metal cutting band saw

[duratothemax]

OK...basically have it all ready for paint! The whole exterior is 'basically' smooth as glass....or brand new metal, I guess.

large picture warning...

I painted the inside of the cabinet with black rustoleum rust-tough enamel...no one is going to see the inside and I wanted something that was going to make sure the rust didnt get any worse

The red circles are a bunch of screw holes that used to be in the frame, but I welded them up and ground them down smooth, looks much nicer now.

the base had some "cratering" in the rust, so I just smoothed as best I could, and Ill just build up the paint really thick

the tractor is made in wisconsin too, about 15 minutes from where the saw was made! Little bit newer than the saw though

cleaned up the whole tensioning assembly, and wirewheeled the ways...Ill put some grease on there and it should work very nicely.

"polished" the wheels

original/old style name tag that still says Crescent on it!

Ill post up more when I get a chance...

Ben

 

[johnluke]

that's a nice looking saw, gonna be in the market for one very soon myself, Any idea how much it weighs?

 

[duratothemax]

that's a nice looking saw, gonna be in the market for one very soon myself, Any idea how much it weighs?

~650lbs for the wood cutting-only version.

I think mine is from ~1948, but they made the same basic saw from right after the war until well into the late 1970's. In the late 1970's they completely redesigned (although it does share many basic design traits with the old design) it with a squared off cabinet, etc...and Delta still makes it to this day.

Parts are very easy to get for these old saws because they made them for such a long time and they were quite popular.

I think the wood/metal version is around ~750+, due to the extra weight of the 2-speed gear reduction box.

Ben

 

[johnluke]

imo alot of the newer saws and things like that are not even close to the quality of what you got there. I have a 5' jump shear from appx. 1950, as long as the blade stays sharp that thing will cut over and over, it also weighs about 1,300. all cast iron (i believe). Everything anymore feels so flimsy and cheap, unless you want to spend a ton of money.

 

[WolfLMM]

imo alot of the newer saws and things like that are not even close to the quality of what you got there. I have a 5' jump shear from appx. 1950, as long as the blade stays sharp that thing will cut over and over, it also weighs about 1,300. all cast iron (i believe). Everything anymore feels so flimsy and cheap, unless you want to spend a ton of money.

X2

Compare an old Bridgeport to a new one

 

[Turbo Buick 6]

Its going to be tough to find something good for under a grand. Most older industrial stuff is 3 phase too. Wood saws can be convereted but most of them are not rugged enough and it is a total PITA. For the time and money I had into convererting one I wished I had just bought either a used one or an $1500 one from grizly. Quality vertical band saws are pricey.

 

[Turbo Buick 6]

You want to be around 100 FPM for SS and 120-140 for steel.

 

[duratothemax]

Its going to be tough to find something good for under a grand. Most older industrial stuff is 3 phase too..

so buy a VFD...150 bucks and theres your 3 phase...

Wood saws can be convereted but most of them are not rugged enough and it is a total PITA.

this one is rugged enough, trust me. Like I said Crescent made a wood and metal version of this saw. The difference between the two, the metal version had a gearbox bolted in place of the wood versions' basic double sheave/pulley setup.

ben

 

[Turbo Buick 6]

so buy a VFD...150 bucks and theres your 3 phase...




this one is rugged enough, trust me. Like I said Crescent made a wood and metal version of this saw. The difference between the two, the metal version had a gearbox bolted in place of the wood versions' basic double sheave/pulley setup.

ben

Just saw the pics now, I only read the begining of the thread.

I didn't know they made VFDs that will take single phase on the input side. I run all my stuff with a rotary phase converter. Have a link to one of these VFDs?

 

[duratothemax]

I didn't know they made VFDs that will take single phase on the input side. I run all my stuff with a rotary phase converter. Have a link to one of these VFDs?

c'mon paul you're supposed to know more about this stuff than me, theyve been out for like 20 years!! :

The Teco FM50 is a popular choice, its like 130-150 bucks. It will easily drive a 2hp motor. Of course there are bigger ones, 3hp, 5hp, etc. Allen Bradley makes good ones too.

230vac single phase in, balanced (no not ghetto rigged/'faked' like those piece of crap static converters that do nothing more than put a capacitor on the primary winding and only power 2 of the 3 legs) true 3 phase 230vac output. They basically do everything a rotary phase converter can do, and a LOT more. It also has inputs for a remote trigger so you dont have to actually push the on/off button on the VFD itself, etc...

They even have some VFD's that can take 115vac (wall outlet) and output 230vac 3 phase.

You can program them any way you want...variable speed, soft start, reversing, brake programming, and more.

If I ever got any 3 phase equipment I would use VFD's over a RPC any day.

ben

 

[duratothemax]

ok more pics...

I originally was just going to do that cross brace along the bottom of that hole that the previous owner cut in the base, but I kinda got in the welding "zone" and my welds were turning out OK (or, ok for being out of position/vertical), so I ended up seam-welding the basically the entire saw.

(I know some of you welders here that are certified in this and that are gonna snicker at them, but they're good enough for me and Ive personally never had a weld fail on anything structural)

The factory more or less tack welds the pieces together, or only does an inch long bead on seams, so I decided to make it stronger. Dunno how much it will help stiffen the saw but it certainly cant hurt.

I also got a gear motor that Ill mount inside to slow the saw down for metal cutting. 80 bucks on ebay, perfect gear ratio, Leeson motor (made in USA, not a taiwan piece of crap), and the motor is TEFC so I wont have to worry about metal dust crapping up the windings...

I might try to do final prep work and paint it tomorrow...

ben

 

[johnluke]

lookin good....:thumb:

 

[duratothemax]

Heres the fancy gearmotor I got that Im going to drive the bandsaw with. Its like a 40:1 reduction I think, which will give me roughly 140-ish surface feet per minute. It will also have some nice torque as well.

 

[TrentNell]

Sweet project Ben , should be a nice Saw when your done with it .

 

[SmokeShow]

is it done yet?

 

[jrsavoie]

We got a big roll of band saw blade in 14 tpi and 18 tpi. I forget how many feet came in a box. We had to use the welder. It worked great.

 

[duratothemax]

is it done yet?

no not yet, havent had much time.



Jobs that pay are taking priority over this.

 

[duratothemax]

finally painted it.

I used a Devoe 2-part epoxy paint custom tinted to match the original Crescent/Delta gray. Came out nicely I think. I kinda wanted it a little glossier so I may go over it with a coat of urethane clear coat, like for car paint. I dont see why that wouldnt work.

I also got one tiny drip in it, and it was OK, but then I touched it and made it 100x worse.

I wonder if I can wet sand this paint so get rid of the drip, and then clear coat over it?? Anyone have any ideas?

Once it dries Ill start putting it back together.

ben

 

[custom8726]

Looks good:thumb: As long as you have a good amount of base you should be able to lightly sand the problem area's and then clear it no problem..

 

[duratothemax]

Looks good:thumb: As long as you have a good amount of base you should be able to lightly sand the problem area's and then clear it no problem..

wet sand or dry sand? What grit?

the only thing I wasnt sure about is because its a 2-part epoxy paint, I didnt know if that made any difference...