Craftsman 113.243440 band saw----acceptable?

admin

My father-in-law has this in his garage, relatively unused and wants to get rid of it.With the proper blade, will this suffice for material 1/4" and thinner, or pipe? I know it wouldn't be perfect, but free and in excellent shape ready for my use....Here's a link to the owner's manual. Runs at 1725rpm. If acceptable, this will help me save a bit of coin!  http://www.managemylife.com/mmh/owne...earch=113.2434Hobart EZ-Tig newbie.
Reply:It can cut metal, albeit not nearly as well as a horiz band-saw. I bought mine off craigslist for $50 a while back and i use it all the time for hardwoods. mine originally had a bimetal 14tpi blade and i tested it out on aluminum and it handled it pretty well.ESAB Heliarc 252
Reply:Any idea how it'd do on steel?I'm thinking bout the vertical band saw because I'll need to do intricate cuts on 1.25 and 1.5" schedule 10 piping eventually. Not so much curves, but angles.Hobart EZ-Tig newbie.
Reply:Originally Posted by chimmikeMy father-in-law has this in his garage, relatively unused and wants to get rid of it.With the proper blade, will this suffice for material 1/4" and thinner, or pipe? I know it wouldn't be perfect, but free and in excellent shape ready for my use....Here's a link to the owner's manual. Runs at 1725rpm. If acceptable, this will help me save a bit of coin!  http://www.managemylife.com/mmh/owne...earch=113.2434
Reply:Interesting. Sounds like it's really not going to work but for aluminum and wood, without modifying it. I gotta say, I don't think I have the aptitude to modify it.Hobart EZ-Tig newbie.
Reply:If you can find a relatively cheap Variable Speed Drive, some of which run off 115V  household current, and a smaller 1/2 to 1 hp three phase motor which should easily replace the original one, it wouldn't be that hard to do the modification.Finding the parts cheaply would be the trick. Probably be cheaper to buy a slower metal-cutting saw than to buy the parts needed. Still, if you have the room, that one might be great just for wood working. Do you get sidetracked doing everything, not just welding....???I found two VSD's which run on 3-phase, but I also have an idler motor to run a Bridgeport and that should be able  to power them too. Have a similar saw, but haven't had the time to do the conversion in the last year.
Reply:Actually don't do much wood working. I don't have a shop, or any land. Just taking up otherwise valuable space in the garage with yet another hobby (learning metal work). checking out craigslist for band saws. It's not a great market for that kind of stuff in my area....used welders go for top dollar, same with most other tools.Hobart EZ-Tig newbie.
Reply:The cheapest vertical band saw is about 1100 from jet runs on 110 and has the ability to go as low as 30 rpm I believe. Or you can buy an old tread mill with a speed reducer and modify yours. Good luck. i will be modifying a craftsman just like yours and once done will let you know how it turns out.Hypertherm Powermax45Miller auto 140 migMiller Econotig Watercooledwith wp24w TorchLincoln Power255XTNew(Lincoln V205 ac/dc)Miller Elite Helmet