# Baby Delta Bandsaw



## Jonathans (Jun 25, 2017)

I just picked up a Delta 28-110 10" bandsaw. Made in 1957
 and in sweet condition. Labeled as Homecraft.
Due to its good bones, compact size, and that I want to keep metal out of my woodshop, this ones home will be the metal shop.  It is currently powered by a 1/3 hp 1750 rpm motor with a 2.5" pulley, pushing a 5" pulley on the saw.  Way quick, and even if I reversed the ratio still too
 quick.  I have some 3phase motors available and an extra vfd, but not sure if I would lose too  much torque lowering the hz as much as I might need to.
Another option is to pick up a 3 ph .4kw 1:20 geared motor on Ebay and run that with a vfd (variable speed).
What rpm range should I be targeting for the saw shaft for steel, brass, bronze, etc?
Thanks for any constructive advise.


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## Zathros (Jun 25, 2017)

First you have to determen at What speed you wil need it to run  meter per second or feet per second or minutes then you can calculate the wheel size convert it to rpm and then you have the answer to the pully and rpm the motor needs to be.


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## Dave Paine (Jun 25, 2017)

As ZA stated, decide the feet per minute range you want to use then calculate pulley diameters and motor rpm's from that.

Common blade speed for metal cutting is 100 - 200 fpm.

Bandsaws designed for cutting wood run way too fast as you have observed.

With your Delta bandsaw design, lots of space between the motor and the blade pulleys, so you could always add a middle pulley to get the desired speed reduction.


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## Kernbigo (Jun 25, 2017)

i have a craftsman where i put a tread mill motor on and works good for metal and wood, of course you have to use a metal cutting blade on steel. I make my own blades from bulk material.


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## CluelessNewB (Jun 25, 2017)

This online calculator will help you figure out the SFM you get with pulley combinations.   A 20:1 reduction would get you in the right ballpark.  Reversing the pulleys will only make things worse.    With the current setup you have about 2290 SFM.    
http://vintagemachinery.org/math/sfpm.aspx

This guide from Lenox lists speeds for different materials: http://www.lenoxtools.com/Guides/LENOX Guide to Band Sawing.pdf


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## Jonathans (Jun 25, 2017)

Thanks for that calculator and speed chart Rich. I'll be cutting titanium liners for folding knives, and aluminum for scales, so my fps range is 65 to 300+.
I'll probably need to go with the gear reduction motor and vfd combo.  Now to figure out healthy hz operating ranges for the 3ph motor and determine my
targeted shaft rpm at 1750 (60hz).  I think I can push to 120hz on the high end, and drop down to 20hz on the low if I have at least a .5hp to .75hp motor.
Nothing will be spinning for long periods of time.


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## mzayd3 (Jun 25, 2017)

It might be cheaper to go with a dc gear motor and drive. It will have l the torque you could ask for too. Just my $.02


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## Jonathans (Jun 25, 2017)

mzayd3 said:


> It might be cheaper to go with a dc gear motor and drive. It will have l the torque you could ask for too. Just my $.02
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I've been looking at those but unless I can find one that comes with a controller, the controller can cost as much as the motor.  I'm not an electrical wizard, perhaps even exceptionally challenged when it comes to electonics, but I can handle vfds! Any clue as to where to find a .5 to 1 hp dc motor with controller?


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## welderr (Dec 4, 2019)

Hi Jothathans I just picked up the same saw I was wondering if you pursued converting yours to metal cutting


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## DavidR8 (Dec 4, 2019)

welderr said:


> Hi Jothathans I just picked up the same saw I was wondering if you pursued converting yours to metal cutting



Yowsa! 
2017 thread revival!



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## welderr (Dec 10, 2019)

I actually thought about that David but they are always saying to search the archives before posting a question and this is the exact model I have and the same question TJ


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## JPMacG (Dec 10, 2019)

Absolutely nothing wrong with reviving an old thread.


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## ThinWoodsman (Dec 10, 2019)

I'm curious as to the outcome as well. I've got a 9" Duro bandsaw sans motor and pulleys that I would like to rebuild as a metal-cutting bandsaw.

There was some discussion about this on a thread I started a few weeks back, and the upshot seems to be: get a (3-phase) motor, use a VFD for speed control, and use a gearbox to get down to the range of metal-cutting speeds.

Unfortunately, none of those three components are exactly cheap, and since my monetary outlay on the project has so far been $0 I'm not too keen on spending hundreds of dollars on this. Not this winter, at least.


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## brino (Dec 10, 2019)

Jonathans said:


> Any clue as to where to find a .5 to 1 hp dc motor with controller?



Check your local Craigslist, or other 'for sale' type sources.
I've got 3 or 4 "free" treadmills over the years.
("free" means you usually have to carry them out of the basement....but since you don't want the treadmill take a sawzall.)

Keep the wiring intact.
The controls are usually big clunky panels, but you may be able to replace that.....depending on the controller.

There are some great ideas in existing threads:
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/treadmill-motor-question.14932/
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/converting-treadmill-motor.51916/
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/treadmill-motor-help-needed.34125/
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/help-with-a-treadmill-motor-controller.47992/
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/dc-motor-drive-basic-questions.46731/
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/what-is-a-dc-treadmill-motor.67901/

-brino


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## Janderso (Dec 10, 2019)

The gear reduction devices that came on the 14" Delta bandsaws are all over Ebay for about $75.
Just saying.


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## Tim9 (Dec 21, 2019)

Jonathans said:


> View attachment 236301
> 
> I just picked up a Delta 28-110 10" bandsaw. Made in 1957
> and in sweet condition. Labeled as Homecraft.
> ...


I have a very similar sized bandsaw from same era.  Mine is a ToolKraft which I put a 3-phase 3/4” motor with cheap Chinese VFD. 1-1/2”  pulley on motor with 4” on driven pulley. I haven’t even spent time to properly dial in the VFD program yet. I usually run it at 20hrtz for steel and 65hrtz for aluminum.  I checked SFPM and it’s just about right at those specs. More than enough power with a 3/4 hp motor to the point that one day I might swap it with a 1/4hp motor I have on another machine in which the 1/4hp is a little underpowered.
   I don’t use it a lot but it’s handy when I want a bandsaw for more precision cuts. When cutting a lot of stock I use the Hf 4 x 6 saw.


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## matthewsx (Dec 21, 2019)

I have this unit my dad installed back in the '60's for cutting metal for his airplane.








__





						Photo Index - Sears | Craftsman - 103.24260 bandsaw | VintageMachinery.org
					





					vintagemachinery.org
				




Not my exact saw but the same model as mine.

John


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## ThinWoodsman (Dec 21, 2019)

Tim9 said:


> Mine is a ToolKraft which I put a 3-phase 3/4” motor with cheap Chinese VFD. 1-1/2”  pulley on motor with 4” on driven pulley.



What's the thickness of steel it can handle?

I can do about 1/2" or 3/4" thich aluminum and up to about 3/8" thick steel on the SWAG-mounted portaband, but it starts to really bog down after that. I don't think a VFD will get me the torque to handle 1-2" thick stock, even with 3/4 power. If it does, that would save me the gear reduction and cut the price of the modification by about a third.

Reminds me, it's about time for Grainger's end-of-year clearance items. Good way to pick up a low-priced motor without paying shipping costs - the 1/3 HP motor I got last year (replacement for benchtop shaper) only cost $40 plus the drive to pick it up.


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## Tim9 (Dec 21, 2019)

Pretty much same as Woodsman. No problems at at with 1/8- 1/4” steel. Pretty fast on those and sheet metals. Cuts pretty good using bimetal 10-14 variable tpi  blades. I’m usually not doing extensive cuts so I just leave that blade there all the time. It will cut 1/2” steel but it’s slower going. Not the best blade for aluminum but for small cuts good enough. I’m happy with it and am usually in a hurry so I just work around the limits of the blade.... don’t like changing blades.


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## welderr (Dec 26, 2019)

I'm still in "the thinking about this" phase as I just bought a new home and am doing some renovations , but  I seem to do a lot of fabrication in 1/8 & 1/4 thick steel but I will have a pretty nice shop in the basement when I'm finished, all my equipment will have to be disassembled and carried down the stairs piece by piece so the size of this saw is very manageable. TJ


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