A friend of mine wants to sell me an 18" Craftsman bandsaw for 200.00. It's a metal-cutting only bandsaw, and has never been used. It's got a gearbox which he says can be jiggered with to get the proper speed out of it for cutting wood, so I've got some research to do, don't even know the blade size yet. Just wondering if anybody here has had experience with this sort of thing.
That's a very big bandsaw for metal cutting? 18" is wheel diameter? Usually metal cutting saws are either just small chop saws, or _very_ large industrial machines.
Converting metal cutting bandsaws for wood isn't an easy task. A metal band is slower and higher tensioned. A wood saw uses a lower tension, so it needs more precise guides. The big saws are convertible, because they already have suitable guides (or at least the mountings to fit some), the smaller "retail" grade saws generally don;t have any way to do this wthout getting the welder out.
Take a look first. To be a useful wood bandsaw you need a decent sized table and some usable guide - it will be unusable without them. _If_ you have any chance to install these, then it sounds worth having a go.
Mark Duginkse's bandsaw handbook is well worth reading beforehand.
Is this the three wheel version? If its a full size 18" two wheel model, snap it up, it can be converted easily to slice wood.
Dave
does it look like this:
I got this Delta saw on eBay last year - excellent tool. I replaced the original Delta ac motor with a 1 hp dc unit & control. Heaven.
Here's an update on my post. The bandsaw is a Dayton model 6Y942. The reason I'm getting it so cheap is because the motor runs through a gearbox that is too slow for woodcutting, and I have to supply the motor (no big deal) and rig it up to cut wood. My friend suggests I pull the gearing out of the gearbox so the shaft spins freely, and attach a 12" pulley (approx., that has to be figured out) to the bottom wheel. It should work if there isn't a balace problem. By the way, if anyone's interested, he's got about fifteen more of these saws but wants more money for them because they're complete. (400-600.00) He's also got an Atlas lathe and some Dayton
15" and 20" drill presses, a 3ph radial arm saw, and other misc. He wanted 300.00 for the 20" drill press. The model number is 4YG14. He is a retired buyer for Sears. He doesn't want to hassle with EBay, just wants to deal with cash-and-carry buyers. And yeah, I will probably need some backseat advice as I progress on this thing, thanks. For one, I am having no luck finding a wood selection of quality 133" blades online.
Before you tesr that apart look here
Bring the machine home and then ask grainger for a manual. Also on this page you will find the motor and the blades.
Grainger is also pretty good about selling parts for their stuff.
snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (BUB 209) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m19.aol.com:
Blades can generally be made up to the length you need by your friendly, local sharpening service. And if you have no one local, then your friendly, mail order sharpening service / blade supplier.
You needn't stick with prepackaged goods, although you will need to plan ahead somewhat, in order to have blades on hand. That's one of the costs for getting a bandsaw that bigger, better & badder than you can buy at the Borg, for really cheap.
Have fun with your new tools.
Patriarch
Just wondering about the additional saws that are available for
400-600. Are they the same model - 6Y942? Where are you/your friend located? Do they have the 4 speeds as advertised on the Grainger site? Also, have you gotten yours working to a good level? ThanksRussell
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