|
|
|
Equipment
Tools
14" Jet Band Saw Upgrade
Most reasonably priced band saws on the market today are for woodworking
and run at a blade speed of about 3000 sfpm. Even with the metal cutting
3 step pulley option, these saws still sound like a wailing cat when you
touch metal to the blade. The nice part about this type of band saw is
that they use an off standard counterclockwise running motor. This makes
about any American made motor the perfect choice for this project. Just
add 2 pillow block bearings and a big sheave (pulley) on the idler shaft
and you're in business. The best part is my father doesn't complain about
the slower speed when cutting wood. This project will cost about $100 to
do. Below are some charts with a list of speeds and the size of the sheaves
that I used. |
Standard Wood Band Saw speed
Based on motor speed of 1,725 RPM
Motor Pulley |
Wheel Pulley |
Ratio |
SFPM |
2.6" |
5.88" |
2.26 |
2,794 |
1st Upgrade
Change 5.88" wheel pulley to 7"
Motor Pulley |
Wheel Pulley |
Ratio |
SFPM |
2.6" |
7" |
2.69 |
2,347 |
Still not slow enough for metal, so.
Metal Conversion Kit by Jet
3 step pulley kit
Idler Step Pulley |
Motor Step Pulley |
Ratio |
SFPM /w 5.88" |
SFPM /w 7" |
4.965 |
1.97 |
2.52 |
768 |
645 |
3.85 |
3.07 |
1.25 |
1,543 |
1,296 |
3.03 |
3.9 |
0.78 |
2,490 |
2,092 |
1.8 |
|
|
|
|
Slowly getting there, but it could be better, so.
2nd Upgrade
Add idler shaft with 6" pulley with 1" pulley on motor
Idler Step Pulley |
Motor Step Pulley |
Ratio |
SFPM /w 5.88" |
SFPM /w 7" |
4.965 |
1.97 |
2.52 |
128 |
107 |
3.85 |
3.07 |
1.25 |
257 |
216 |
3.03 |
3.9 |
0.78 |
415 |
349 |
1.8 |
|
|
|
Final Speeds |
With the blade speeds of, 107, 216, and 349, I can now cut
metal without burning up the blade.
|
|