[Frank Niro]

I believe I may have given this before. However, I wish to help if I can. You can turn your band saw ito a friction cutting one. It will do a great job of cutting hardened 440-C, Ats-34, D-2, with proper knife Rockwells as well as hardend damascus and other stailess materials. Most unhardened metals are cut with ease except damascus. The maximum cutting thickness where it does a good job without to much effort is 5/32. At least with my saw with only a 3/4 H.P. motor. I understand a larger motor is preffered but that works for me and some of my friends. This saw cuts with heat so a sharp blade doesn't mean better results, and bimetal bl;ades don't work any better than stanard ones. In order to get results you want a blade speed of approx. 5000 feet per minute. (Yes 5000) My saw has a motor pulley of 5" and a band saw pulley of 6" . If you want to use this system, and for folder makers it is something special, You mwill probably need to do a good job of gluing the tires to the wheels with a good quality contact cement. A drawback of this system is that a heat burr is formed when cutting , and you must maintain a constant pressure on your material . If not it may take an extra push to get it going -the area will be work hardened. This was written up in a Sept. Oct. 1988 Blade mag.Frank