TECH: Metal Cutting Band Saw Conversion

This isn’t my brainchild, I’ve seen the American Rodder article and what others did and just copied what they did adapting what parts I had available. However I thought I’d try to earn my keep here and show some pictures, measurements and part numbers.

Warning -- My fabrication skills are basic, so not all the cuts, welds, etc. are the prettiest looking (however I’m getting better with each project!) Also, I didn’t take a lot of detailed pictures along the way, but you can send me a message if you have questions.

I started with the harbor freight 14", 4 speed woodworking band saw, part number 32208. Bought it on sale for about $259. Used 1 ½ x 1 ½ angle for the base which is about 18.5” x 17” and fits around the sheet metal base of the saw.



Weld two 14” long pieces of 1” square tubing to the angle iron base for uprights. They are 11 inches apart. Then weld a 14.5” long piece across the top of the uprights with 3/8” holes in each end, about ¾” from the ends. This piece will later bolt to the sheet metal base of the saw.

For the motor mount I made a rectangular frame from 1” tubing, about 14.5” long and 4” wide. Drilled holes in the frame for the electric motor, then welded it to an old gate hinge trimmed to fit and welded the motor mount to the bottom of the angle iron base.

For the jackshaft mount repeat the above process this time with a frame measuring about 17” by 4” , with holes for the jackshaft pillow blocks and weld it to the bottom of the upright crossbar.



Next using some plate material about 1/8” thick make tabs for screw adjusters (this is where it would have been handy to have a metal cutting bandsaw LOL!). Use 5/8” round stock from the hardware store and ½” nuts welded together for the threaded pivots.



And welded the same round stock to some steel strap material I had for the slip pivots. Then I took some ½” all-thread, ½” nuts and plate material and made the screw adjusters and basic handles. This will be used to tension the belt for the motor.
(I warned ya that my fab work can be primitive, HA!)



Before mounting the motor you need to take the cover off and switch the #5 and #6 wires since you will be turning a jack shaft and need the motor to spin in reverse rotation.

Cut a piece of 5/8” round stock to 12.5” long to use for your jack shaft. (the following parts are from grainger.com) Install two 5/8" pillow blocks (part number 4X724 about $14 each), one 14" pulley (part number 1L847 about $21) one 4” pulley (part number 3X910 about $5) and the four sheave pulley that came with the band saw to the jackshaft. (you need to spot drill the pulley set screw locations on the jack shaft to keep the pulleys from turning on the shaft).



On the motor install one 2” pulley (part number 3X896 about $3) and one one 4” pulley (part number 3X910 about $5). Line up the 2” motor pulley with the 14” jackshaft pulley, this will give a 7 to 1 speed reduction for cutting metal. Line up the 4” motor pulley with the 4” jackshaft pulley, this will give a 1 to 1 rotation speed for cutting wood or other stuff.



Attach the sheet metal base of the band saw to the frame you built. You need to drill holes through the angle iron to attach the bottom of the base and attach the rubber feet that came with the saw or use caster to make it portable. Also, bolt the upright crossbar to the sheet metal base.



You may also want to move the switch to the outside of the base as the jackshaft and pulleys take up a lot of room inside. You can buy a plastic electrical box at the hardware store for that.

To tension the jackshaft belt, build another screw adjuster, handle, threaded pivot and slip pivots. Weld the tabs for one pivot to the jackshaft mount and build a mount for the other pivot and bolt it to the top of the sheet metal base.





Finish assembling the band saw and make sure all your pulleys line up. You will need 3 belts. One for the 4 sheaved pulleys, and two for the motor & jackshaft. You now have a total of 8 speeds available. The two motor pulleys give you two different speed ranges. You will use only one belt at a time on the motor and jackshaft, depending on what speed range you want to run. (I run a 4L-350 belt for the 4 sheaved pulleys and a 4L-470 for metal or 4L310 belt for wood cutting)



You can use saw blade part number 4YB18 (7 Ft 9 1/2 In x 1/4 In – about $14) which is 18 TPI and seems to work pretty good. When I got the saw running I picked up a piece of scrap and cut this free hand just to check it out.



If you have any questions let me know.

Now get out there and cut some metal!

Dan

 

nice job! that's kinda what i did to my Enco 14" wood cutting bandsaw and it has served me well for over 15 years . my enco looks exactly like yours , i think they are all made overseas at the same place and sold under many different brand names...i think they are a copy of a 14" Delta

now you have a tool so you can make more tools

 

great post Dan!

 

Thanks for the positive responses. The post took a bit of time to put together, but hopefully it will save someone else some time on building their band saw.

 

Someone here must know this.... What should the blade speed be for a metal cutting bandsaw in inches per second?

 

around 200-300 feet per minute has always worked for me