Hi Owen

Yes If Dom doesn't know what kind of saw he has, then it would be
possible that he has a saw with 2 3 speed pulleys, and a gear box, and
than it could be used for metal sawing as well.
However I do take it that Dom does know what saw he has, but was not
sure what speed he should use, and that's what my answer was geared to.
And if you look at Grizzly, harbor freight, Delta, toolex etc., they all
carry 2,3 or 4 speed wood cutting band saws, as well as single speed saws.

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

Owen Lowe wrote:

In article ,
Leo Van Der Loo wrote:


The suggestion that you have a band saw that can saw wood and metal is
wrong, the speeds for metal are approx. in the 80 to 300 fpm (feet per
minute) from 80 fpm for tool steel and 300 fpm for brass, heavy duty
industrial machines use higher speeds but not that much, as for the wood
band saws they run some where in the 2000 to 4000 ftp and industrial
mills run as high as 7000 I think it is, problems than become friction
and blade wandering.


Well, I might be wrong... or at least off track. The Delta 14" dual-use
bandsaw uses the step pulleys but additionally a gearbox to make the
transition from the very slow speeds for metal to the 3000fpm for
woodcutting. Perhaps the OP has such a gearbox but doesn't recognize it
for what it is.