Ray Field wrote:

Have just been given a small three wheel band saw, had to make an upper
blade guide for it. Obviously designed for hobby woodworking, blade is 56
1/8 inch long 1/4 by 6tpi.
Can this be converted to light metal cutting? I realise that the motor
(direct drive ) will have to be slowed down; are there any metal cutting
blades of this size (1/4 or 3/8 wide) available?
Do not have blade welding equipment, how effective is silver soldering for
joining blade ends? Is the joint a butt or scarf type?
Ray, in sunny Victoria.

First, to be clear, you have to decide what kind of metal you want to
cut. Aluminum, copper, brass, the non ferrous metals, it will do, steel,
I would not get my hopes up.

I had a version of this type of saw, probably the cheesiest cheapest
version around, to be frank. Mine ran a largish O ring for a drive belt
and was "torque limited" to say the least.

It was the cat's meow for cutting aluminum with a sharp 4 or 6 tpi
blade moving as fast as it would run. Effortless cuts (not fast, though)
through 1/2 inch plate, nice cuts on sheet stock down to .020 by placing
the stock on a sacrificial layer of wood. For the larger stock, a sharp
blade was a must have, with a very light touch on the feed to avoid
bogging it down.

I doubt the bearings will handle the forces required to keep a cut
going at the slow speeds required to cut steel with an appropriate
blade. Not for any length of time, anyway.

Silver solder is excellent for joining blades and is a skill worth
learning.

Cheers
Trevor Jones