I picked up an old craftsman 10 inch bandsaw today. Lots of coats of house
paint, a home brew cabinet/stand that has seen better days. The saw has a
serial number that reads 103.0101. I can find that it was built for sears by
the king-seely company. I cant find a date, but its old. Fairly good
quality. Cast iron clam shell housing, steel (rusty) adjustable table, all
the bearings appear good, but they are bronze. I plan on scrapping the
stand, building a short tube stand and changing out the 3/4 horse AC motor
for a variable speed DC 2hp (or so they say) motor. This way I can get it
down in speed, slow enough to cut aluminum and some mild steel. The blade
tires are shot, but the wheels are very good. The blade guide is cracked,
but I will just machine up a new one (with better geometry).

My questions are

1. where to find a blade. I did the string as well as the math calculations
and figure its 68 1/2.
2. How may teeth per inch. I recall a rule of thumb that at least two teeth
should be in contact with the metal at all times, this could get tough with
1/8 inch AL....
3. Tires. It had a very bad set of rubber tires on the wheels. No crown
left, chunks missing, glue rotted from the inside out. I've read about
urathane tires, but I was wondering what's the general feeling about rubber
vs. urathane. This saw will see only home use every so often.....

any other suggestions for getting this old girl running again, would be
great!!!!

thanks in advance.
bob in phx

Bob,
You will be disappointed with the performance. Do not try to convert a wood
bandsaw for metal. It rarely is successful in both performance and invested
money. Please keep in mind that you need 80 ft per minute or lower speed and
this speed range must be achieved with adequate motor torque and tire
traction. Additionally, you need a blade above and below the table.
Steve

"Bob in Phx" wrote in message
...
I picked up an old craftsman 10 inch bandsaw today. Lots of coats of house
paint, a home brew cabinet/stand that has seen better days. The saw has a
serial number that reads 103.0101. I can find that it was built for sears
by the king-seely company. I cant find a date, but its old. Fairly good
quality. Cast iron clam shell housing, steel (rusty) adjustable table, all
the bearings appear good, but they are bronze. I plan on scrapping the
stand, building a short tube stand and changing out the 3/4 horse AC motor
for a variable speed DC 2hp (or so they say) motor. This way I can get it
down in speed, slow enough to cut aluminum and some mild steel. The blade
tires are shot, but the wheels are very good. The blade guide is cracked,
but I will just machine up a new one (with better geometry).

My questions are

1. where to find a blade. I did the string as well as the math
calculations and figure its 68 1/2.
2. How may teeth per inch. I recall a rule of thumb that at least two
teeth should be in contact with the metal at all times, this could get
tough with 1/8 inch AL....
3. Tires. It had a very bad set of rubber tires on the wheels. No crown
left, chunks missing, glue rotted from the inside out. I've read about
urathane tires, but I was wondering what's the general feeling about
rubber vs. urathane. This saw will see only home use every so often.....

any other suggestions for getting this old girl running again, would be
great!!!!

thanks in advance.
bob in phx

On Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:26:56 -0700, "Bob in Phx"
wrote:

I picked up an old craftsman 10 inch bandsaw today. Lots of coats of house
paint, a home brew cabinet/stand that has seen better days. The saw has a
serial number that reads 103.0101. I can find that it was built for sears by
the king-seely company. I cant find a date, but its old. Fairly good
quality. Cast iron clam shell housing, steel (rusty) adjustable table, all
the bearings appear good, but they are bronze. I plan on scrapping the
stand, building a short tube stand and changing out the 3/4 horse AC motor
for a variable speed DC 2hp (or so they say) motor. This way I can get it
down in speed, slow enough to cut aluminum and some mild steel. The blade
tires are shot, but the wheels are very good. The blade guide is cracked,
but I will just machine up a new one (with better geometry).

My questions are

1. where to find a blade. I did the string as well as the math calculations
and figure its 68 1/2.

Thats a common size for horizontal bandsaws, so blades should be easy
to find. I think even HF carries them

2. How may teeth per inch. I recall a rule of thumb that at least two teeth
should be in contact with the metal at all times, this could get tough with
1/8 inch AL....

14T is find for aluminim that size. So is wood working speeds of the
blade. Steel....well..thats another matter.

3. Tires. It had a very bad set of rubber tires on the wheels. No crown
left, chunks missing, glue rotted from the inside out. I've read about
urathane tires, but I was wondering what's the general feeling about rubber
vs. urathane. This saw will see only home use every so often.....

any other suggestions for getting this old girl running again, would be
great!!!!

thanks in advance.
bob in phx

Plain bearings? Might want to change em to ball bearing..but it may
be something of a bitch finding the proper bearings to fit a bronze
bearing hole. For light use..just keep em oiled.

On Mar 14, 12:26*am, "Bob in Phx" wrote:
I picked up an old craftsman 10 inch bandsaw today. Lots of coats of house
...
3. Tires. It had a very bad set of rubber tires on the wheels. No crown
left, chunks missing, glue rotted from the inside out. I've read about
urathane tires, but I was wondering what's the general feeling about rubber
vs. urathane. This saw will see only home use every so often.....
... bob in phx

I used slices of old truck inner tubes to retread the wheels of a 10"
Delta bandsaw. They aren't perfectly even in thickness but they were
good enough. I slowed it down somewhat with a larger pulley and used
it for aluminum, then as a sawmill to cut a few dozen 10" x 6' oak
planks.

I wouldn't bother trying to make it cut steel. Even if you get it
going slow enough you are still severely limited by the throat depth,
embedded steel grit in wood will wreck your woodworking tools, and
once the blade dulls, small parts quickly heat up too much to hold. A
4x6 horizontal is sooo much better even with their quirks. For a few
steel cuts you can get away with a saber or recip saw.

Jim Wilkins

On Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:26:56 -0700, "Bob in Phx"
wrote:


1. where to find a blade. I did the string as well as the math calculations
and figure its 68 1/2.

If the other sources mentioned in this thread don't work out, there's
a saw shop or three near you that'll weld up any blade you want for
about $5 + the cost of the material.

2. How may teeth per inch. I recall a rule of thumb that at least two teeth
should be in contact with the metal at all times, this could get tough with
1/8 inch AL....

Al is best cut at woodworking speeds, or a bit less - don't worry
about 2 teeth in contact rule when running at that speed. I find a
6TPI hook tooth is a good general purpose aluminum blade. Apply wax to
the blade to avoid gumming the teeth.

When cutting steel, the blade that's on my vertical most of the time
is a 10TPI raker set, an 18TPI would be more appropriate for a small
saw cutting light stock. I keep blades from 4TPI skip tooth (for 2"+
thick aluminum) to 32TPI wavy set on hand.

3. Tires. It had a very bad set of rubber tires on the wheels. No crown
left, chunks missing, glue rotted from the inside out. I've read about
urathane tires, but I was wondering what's the general feeling about rubber
vs. urathane. This saw will see only home use every so often.....

McMaster has 10" rubbers, but only 1" wide. Your saw shop will have
access to a wider selection if you don't want to try some of the
cheaper suggestions.

--
Ned Simmons

Bob in Phx wrote:
I picked up an old craftsman 10 inch bandsaw today. Lots of coats of house
paint, a home brew cabinet/stand that has seen better days. The saw has a
serial number that reads 103.0101. I can find that it was built for sears by
the king-seely company. I cant find a date, but its old. Fairly good
quality. Cast iron clam shell housing, steel (rusty) adjustable table, all
the bearings appear good, but they are bronze. I plan on scrapping the
stand, building a short tube stand and changing out the 3/4 horse AC motor
for a variable speed DC 2hp (or so they say) motor. This way I can get it
down in speed, slow enough to cut aluminum and some mild steel. The blade
tires are shot, but the wheels are very good. The blade guide is cracked,
but I will just machine up a new one (with better geometry).

My questions are

1. where to find a blade. I did the string as well as the math calculations
and figure its 68 1/2.
2. How may teeth per inch. I recall a rule of thumb that at least two teeth
should be in contact with the metal at all times, this could get tough with
1/8 inch AL....
3. Tires. It had a very bad set of rubber tires on the wheels. No crown
left, chunks missing, glue rotted from the inside out. I've read about
urathane tires, but I was wondering what's the general feeling about rubber
vs. urathane. This saw will see only home use every so often.....

any other suggestions for getting this old girl running again, would be
great!!!!

thanks in advance.
bob in phx



I have one of those 10" saws and Sears has the tires. The 103.0101 is
not a serial number, it is a model number and you will need it if you
order from Sears. I cut aluminum on mine all the time with not bad
results, except for very thin stuff. The blades can be obtained at
Sears also. Hope this helps.

Jim

"Bob in Phx" wrote:

3. Tires. It had a very bad set of rubber tires on the wheels. No crown
left, chunks missing, glue rotted from the inside out. I've read about
urathane tires, but I was wondering what's the general feeling about rubber
vs. urathane. This saw will see only home use every so often.....

http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/band_saw_tires.asp

hth,

Wes

On Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:26:56 -0500, Bob in Phx wrote:

I picked up an old craftsman 10 inch bandsaw today. Lots of coats of
house
paint, a home brew cabinet/stand that has seen better days. The saw has a
serial number that reads 103.0101. I can find that it was built for
sears by
the king-seely company. I cant find a date, but its old. Fairly good
quality. Cast iron clam shell housing, steel (rusty) adjustable table,
all
the bearings appear good, but they are bronze. I plan on scrapping the
stand, building a short tube stand and changing out the 3/4 horse AC
motor
for a variable speed DC 2hp (or so they say) motor. This way I can get it
down in speed, slow enough to cut aluminum and some mild steel. The blade
tires are shot, but the wheels are very good. The blade guide is cracked,
but I will just machine up a new one (with better geometry).

My questions are

1. where to find a blade. I did the string as well as the math
calculations
and figure its 68 1/2.
2. How may teeth per inch. I recall a rule of thumb that at least two
teeth
should be in contact with the metal at all times, this could get tough
with
1/8 inch AL....
3. Tires. It had a very bad set of rubber tires on the wheels. No crown
left, chunks missing, glue rotted from the inside out. I've read about
urathane tires, but I was wondering what's the general feeling about
rubber
vs. urathane. This saw will see only home use every so often.....

any other suggestions for getting this old girl running again, would be
great!!!!

thanks in advance.
bob in phx




http://www.carterproducts.com/
--
Wayne D.

thanks to all, I have found urethane tires (10 inch) and a new 14 tpi
bi-metallic blade. I an changing out the motor and giving the saw variable
speed!!! Lets hope it works out.

next up (after its up and running) are cool blocks!!!

bob in phx.
"Bob in Phx" wrote in message
...
I picked up an old craftsman 10 inch bandsaw today. Lots of coats of house
paint, a home brew cabinet/stand that has seen better days. The saw has a
serial number that reads 103.0101. I can find that it was built for sears
by the king-seely company. I cant find a date, but its old. Fairly good
quality. Cast iron clam shell housing, steel (rusty) adjustable table, all
the bearings appear good, but they are bronze. I plan on scrapping the
stand, building a short tube stand and changing out the 3/4 horse AC motor
for a variable speed DC 2hp (or so they say) motor. This way I can get it
down in speed, slow enough to cut aluminum and some mild steel. The blade
tires are shot, but the wheels are very good. The blade guide is cracked,
but I will just machine up a new one (with better geometry).

My questions are

1. where to find a blade. I did the string as well as the math
calculations and figure its 68 1/2.
2. How may teeth per inch. I recall a rule of thumb that at least two
teeth should be in contact with the metal at all times, this could get
tough with 1/8 inch AL....
3. Tires. It had a very bad set of rubber tires on the wheels. No crown
left, chunks missing, glue rotted from the inside out. I've read about
urathane tires, but I was wondering what's the general feeling about
rubber vs. urathane. This saw will see only home use every so often.....

any other suggestions for getting this old girl running again, would be
great!!!!

thanks in advance.
bob in phx