vertical band saw build

[driver351]

So I've had a General vertical band saw tucked away for a while.
I figured it was time to blow the dust off it and get it working.
This was a wood band saw so it had to get slowed down and I needed to find the right length of blade.

I had everything figured out that was needed to slow it down and was just waiting for afue extra dollars to order up pulleys, jack shaft and pillow blocks.
Of course I went to the garbage dump and happened to see a clothes dryer on its side with exactly what I needed on it.

the middle pulley came off of the dryer, it was on a hardened shaft that actually just bolts on, I even used an existing hole in the frame of the base and was able to use the long belt off of the dryer. The only mod I ended up doing was grinding a groove in the end of the shaft the pulley rides on to put an external snap ring on so it cant slide forward.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/dak360/DSC01004.jpg

I searched the Aclands catalog and found the blade I needed, 98 1/2 inches, $45
I know I'm cutting dry, so I keep a can of fluid film handy to give the blade a squirt every so often.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/dak360/DSC01002.jpg

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/dak360/DSC01001.jpg

this is so handy to have, it gets used allot now :smokin:

[Ed ke6bnl]

I s the purpose of this saw now to use to use as a metal bandsaw. what is the blade speed that you ended up with and let me know how it is working as a metal bandsaw if that is the case. I have a sears saw that already had a speed reducer on it and was thinking of making it a metal bandsaw, but was not sure how well they work for that purpose.

[HomeGrown]

right on i have the same band saw that i am going to convert to metal. great info. can you get a pic on how you mounted the large pulley. also i got a metal blade made at one of the local metal supply places here in denver. they can make them any size you need or tooth count.

[ChiScouter]

I inherited a old 18 inch bandsaw from my dad. He had used the same trick with the dryer pullys and shaft. The stuff he used may have been more worn out or a crappier design, but if flexed like crazy. I replaced it with a couple of pillow blocks and a jackshaft. McMasterCarr has pretty much any size and blade tooth count you could ever imagine. Old dryers and washing machines are full of diy type of parts

[driver351]

Here you can see that there are two existing holes on the frame, the one I used had to get drilled to 3/8 for the shaft too bolt in.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/dak360/DSC01014.jpg

you can see the ridge I ghetto ground into it for the snap ring.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/dak360/DSC01013.jpg

I cut down a bronze bushing to act as a spacer, but obviously cut it a bit short so there is a washer behind it.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/dak360/DSC01015.jpg

Here is the pulley slipped on and Ive got a washer then the snap ring.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/dak360/DSC01016.jpg


I have no idea what the old blade speed was vs what I've got now.
Sometimes it seems perfect, but other times it seems fast, pending what i'm cutting. I might end up putting a larger pulley on the final drive to get a bit more crawl out of it.

I really wish that I could have got a hold of a 96 inch production blade, instead of the 98 1/2. I ended up having to plasma / grind the lip above the top wheel that sets your blade tension. The upper wheel hit it before the blade tension was set.

The pulley from the dryer is pretty flimsy, but it runs true and doesn't throw the belts.

[chris fresh]

nice man!,i'm starting to research and collect parts to build my own from scratch coming up pretty soon,been looking for wheels and trying to figure out what motor i'll be using.motor will be 220 because i have a line run to where it will live already.next is blade length and tooth count.do you have a sorce for the blade?was it acland,didn't see it on mcmaster carr. i have a grainger here local,i'm gonna check with them on a blade,pillow blocks and the misc stuff.wheels will come from egay.

[ChiScouter]

If your cheap scrounge up a washing machine motor. It turns pretty slow to begin with, and is 2 speeds

[driver351]

I honestly hate dealing with Acklands, (at least our local store)
The fellow I dealt with told me I should by a production vertical band saw from them and not mess around modifying this one:mad3:

The blade I'm using is a Lenox 8' 2 1/2" 3/4 x .035 10/14 (tpi) part number LNX02237-98-12

If you can get your hands on the big Acklands catalog it has around 6 pages of blade options.

for your pillow blocks and jack shafts I would recommend your local farm supply, or Princess Auto up here in Canuck land

One more option I have is if I ever wanted to cut wood with this, I'm able to remove the crawler pulley, Put the original belt back on, and toss on a wood blade. But I'm no woodworker, thats what the Husqvarna is for.

[HomeGrown]

right on thanks for the detailed pics. this gives me some motivation to get mine done.

[chris fresh]

I honestly hate dealing with Acklands, (at least our local store)
The fellow I dealt with told me I should by a production vertical band saw from them and not mess around modifying this one:mad3:

The blade I'm using is a Lenox 8' 2 1/2" 3/4 x .035 10/14 (tpi) part number LNX02237-98-12

If you can get your hands on the big Acklands catalog it has around 6 pages of blade options.

for your pillow blocks and jack shafts I would recommend your local farm supply, or Princess Auto up here in Canuck land

One more option I have is if I ever wanted to cut wood with this, I'm able to remove the crawler pulley, Put the original belt back on, and toss on a wood blade. But I'm no woodworker, thats what the Husqvarna is for.

hey driver,thanks for that blade info .started pricing things lastnight, this is what i've found so far.

set of 14" wheels - 175.00
105" blade - 21.00
3/4 hp motor - 100.00
20 ft stick of 4x4 - 105.00

i'm going to make my own blade guides with bearings and build the frame with 4x4 box 1/4 wall,then just skin it with sheet metal.i'm going to build the frame in a way that it has a 18" throat with some sort of idle pulley's.i have a grainger supply local for the pillow blocks and jack shaft material and also whatever pulley's i need for gearing.i figure if i gear it right,the 3/4 hp should be enough for what i need.i'm trying to stay in the ballpark of about 6 to 8 hundred dollars all said and done vs. 2500 to 3000 grand for a drake or similar.

i love building things from nothing,and saving dough.
plus it will only be used about twice a week..


next on the list is a 24" pedestal grinder.

[ChiScouter]

Used stuff is cheap these days. By the time you buy all the things you don't know you need you will have way too much $$ into it. You also need a blade tensioning and tracking adjustments as well as an adjustable blade guide. Buy used and mod the hell out of it.

[chris fresh]

if i get lucky and find someone giving one away,i'll go that route,but right now all the used ones i see in the 16" to 18" are still 1500 and more used.and some of them look like complete shit.i'm aware of the tensioner and tracking,biggest thing is building something with plenty of adjustment so you can dial it in.i looked at a adjustable bearing guide and it was 150 just for that.i have all the bearings already,just need to copy someones mount for short dough

[driver351]

nobody hate but Ive got under $300 into the whole setup and that included getting two blades.

[chris fresh]

i actualy think i got lucky today,i figured the whole thing and it came to about 700.then i started seeing what was out there for the hellavit.found a guy in ohio that buy/sells old factory equipment.i found a 36'' huge stand up industrial on a pallet ready to be loaded in my truck for a 1000 bucks.not only is it big,but the turn on for me is it's age,i love old stuff that has been used and is built right.not this new shiny mass produced stuff that gets made and shoved out the door.i think he said it weighs 630 pounds.

2 things i love,old tools and a road trip

[ChiScouter]

36 inches, thats one hell of a saw. I have used a couple that big over the years all cutting wood. The sound those things make is somewhat startling until you get used to them. The blade speed is much, much faster than in smaller saws.
About 10 years ago I was remodeling the set for the Jerry Springer Show. They had a really nice carpenter shop in house with a 36 inch bandsaw. The prodution designer gave me a drawing for the letters spelling out jerry springer that were nailed to a couple of wood strips which can be seen on the fau brick walls of the set. I traced all the letters out on a big piece of popular and cut them on that big saw. The letters wern't all that big and my fingers were within a inch or two of that blade spinning like a mutherfawker much of the time. It scared the shit out of me for a while until I got used to the saw. Those big old band saws are very impressive tools, buy it and you will never regret it.

[chris fresh]

that's what i'm thinkin,buy the thing and be done with it.if all works out,there will be pics posted most def