I really don't think you talk too much! You give us valuable info that we can use to come up with alternate ideas! If someone thinks you are talking too much they can always fast forward the video! :) Liked !
Watching your videos is so enjoyable & therapeutic. Thank you for being there. This entire series has been great fun & shows that there are many ways to skin a cat. The cabinet model of this saw seems to provide a lot more options for success if a person wants attractiveness and utility (not to mention safety) in the end.
You are on the right track. I did similar 57 years ago, using the same motor as yours, mine was 240v with a phenolic bevel gear on the reducing motor and a steel gear on the saw. This was a very quiet and powerful setup. JIM
Thanks Mr. Pete for the inspiration for a very fun build. I just got my old Delta 14" bandsaw to cut steel very easily with pulleys and an idler shaft.
Belts are dried out and lost their suppleness. Storing them in the hot attic has taken its toll on them. Thanks for not giving up on this experiment, you showed us many applications and possibilities.👍
At first I thought I had a cricket in my room, until I realized it was on the audio. LOL! You never talk too much for me, Mr. Pete. Thanks for another great video!
I appreciate what you do Mr Pete, I didn't have the chance to have a shop class in school and I like having your years of experience to turn to and learn from.
My first thought is to take a hair dryer (maybe even a propane torch set to a VERY low flame) and slowly warm the belt with the motor running so it heats evenly. Just enough to make it supple - like I said, "slowly WARM the belt" (You would still be able to hold the belt in your bare hand, if you took it off the motor and saw). That should relax the belt enough to get a bit more tension on it so when it comes back to room temp it would be a fair bit tighter and not slip anymore. It might even soften up the "V" surface and make it grip the pulley better. Keep up the great videos!
You are pumping out the videos with new videos and your amassing back catalogue I don’t think I will run out soon been watching for years now and haven’t so far keep up the amazing work if only the kids would have known what they could have learnt from you
Many thanks for all the effort, it was interesting and entertaining in equal measure. I am convinced though that ALL the setups would have eliminated belt slippage entirely if new belts had been used along with a tensioning wheel, which would have both taken up the slack as well as increasing the contact area of the belt onto the drive pulleys - I've a similar setup on my concrete mixer. Also seeing how effective poly-V belts would compare would be interesting - I think they'd have worked perfectly. Looking forward to the dc motor setup!
Fresh belt and an idler pulley to increase wrap would help. Ive done this twice and it can be a very cheap and successful build for home shops. Great video!
"I expected when I started out that this would be an exceptionally short video because....nothing to it". We all like to fiddle around with stuff (now and then) and modify it and engineer workarounds, but there are times when you really can't get from A to B and sometimes those exercises take enormous time, only to find out that you can't get there in a happy way. Not meant as criticism or ridicule. This was a great video MrPete!
Great info, thanks for sharing Mr. Pete! A lot of great data to mull over as we decide which way we're going to go what what's available. It does still look like a success though, even if you have to be patient it does still do the job. I bet you're right too, rubber isn't very pliable when it's old, it most likely does loose some gripping power.
One of my friends built a homemade rotisserie to cook a pig for a family cookout. He spent about 6 months working to build the set-up to where it would turn slowly at the right speed. I wish I had taken some pictures of it - that contraption made Frankenstein look handsome.
Good job, very well done. Like I said in my comments after the 1st video, I'm planning something similar with my saw (haven't started yet). I too have a couple of gearboxes and both AC and DC motors. They are expensive but found some new old stock and averaged about $50 each for the gearboxes and $75 each for the motors. I also found a program online to calculate a belt drive. The 14 in commercial version of this saw is 1-1/2 hp and a sawzall pulls 11 amps max which is about 1-1/8 hp. The program says I need a chain or double belt drive from the gearbox to the saw because of high torque and any speed changes like stepped pulleys need to be done before the gearbox. My motors are close coupled like yours (sigh). I called the gearbox company and the engineer told me the right angled gearboxes have a lot of friction and will eat up some of the horsepower creating heat (exactly what you said). I was surprised when you powered this with a 1/4 hp motor and less. I do have a 1/2 hp DC 90V motor (don't tell me I haven't watched part 3 yet) and I would expect to loose the torque needed to drive the blade if it were to slow down say 50% (I have high hopes for part 3). I wanted to mount the motor below the saw and I just bought a new old stock inline gearbox with a 36 to 1 ratio and 1770 in-lb output, 56C face (weighs 35lbs) for $45 including shipping on ebay (I think I got myself a pretty good deal). Your detail allowed me to make all the calculations with you and then watch you push it to the edge. Had to laugh when you said no-one would ever watch this. Can't wait for part 3 tomorrow.
Hi I have been following this with great interest. I am planning the same conversion on my Delta saw. I have a gear reduction motor that has been laying around my basement for a good 25 years. Now I have finally found a good use for it. I am planning on mounting it under the stand on a pivot so the weight will give it tension. This will also make it easy to flip the belt over to the original motor to convert back and forth. I did figure for the 100 FPM when I ordered the pulley. I am sure it will be good enough if not I will order a bigger pulley to fine tune. Thanks for all your great ideas!!!!
Consider changing your name to Tubalcain your "international" shop teacher :-) Thanks for sharing your knowledge and educating guys like me across the world. Your videos give us great pleasure. Greetings and salutations from The Netherlands.
You can see just by watching the belts turn that they've become hard and stiff, so they'll never work to transfer that much torque. I'm impressed by how close you came to having a good metal cutting bandsaw with what you had to work with.
I have worked with belts a lot over the years and even older belts then those. They are to loose. You can see that and if tightened more they would not show any irregularities and would not slip especially in the bigger pulleys. A bit more tension makes an incredible difference. It will not take the bearings out either. Look at the tension on an alternator belt for example. Turns much faster and runs more than any bandsaw I know of. Dale in Canada
I have a very similar Craftsman branded bandsaw that I want to convert. It's already got a pully system and a custom motor mount, so I'm reviewing the options I might have for doing it. Thank you for doing these videos as it helps me in my planning. I'll post videos of what I come up with to my yt channel. That'll be my next project after my current 2x72 belt grinder.
Fun stuff Mr. Pete, thanks for sharing. I find it pretty funny how just such a workshop (like mine) can have so much and still not have exactly what you need. You either don't have it or can't find it!
Quite informative, before I seen this video I was extremely interested in the conversion. One problem in my area these saws used are pricey, plus the reduction methods are sketchy. I’m glad I haven’t ran out and picked up a saw just to convert. Thanks
I have a Ejca LBS720 bandsaw (floor standing, 720mm wheels ) direkt driven. 3 fas 2.2kw 700rpm 400v 8 pole motor. I have fit a omron 3g3 inverter to it. So i can use it for both wood and steel, mostly aluminum.Thanks for all great videos!
I have a Chinese copy of this bandsaw. All I did was add a VFD unit and it works fine at low speeds. No modifications needed at all. In fact I mainly use it for wood and use the motor diretly plugged in as bought. When I want to cut metal I just plug it into the VFD. I wired the VFD with a plug on the input and a socket for the output. That was so I can if need be use the VFD on another motorised machine. I would not worry too much about slippage, our Do All at work would sometimes slip if too much force was used. I think it was a clutch slippage to save breaking the blade or burning out the motor.
If you use the stand alone reducer maybe you could couple the output directly to the saw input and just have a belt between the motor and gear box. That way your belt is on the "high speed low torque" side of things and the "low speed high torque" side of the gear box is direct to the saw. That will make life easier on the belt.(as you probably already know) Like a tractor that uses bull gears as final reduction to limit the torque that has to go through the ring and pinion.
If I can offer a few thoughts. Those 4 x 6" horizontal cut off saws usually have 3/4 hp motors. The horizontal saw is configured differently but ultimately it has to deliver the right speed and power to the point where the rubber meets the road. Or the blade meets the metal. I used that as a starting point. I geared down a 14" Delta and it's working real well. I'm using 3/4" blades because I really lean into at times. It's made 6" long cuts through 1 1/4" stock. I don't think the gear motor, with all that reduction, is a good choice. It is gearing down then back up. Like driving in 1st gear and overdrive. I hope people are following your videos, these saws are a real asset in a small shop. Thanks.
I’m in Scotland 🏴 and I thought it was an over zealous bird so I shut down the sound to find out what it was, I don’t think there’s many crickets here, LOL 😝.
I suppose it is Jiminy who has decided to grace your home with his presence, and perhaps some good luck for the forthcoming end of years celebrations. Make sure to give him some choice crumbs to snack on!
I too, had to speed up my gear motor on my conversion. I think I have a 5 inch pulley on the motor and a 4 inch on the saw. My motor happens to be a straight line unit, not a right angle one. It takes up a lot less space. I suspect the right angle ones are easier to get, though. My first rendition, using my lathe for power was on a 12 inch wooden Gilliom bandsaw that my father built. You're probably familiar with them. You would by the plans and hardware kit and make the rest of the machine from plywood. It sailed right through about, 4 feet of 1/4 inch steel plate.
If your not by a Harbor Freight, Napa Auto Parts also carries what they call "Belt - Industrial Nu-T-Link Belting .5 in." www.napaonline.com/en/p/GIBNTLA, Price is $25.49 /Foot. Also Grizzly carries what they call T21992 - Power Twist V-Belt, 1/2" x 4'. www.grizzly.com/products/Power-Twist-V-Belt-1-2-x-4-/T21992 $49.95 In case your wondering if the added cost is worth it, I changed the belts in my milling machine, I would say very well worth the added cost. I'm a VERY CHEAP person.
The Starret blades are the best the rep came and set up all our saws from a little Jet ,Marvel 8 and a Voortman on the beam line cutting 44 inch beams and 14x730 columns doubled the blade life in all cases!
Hi I'm from Brazil and I accompany your videos, because they are very technical, thank you for sharing your professional experiences, I have a wood ribbon saw also and cheaper than that ai kkkkkk I'll try thank you. And happy holidays.
Was an industrial Electrician for 23 years at the beginning of my career the rule of thumb was, if you could hold your hand on a motor and slowly count to ten (10 seconds) the motor not too hot.
I'm loving this series. I'm in the process of making a small line shaft type of drive system to slow down three machines. First is an old Craftsman scroll saw I am converting to a die filer. Second is my old Buffalo Forge drill press and last will be a converted band saw when I get it. So far I have a 3/4 hp Zero-Max 0-400 rpm variable speed drive (100 in. lb torque), a 6 foot piece of 3/4" key stock and an Andantex/Plessey R3500 1:1 ratio right angle bevel gear box for turning horizontal to vertical for the drill press. I got all the above cheap or free, I will let you know how it turns out. The info here in the videos and comments are saving me time and money in trial and error and is much appreciated.
Hi Mr Pete, thanks for the video and I appreciate the great range of topics. I note that at 14:30 in the vid you spoke about slowing down the speed of the blade. you stated that you need a large pulley on the drive box. I suggest this may be wrong as a larger pulley on the saw shaft would slow the blade speed down.
Must ask - on metal wouldnt some lube on the cut/blade teeth help, as when drilling a hole - or does it get on the blade pulleys and cause slippage itself-? I dont own a bandsaw so lots I prob'ly dont know. Fun to see all the pulley options explored, I remember as a kid with go karts etc having to do trial and error when piecing together a go-kart / mini bike drive etc. lol I do also recall woodshop in the 70's, they had big old industrial bandsaws from a better built era and felt like you could almost saw a tree in half with one of those-lol I alway enjoyed the bandsaw projects, seemed like more control over the process than a high speed machine.
Thanks for sharing your experiment. Mr Pete. 👍 If you need a belt with extra grip/torque try automotive toothed timing belts. You can get used automotive timing belts and pulleys for free as they are swaped out regularly.
I guess I do get lucky sometimes. I picked up one of these Delta saws at a tag sale for $100. When I brought it into the workshop, I was scratching my head trying to figure out why it had two motors, one with a 90 degree head on it. I'm gunna go cut some steel !!
Mr Pete, is there any reason why that motor has to be mounted horizontally? If it was mounted vertically it could fit inside the cabinet of one of those small cabinet base saws with a shorter belt, couldn't it?
Hopefully you can get one of those right angle speed reducer drives cheap somehow, if this is the method you choose. I've gone to plenty of surplus and junk shops in my time; they are not cheap items anywhere I've seen them for sale. Might have been different 20+ years ago.
Mr. Pete, I actually do have one of those! I got it last summer at an estate sale for 2 bucks. It’s drive motor is a 1hp, 3ph, but I don’t believe the motor works and wasn’t really interested in the 3ph motor anyway. I do have a 1 1/2 hp, 1ph with a keyed 5/8 shaft that fits. It’s just as noisy as the one you demonstrated.
I’ve learned quite a lot knowing what you’re going through . One suggestion for the old belts that works for a while is to use coarse sandpaper on the v sides of the belt to give the material the grip against the pulleys again until a slip developed hardening the edges again. Also Merry Christmas to you and your family!
I believe that's a left hand shaft output. Not sure about that gear reducer but many of them can be mounter in other directions. For instance motor shaft pointing down.
Cycloidal gear would also be another great option for a compact speed reduction... silent gears, fits right on the end of the motor as if it weren't even there, and has just an amazing amount of torque for such a small package. Check out sumitomo cyclo drive motors on Ebay and you can occasionally find a great deal on a 2 in 1 package... great video tho, thanks for sharing. Cheers!
Belts are best suited for transferring power at high speed, low torque. Chains are better suited fro transferring power at low speed, high torque. If you went through the math and calculated the maximum horsepower you could transmit at 36rpm with a belt and pulley arrangement, it would shed light on your problem. All of the wood / metal band saws that I've seen have a belt drive off the motor, then a reduction gearbox at the band saw side. This is because the belt can transfer the power but only at higher belt fpm. If you look how all the 4x6 horizontal band saws are made, you see the same thing, pulley on the motor, gearbox at the saw. If you were to take your experiment further, I would suggest swapping your pulleys for sprockets, or move the gearbox to the band saw side.
Hi Tubalcain, I'm here in the UK and this morning picked up an old South Bend Model A. Inspired by your videos, I decided to get a South Bend instead of a Myford which us Brits tend to go for. Not got it out of the van yet, but it seams pretty tight in the right places. I'll do a video look over once I have it in the shop. Thanks for the videos Mike
Just use a sliding hinge mount for the motor. You only need one belt for all the different speeds and you can tension the belt with the weight of the motor or use a strap to add tension by pulling down on the motor. I've seen the set-up on an industrial size planer.
When I was a young and dumb apprentice I was on a drill press and I would open the lid to the pulley housing as the lid rattled and made a lot of noise... well when reaching for the quill I somehow got my finger into the belt and in the blink of an eye my finger got spun between the belt and pulley...besides the mountain of $hi+ in my underwear I was lucky to find my finger was ok.I’m sure there have been many others who were not as fortunate as myself.
my gut certainly is telling me a fresh quality belt would have done a great job with the gear reduction test setup. Put that old belt in a bowl of acid and in the morning pour it on the grass growing in the cracks of the driveway.
Ok, you had slipping belts, and you could stall it. Now, your background is different from a lot of your viewers. You do have a metal cutting bandsaw. Believe me, a viewer without any metal cutting equipment would love to have a bandsaw which will stall from time to time (or slip). That is is so much better, then a handsaw. And with a bit less pressure at the part, it does cut anything, needing a bit more time. I made my saw cutting metal with a vfd, and i can stall it without a problem, but that is always better then nothing.
Good proof of concept. I think the belts are old and to loose, so there not gripping. new belts and solid mounting would help. if i was going to keep it like this I would add an tensioning gear. in case you want to use a stacked pulleys or gears. At those speeds a Chane and gear drive would work better than belts and would have smaller diameters. in the case i would mount it motor on top, gearbox on bottom I don't trust the seal, run it with with Chane and gears.
A fresh belt (truly new) and a spring-loaded belt tensioner on the backside of the belt would solve mitigate the slippage problem. A larger pulley on the bandsaw end (and a correspondingly larger pulley on an elevated motor end) would truly solve it.
surpluscenter has a cast iron worm gear angle drive 40 to 1 Item Number: 13-133-40-DE-56C or a 30 to 1 Item Number: 13-133-30-DE-56C if you want the blade speed faster for 120.00 bucks and a Leeson 1/3 hp electric motor Item Number: 10-2703 for 160.00 bucks. Would not be a bad deal to convert what I already have instead of buying a second bandsaw for metal. Thank you for the great Ideas, MrPete keep um coming.
Great video! I think the reducer 48:1 reducer was just a bit too slow. The 20:1 reducer you had together with large pulleys for maximum wrap, and maybe a 1/4hp (or more!) motor and you might get through the 3/4 steel
![일상 속 기분 좋음 [Proto disco meme]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DwmEIaZ7XGQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I really don't think you talk too much! You give us valuable info that we can use to come up with alternate ideas! If someone thinks you are talking too much they can always fast forward the video! :) Liked !
Thanks
I learn much from side tracks and extra credit 👍👍
Great to hear!
Watching your videos is so enjoyable & therapeutic. Thank you for being there. This entire series has been great fun & shows that there are many ways to skin a cat. The cabinet model of this saw seems to provide a lot more options for success if a person wants attractiveness and utility (not to mention safety) in the end.
👍👍👍👍
You are on the right track. I did similar 57 years ago, using the same motor as yours, mine was 240v with a phenolic bevel gear on the reducing motor and a steel gear on the saw. This was a very quiet and powerful setup.
JIM
Thanks Mr. Pete for the inspiration for a very fun build. I just got my old Delta 14" bandsaw to cut steel very easily with pulleys and an idler shaft.
Belts are dried out and lost their suppleness. Storing them in the hot attic has taken its toll on them. Thanks for not giving up on this experiment, you showed us many applications and possibilities.👍
At first I thought I had a cricket in my room, until I realized it was on the audio. LOL! You never talk too much for me, Mr. Pete. Thanks for another great video!
I appreciate what you do Mr Pete, I didn't have the chance to have a shop class in school and I like having your years of experience to turn to and learn from.
My first thought is to take a hair dryer (maybe even a propane torch set to a VERY low flame) and slowly warm the belt with the motor running so it heats evenly. Just enough to make it supple - like I said, "slowly WARM the belt" (You would still be able to hold the belt in your bare hand, if you took it off the motor and saw). That should relax the belt enough to get a bit more tension on it so when it comes back to room temp it would be a fair bit tighter and not slip anymore. It might even soften up the "V" surface and make it grip the pulley better. Keep up the great videos!
You are pumping out the videos
with new videos and your amassing back catalogue I don’t think I will run out soon been watching for years now and haven’t so far keep up the amazing work if only the kids would have known what they could have learnt from you
Many thanks for all the effort, it was interesting and entertaining in equal measure. I am convinced though that ALL the setups would have eliminated belt slippage entirely if new belts had been used along with a tensioning wheel, which would have both taken up the slack as well as increasing the contact area of the belt onto the drive pulleys - I've a similar setup on my concrete mixer.
Also seeing how effective poly-V belts would compare would be interesting - I think they'd have worked perfectly.
Looking forward to the dc motor setup!
REAL SHOP LIFE ! Thanks for not ditching this content, like other channels do! :)
👍👍
Fresh belt and an idler pulley to increase wrap would help. Ive done this twice and it can be a very cheap and successful build for home shops. Great video!
Yup, those old belts have volitized off the gooey part of the rubber, just like old tires and sneakers. Thank you so much for doing this!
"I expected when I started out that this would be an exceptionally short video because....nothing to it". We all like to fiddle around with stuff (now and then) and modify it and engineer workarounds, but there are times when you really can't get from A to B and sometimes those exercises take enormous time, only to find out that you can't get there in a happy way. Not meant as criticism or ridicule. This was a great video MrPete!
Thanks
Great info, thanks for sharing Mr. Pete! A lot of great data to mull over as we decide which way we're going to go what what's available.
It does still look like a success though, even if you have to be patient it does still do the job.
I bet you're right too, rubber isn't very pliable when it's old, it most likely does loose some gripping power.
One of my friends built a homemade rotisserie to cook a pig for a family cookout. He spent about 6 months working to build the set-up to where it would turn slowly at the right speed. I wish I had taken some pictures of it - that contraption made Frankenstein look handsome.
lol
I like your videos...you explain yourself very well and make everything understandable...keep up the good work my friend...
Thanks
Good job, very well done. Like I said in my comments after the 1st video, I'm planning something similar with my saw (haven't started yet). I too have a couple of gearboxes and both AC and DC motors. They are expensive but found some new old stock and averaged about $50 each for the gearboxes and $75 each for the motors. I also found a program online to calculate a belt drive. The 14 in commercial version of this saw is 1-1/2 hp and a sawzall pulls 11 amps max which is about 1-1/8 hp. The program says I need a chain or double belt drive from the gearbox to the saw because of high torque and any speed changes like stepped pulleys need to be done before the gearbox. My motors are close coupled like yours (sigh). I called the gearbox company and the engineer told me the right angled gearboxes have a lot of friction and will eat up some of the horsepower creating heat (exactly what you said). I was surprised when you powered this with a 1/4 hp motor and less. I do have a 1/2 hp DC 90V motor (don't tell me I haven't watched part 3 yet) and I would expect to loose the torque needed to drive the blade if it were to slow down say 50% (I have high hopes for part 3). I wanted to mount the motor below the saw and I just bought a new old stock inline gearbox with a 36 to 1 ratio and 1770 in-lb output, 56C face (weighs 35lbs) for $45 including shipping on ebay (I think I got myself a pretty good deal). Your detail allowed me to make all the calculations with you and then watch you push it to the edge. Had to laugh when you said no-one would ever watch this. Can't wait for part 3 tomorrow.
Hi I have been following this with great interest. I am planning the same conversion on my Delta saw. I have a gear reduction motor that has been laying around my basement for a good 25 years. Now I have finally found a good use for it. I am planning on mounting it under the stand on a pivot so the weight will give it tension. This will also make it easy to flip the belt over to the original motor to convert back and forth. I did figure for the 100 FPM when I ordered the pulley. I am sure it will be good enough if not I will order a bigger pulley to fine tune. Thanks for all your great ideas!!!!
Consider changing your name to Tubalcain your "international" shop teacher :-) Thanks for sharing your knowledge and educating guys like me across the world. Your videos give us great pleasure. Greetings and salutations from The Netherlands.
Mrpete I dig your style I totally get what you are about thanks I now am able to finish my saw project !
Glad you liked it
You can see just by watching the belts turn that they've become hard and stiff, so they'll never work to transfer that much torque. I'm impressed by how close you came to having a good metal cutting bandsaw with what you had to work with.
I have worked with belts a lot over the years and even older belts then those. They are to loose. You can see that and if tightened more they would not show any irregularities and would not slip especially in the bigger pulleys. A bit more tension makes an incredible difference. It will not take the bearings out either. Look at the tension on an alternator belt for example. Turns much faster and runs more than any bandsaw I know of.
Dale in Canada
I have a very similar Craftsman branded bandsaw that I want to convert. It's already got a pully system and a custom motor mount, so I'm reviewing the options I might have for doing it. Thank you for doing these videos as it helps me in my planning. I'll post videos of what I come up with to my yt channel. That'll be my next project after my current 2x72 belt grinder.
Really like your videos. I also like You mentioning safety!
Thanks for continuing - even when things look "outragerous".
Fun stuff Mr. Pete, thanks for sharing. I find it pretty funny how just such a workshop (like mine) can have so much and still not have exactly what you need. You either don't have it or can't find it!
Quite informative, before I seen this video I was extremely interested in the conversion. One problem in my area these saws used are pricey, plus the reduction methods are sketchy. I’m glad I haven’t ran out and picked up a saw just to convert. Thanks
I have a Ejca LBS720 bandsaw (floor standing, 720mm wheels ) direkt driven. 3 fas 2.2kw 700rpm 400v 8 pole motor. I have fit a omron 3g3 inverter to it. So i can use it for both wood and steel, mostly aluminum.Thanks for all great videos!
Lots of experimenting, fun to watch the results. Merry Christmas.
The super big pulley set didn't slip. It stopped. wow. Can't wait to see next setup. It will be ideal.
V is for belts! Thank you for posting another video. I enjoy this type of video.
Thanks for all that work!!!!! Your belts are suspect! Shouldn't be stored in the hot attic. Try a new belt on your first set-up and you'll be amazed.
Time will always do its thing. The heat only makes it happen faster.
I have a Chinese copy of this bandsaw. All I did was add a VFD unit and it works fine at low speeds. No modifications needed at all. In fact I mainly use it for wood and use the motor diretly plugged in as bought. When I want to cut metal I just plug it into the VFD. I wired the VFD with a plug on the input and a socket for the output. That was so I can if need be use the VFD on another motorised machine.
I would not worry too much about slippage, our Do All at work would sometimes slip if too much force was used. I think it was a clutch slippage to save breaking the blade or burning out the motor.
If you use the stand alone reducer maybe you could couple the output directly to the saw input and just have a belt between the motor and gear box. That way your belt is on the "high speed low torque" side of things and the "low speed high torque" side of the gear box is direct to the saw. That will make life easier on the belt.(as you probably already know) Like a tractor that uses bull gears as final reduction to limit the torque that has to go through the ring and pinion.
LOVED IT MR. PETE IT WAS NOT TOO LONG !!! JOE OUT IN SOUTH JERSEY
Thanks
If I can offer a few thoughts. Those 4 x 6" horizontal cut off saws usually have 3/4 hp motors. The horizontal saw is configured differently but ultimately it has to deliver the right speed and power to the point where the rubber meets the road. Or the blade meets the metal. I used that as a starting point. I geared down a 14" Delta and it's working real well. I'm using 3/4" blades because I really lean into at times. It's made 6" long cuts through 1 1/4" stock. I don't think the gear motor, with all that reduction, is a good choice. It is gearing down then back up. Like driving in 1st gear and overdrive. I hope people are following your videos, these saws are a real asset in a small shop. Thanks.
Mr Peterson: this is something I have been wanting to do for years...thank you for all the great information...your fan down in hot Florida...Paul
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THANK YOU...for sharing. Happy Holidays to you and Family.
Very good info. Was in AZ. last week and couldn't comment but I did watch last week too.
That is one noisy cricket :)
Thanks for the great videos and Merry Christmas
I’m in Scotland 🏴 and I thought it was an over zealous bird so I shut down the sound to find out what it was, I don’t think there’s many crickets here, LOL 😝.
Could also be a house wren. Not many crickets around in December here in IL.
3 minutes in, and I thought the cricket was in my living room...
Pete, you must be using the new "Creative Math" that they're teaching now. Your Boston Gear drive has a "Gearbox Ratio" of 47.91666666666667: 1!
Good video well worth watching for anybody thinking of using V belt drives on any projects.
Lyle, I think your belts are as old as you and me,, good content for me, well done. Regards Frank
I suppose it is Jiminy who has decided to grace your home with his presence, and perhaps some good luck for the forthcoming end of years celebrations. Make sure to give him some choice crumbs to snack on!
I too, had to speed up my gear motor on my conversion. I think I have a 5 inch pulley on the motor and a 4 inch on the saw. My motor happens to be a straight line unit, not a right angle one. It takes up a lot less space. I suspect the right angle ones are easier to get, though. My first rendition, using my lathe for power was on a 12 inch wooden Gilliom bandsaw that my father built. You're probably familiar with them. You would by the plans and hardware kit and make the rest of the machine from plywood. It sailed right through about, 4 feet of 1/4 inch steel plate.
To tighten belt, could try to put machinest jack between worm gear box and saw base,where the c clamp was.
Go to Harbor Freight and get the green link belts , clean house on old V belts !
If your not by a Harbor Freight, Napa Auto Parts also carries what they call "Belt - Industrial Nu-T-Link Belting .5 in." www.napaonline.com/en/p/GIBNTLA, Price is $25.49 /Foot. Also Grizzly carries what they call T21992 - Power Twist V-Belt, 1/2" x 4'. www.grizzly.com/products/Power-Twist-V-Belt-1-2-x-4-/T21992 $49.95
In case your wondering if the added cost is worth it, I changed the belts in my milling machine, I would say very well worth the added cost. I'm a VERY CHEAP person.
Totally agree that new old stock v-belts have lost their traction for any demanding use where slippage is an issue.
The Starret blades are the best the rep came and set up all our saws from a little Jet ,Marvel 8 and a Voortman on the beam line cutting 44 inch beams and 14x730 columns doubled the blade life in all cases!
Hi I'm from Brazil and I accompany your videos, because they are very technical, thank you for sharing your professional experiences, I have a wood ribbon saw also and cheaper than that ai kkkkkk I'll try thank you. And happy holidays.
Thanks
Great, now he has "spite crickets" lol
Another good video.
Interesting information about the different ratios.
Thanks.
Very informative. Looking forward to the direct drive DC video! Thank you!
Thanks for this series of needed videos Sir.
Was an industrial Electrician for 23 years at the beginning of my career the rule of thumb was, if you could hold your hand on a motor and slowly count to ten (10 seconds) the motor not too hot.
Another interesting video. It seems like my "quick" projects take 10 times longer these days, but I move 10 times slower!
lol
Mr. Pete old belts is like old men ask me how I know.
I'm loving this series. I'm in the process of making a small line shaft type of drive system to slow down three machines. First is an old Craftsman scroll saw I am converting to a die filer. Second is my old Buffalo Forge drill press and last will be a converted band saw when I get it. So far I have a 3/4 hp Zero-Max 0-400 rpm variable speed drive (100 in. lb torque), a 6 foot piece of 3/4" key stock and an Andantex/Plessey R3500 1:1 ratio right angle bevel gear box for turning horizontal to vertical for the drill press. I got all the above cheap or free, I will let you know how it turns out. The info here in the videos and comments are saving me time and money in trial and error and is much appreciated.
Some great information, I have an old band saw that I'm going to attempt to convert to metal cutting.
Hi Mr Pete,
thanks for the video and I appreciate the great range of topics.
I note that at 14:30 in the vid you spoke about slowing down the speed of the blade. you stated that you need a large pulley on the drive box. I suggest this may be wrong as a larger pulley on the saw shaft would slow the blade speed down.
I was just thinking the same thing but because it's Mr Pete I was questioning myself and still am a little TBH.
Must ask - on metal wouldnt some lube on the cut/blade teeth help, as when drilling a hole - or does it get on the blade pulleys and cause slippage itself-? I dont own a bandsaw so lots I prob'ly dont know. Fun to see all the pulley options explored, I remember as a kid with go karts etc having to do trial and error when piecing together a go-kart / mini bike drive etc. lol I do also recall woodshop in the 70's, they had big old industrial bandsaws from a better built era and felt like you could almost saw a tree in half with one of those-lol I alway enjoyed the bandsaw projects, seemed like more control over the process than a high speed machine.
Thanks for sharing your experiment. Mr Pete. 👍
If you need a belt with extra grip/torque try automotive toothed timing belts. You can get used automotive timing belts and pulleys for free as they are swaped out regularly.
I guess I do get lucky sometimes.
I picked up one of these Delta saws at a tag sale for $100. When I brought it into the workshop, I was scratching my head trying to figure out why it had two motors, one with a 90 degree head on it.
I'm gunna go cut some steel !!
👍👍👍👍
Thanks for the great information and safety talk.
I wonder if tire softener would help those old belts.
Lots of work to make that work Mr. Pete. I wouldn't use any of those old belts on anything permanent.. But they're great for prototypes..
Could the chip be causing some of the binding at these slow speeds, not clearing the chips?
Mr Pete, is there any reason why that motor has to be mounted horizontally? If it was mounted vertically it could fit inside the cabinet of one of those small cabinet base saws with a shorter belt, couldn't it?
Okay 15 minutes and you actually answered my question...
Hopefully you can get one of those right angle speed reducer drives cheap somehow, if this is the method you choose. I've gone to plenty of surplus and junk shops in my time; they are not cheap items anywhere I've seen them for sale. Might have been different 20+ years ago.
I laughed out loud when you cut to the 14" drive pulley hahaha
Mr. Pete,
I actually do have one of those! I got it last summer at an estate sale for 2 bucks. It’s drive motor is a 1hp, 3ph, but I don’t believe the motor works and wasn’t really interested in the 3ph motor anyway. I do have a 1 1/2 hp, 1ph with a keyed 5/8 shaft that fits. It’s just as noisy as the one you demonstrated.
Expert - someone who knows more and more about less and less.
Nothing is ever as easy as it should be.
Sounds warm on the thermometer. 🦗🌡
I’ve learned quite a lot knowing what you’re going through . One suggestion for the old belts that works for a while is to use coarse sandpaper on the v sides of the belt to give the material the grip against the pulleys again until a slip developed hardening the edges again. Also Merry Christmas to you and your family!
I was going to suggest that myself. It has worked for me in the past.
I believe that's a left hand shaft output. Not sure about that gear reducer but many of them can be mounter in other directions. For instance motor shaft pointing down.
Great video; i did that 20 years ago to mine
Good experiment. Thanks for the time and effort.
I work in a brewery. We use those motors on our can crusher too. Haha. That guy probably built the prototype in his garage. Haha.
Cycloidal gear would also be another great option for a compact speed reduction... silent gears, fits right on the end of the motor as if it weren't even there, and has just an amazing amount of torque for such a small package.
Check out sumitomo cyclo drive motors on Ebay and you can occasionally find a great deal on a 2 in 1 package... great video tho, thanks for sharing.
Cheers!
A spring loaded idler pulley mounted close to the small pulley will add tension to the belt and increase the contact area for more grip.
You seem to be covering all the systems I have hoarded. My angel reduction gear motor doesn't hold oil a rebuild video would be fun for me.
Belts are best suited for transferring power at high speed, low torque. Chains are better suited fro transferring power at low speed, high torque. If you went through the math and calculated the maximum horsepower you could transmit at 36rpm with a belt and pulley arrangement, it would shed light on your problem. All of the wood / metal band saws that I've seen have a belt drive off the motor, then a reduction gearbox at the band saw side. This is because the belt can transfer the power but only at higher belt fpm. If you look how all the 4x6 horizontal band saws are made, you see the same thing, pulley on the motor, gearbox at the saw. If you were to take your experiment further, I would suggest swapping your pulleys for sprockets, or move the gearbox to the band saw side.
👍👍
Hi Tubalcain, I'm here in the UK and this morning picked up an old South Bend Model A. Inspired by your videos, I decided to get a South Bend instead of a Myford which us Brits tend to go for. Not got it out of the van yet, but it seams pretty tight in the right places. I'll do a video look over once I have it in the shop. Thanks for the videos Mike
I think you'll like that machine
Just use a sliding hinge mount for the motor. You only need one belt for all the different speeds and you can tension the belt with the weight of the motor or use a strap to add tension by pulling down on the motor. I've seen the set-up on an industrial size planer.
When I was a young and dumb apprentice I was on a drill press and I would open the lid to the pulley housing as the lid rattled and made a lot of noise... well when reaching for the quill I somehow got my finger into the belt and in the blink of an eye my finger got spun between the belt and pulley...besides the mountain of $hi+ in my underwear I was lucky to find my finger was ok.I’m sure there have been many others who were not as fortunate as myself.
Scary story
Good video I definitely learned about pulleys
Enjoyed as usual! I learned too!
my gut certainly is telling me a fresh quality belt would have done a great job with the gear reduction test setup. Put that old belt in a bowl of acid and in the morning pour it on the grass growing in the cracks of the driveway.
Another interesting video
Look at Surplus Center on line
A multi speed pully from a wood lathe might be good on that setup.
I'm sure there's a new market for the pull-gear speed reducer since these videos have been out.
Try a Lovejoy coupling and do direct drive. Surplus Center Nebraska has them.
Ok, you had slipping belts, and you could stall it. Now, your background is different from a lot of your viewers. You do have a metal cutting bandsaw. Believe me, a viewer without any metal cutting equipment would love to have a bandsaw which will stall from time to time (or slip). That is is so much better, then a handsaw. And with a bit less pressure at the part, it does cut anything, needing a bit more time. I made my saw cutting metal with a vfd, and i can stall it without a problem, but that is always better then nothing.
Yes you were right, I guess I'm comparing it to big industrial saws
Good proof of concept. I think the belts are old and to loose, so there not gripping. new belts and solid mounting would help. if i was going to keep it like this I would add an tensioning gear. in case you want to use a stacked pulleys or gears. At those speeds a Chane and gear drive would work better than belts and would have smaller diameters. in the case i would mount it motor on top, gearbox on bottom I don't trust the seal, run it with with Chane and gears.
A fresh belt (truly new) and a spring-loaded belt tensioner on the backside of the belt would solve mitigate the slippage problem.
A larger pulley on the bandsaw end (and a correspondingly larger pulley on an elevated motor end) would truly solve it.
Re: band saw tires do they get impregnated with metal filings? Thanks for all your hard work it has been a very interesting series.
Yes they do, but So do my shoes. lol
surpluscenter has a cast iron worm gear angle drive 40 to 1 Item Number: 13-133-40-DE-56C or a 30 to 1 Item Number: 13-133-30-DE-56C if you want the blade speed faster for 120.00 bucks and a Leeson 1/3 hp electric motor Item Number: 10-2703 for 160.00 bucks. Would not be a bad deal to convert what I already have instead of buying a second bandsaw for metal. Thank you for the great Ideas, MrPete keep um coming.
Thank you, I have that catalog
Great video! I think the reducer 48:1 reducer was just a bit too slow. The 20:1 reducer you had together with large pulleys for maximum wrap, and maybe a 1/4hp (or more!) motor and you might get through the 3/4 steel