Band Saw Mods

[David Eye]

I thought I would mention what method I decided to use to modify my 14" vertical wood cutting band saw and why. So far I have only purchased the parts but I will be posting a couple photos as I progress with installation.
I am not a rich man, therefore I needed to modify my existing band saw to slow it down for metal cutting. I realize this is not the optimum set up but it will have to suffice. Being a newbie to knife making (but not technical/electro-mech/design things and hands on stuff) and on a low budget I needed to modify or acquire certain equipment.

1) I purchased a Kalamazoo 2"x48" belt sander that I am modifying.
2) I now have most everything I need to make a very nice electric kiln.
3) Modify (slow down) my current wood cutting 14" vertical band saw.
4) I already have a nice large 12" disc sander, drill press, smaller 1"belt/small disc sander and other smaller tools, sanders, saws, files, etc., etc.

For me personally my best choices to modify and slow down my band saw were:

A) Install different size pulleys and additional pulleys with a jackshaft arrangement (already calculated for pulley sizes). Very doable but somewhat labor intensive and pricey at about $185 for all the parts.
B) Install a gear reducer to my existing motor or buy a used gear motor complete. This would involve only minor mods regarding mounting it up. Depending on price of used or new gear reducer along with a small variable pitch pulley this method would cost approx. $100 - $225.
C) Install a DC motor and controller. This method would be fairly easy to install and give me a nice wide range variable speed saw. Price can vary widely depending on motor size and new or used stuff. I would attempt used motor and controller because the new stuff is rather pricey. I am a little leery of finding good working nice quality used items and I also don't have a lot of time to look/wait. I also don't need my band saw to be high speed again to cut wood at a decent speed, so a wide range of speed is not needed for me.

I opted for choice "B" due to simplicity, price and ease of sourcing decent quality items.
The parts are on the way, I purchased a new 20:1 right angle coupled style (versus quill style) gear reducer, coupler and small variable pitch pulley on ebay. The 20:1 ratio unit works out the best for using my existing saw pulley size, but I could have changed out the pulley too and got a slightly different ratio gear reducer. Total was approx. $220.
My 14" band saw is in really good condition but not especially great HD quality. It is a China made Buffalo brand made in the late 80's.
I just don't have tons of money and could not find a good used metal cutting band saw in my price range. I also had this 14" band saw sitting around and not being used, so I decided to modify it for cutting metal versus selling it.....proceeds from sale would be pretty low.

I'm sure some of you won't agree with my choice or even my decision to modify my existing 14" wood cutting band saw, but to each his or her own for various reasons.
I feel this was my own personal best choice, but others may have their own personal situation dictate a different choice......such as money, time, current items on hand or access to, etc. I just thought I would list my choices and reasons along with some info as a reference to maybe help others make their decision.

Thanks for reading, DAVID