"SteveC" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have a vintage 12 inch band saw made by Shopmaster in Minneapolis
that was made back in the 40's or 50's. Long since out of business.
My
grandfather owned the saw. He powered it with a 1/4 horse power
motor.
For most uses the 1/4 horse worked OK, but all the smoke that was
stored
it in escaped recently when I was resawing some lace wood to make
some veneer for a jewelry box I'm making. Surprisingly, the motor
still
works even after all the smoke escaped. I plan to replace the
motor.
How much horsepower is typical for this size band saw? The blade is
an odd length of 78 inches.

Second question. What's a good finish that will pop the grain of the
lace wood?

Typical, or what HP should you use?! As much that will fit in the saw!
Seriously, I have a 1-1/2 HP motor on my Crapsman bandsaw and it really woke
up the saw. It may be a bit overkill, but I had the motor laying around so
I used it. For practical purposes, about 1 HP would be great as long as the
saw is rigid enough to handle it.
Greg