gotten very little use since I haven't been into woodworking for over 30 years. For the most part it's just taken up floor space and been used as a storage shelf. A couple weeks ago I decided it was time to either make it useful or send it off to someone who would.

I scrounged through my stash of spare parts and came up with enough bits and pieces to convert it for cutting metal. Among the pieces and parts was a 1/2 HP TEFC motor with a 15:1 reducer, a 12" pulley, a 2.5" to 4" variable sheave, and a few other odds and ends to minimize the cost of the transition.

I finished up this morning and at least to this point have been successful. The drive slows the blade to 104 ft per minute which is the middle speed on my horizontal saw. I did a test cut on a piece of 1/4" 6061 aluminum plate and it went well. This is however an extremely light duty saw. The band wheels are plastic with rubber tires, the bearings are plain bearings, otherwise referred to as "bushings, and the only size blades it can use are 3/8" and under. I currently have a 3/8 bimetal blade on it with 10-14 tpi. It'll be interesting to see how the saw performs when used on future projects.

Here are a few pictures:

 

[MrWhoopee]

Nice! Doubly nice because it was done with stuff on hand. My 4x6 vertical conversion has become one of my most used tools. Handy as a shirt pocket.

 

[projectnut]

Nice! Doubly nice because it was done with stuff on hand. My 4x6 vertical conversion has become one of my most used tools. Handy as a shirt pocket.

I think if I hadn't had the majority of the parts needed on hand it would have been less expensive to purchase a real metal cutting vertical bandsaw. The Dodge Reliance reducer goes for around $200.00. The Baldor motor is another $125.00, and the sheaves would have added another $50.00 or so (all eBay prices). There are several saws at surplus dealers in the area with asking prices in the $350.00 range. Keep in mind the $350.00 saws aren't much more robust than the one I have. Ideally, I'd like to find a DoAll machine, but I don't have the room or the budget for the 36" one I'd really like.

 

[rock_breaker]

You will be glad you did this!

 

[projectnut]

I've used the above resurrected saw a few times and have been pleasantly surprised how well it works. I must admit that to date the heaviest material I've cut has been 1/4" aluminum plate. The saw is easy to use but does seem to have one of the typical drawbacks of vertical saws. The blade leaves swarf on the material to be cut, so following contour lines becomes difficult.

Our DoAll saws at work had a small air pump with a nozzle that could be directed at the point of cut to disperse the swarf. I'm thinking I might be able to duplicate that type of pump with something like an aquarium aerating pump. Just wonder if anyone has tried something similar, or could make suggestions as to something else that might work well

Thanks in advance.