(03-11-2012, 09:36 AM)Mayhem Wrote: With the brass wire wheel - does it run parallel to the blade or do the teeth run through the wire? I'm thinking the former but it is difficult to tell from the pic. I don't have a metal cutting bandsaw yet, but it is on my list.
Here's a link to the document that I will be using to install the wire wheel.
(03-12-2012, 11:53 PM)Turbinedoctor Wrote: Converted a wood band saw into a metal by replacing the blade, also installed a fip fence which is not shown in the picture.
03-17-2012, 06:20 PM (This post was last modified: 03-17-2012, 06:21 PM by stevec.)
Wow, if it's not too fast you must be cutting sheet metal with a blade of many teeth or aluminum or brass but I'm not prying, just don't want anybody new at this stuff to think they can cut 1" thick steel with their wood bandsaw.
Yes most of the stuff I have been cutting so far has been sheet metal, and 1" thick aluminum. it does pretty good. I am running about a 14 tooth blade but haven't figured or even tried to figure outthe feet per minute. If the work seems a little large I just feed a little slower and let the blade do it's job. So far so good.
Most of you are familiar with the HF Portable Bandsaw. It is what it is. An inexpensive tool that with judicious use it might just do what it is designed for. It sure beats a hack saw and doesn't rattle everything off the bench like a reciprocating saw.
If you are like me (I think most of you are) you just can't leave well enough alone. So, I turned it into a portable/miter/vertical saw. It's completely convertible. Three thumb screws remove the unit from the stand. One nut removes the saw from the base. Two screws mount the table for vertical cutting. It actually cuts fairly true.
I bolted the torsion arm from my X2 clone to the saw and used 1" ID square tube for the pivot. This was then welded to the base of 1/8" hot roll sheet reinforced with 3/8" bar stock. The vise is a cheap HF drill press vise that is bolted and index pinned to another piece of 1/8' hot roll sheet which was then bolted to the base. The base was then slotted to allow the vice to pivot from 90 deg to 45 deg. Using my favorite 3d plotter (carboard boxes) I went through several designs before I found the shape I needed for the spring loaded lift stop arm. A third piece of 1/8" hot roll was welded to the work stop that came with the saw for use as a table when in the vertical position and two rubber grommets in the pivot support hold the allen wrench. All this rests on six feet made from 3/4" lengths of 5/16"-18tpi coupler nuts with rubber chair leg caps. Three of which have holes punched in them the facilitate mounting the unit to a stand.
This is the project I used the stamps on that I asked about in the "alpha/numeric stamps" post. You can't see in the photos but the base is stamped for graduations form 90 to 45 deg. and I am still debating whether I will mount a stop switch on it.
Alan
