On Jan 23, 12:58*am, spaco wrote:
I have a 10" Delta vertical bandsaw that I have been using to cut steel
for over 20 years. It's a light duty home version....
Pete Stanaitis
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Bob La Londe wrote:
...
I guess my biggest concern might be driving metal particles into the
bicycle tire on the pulleys and messing them up.

I have a 10" Delta wood bandsaw with yellow covers that I rebuilt and
then modified as needed, first with a tablesaw table to add the rip
and crosscut guides, then to cut metal, finally as a sawmill. It
really wasn't very good for the other jobs but it's so simple that the
changes were easy.

As a sawmill it ran up to 3/4" wide x 0.030" blades, though the 10"
wheels reduced their life considerably.

The local industrial distributor couldn't order new rubber wheel tires
for it so I made some out of slices of truck inner tubes. Their
irregular thickness didn't cause any trouble, You could make a set for
steel and use the originals for wood.

Even if you do get it to cut steel you'll be limited by the throat
depth. Upright bandsaws are specialized tools that won't cut long
stock to length. Even for wood you need another saw for that, I
returned the 10" Delta to its original configuration and bought a 4x6
like this:
http://toolsandmore.us/ProductImages/shopfox2/W1715.jpg
to cut steel and PT framing timbers. It's a second-hand Delta that
seems to be built better than average. They can be fussy but probably
no more than a jury-rigged lightweight wood saw.

It works quite well on framing timbers, it's not as fast as a wood saw
but more precise and doesn't slip. It can cut up to a 6x6 by turning
it. I balance the wood on the saw table first and set up roller stands
under the ends.

jsw