"Rebuilding" and old Shosmith Band Saw
 

I came across an old (1959) Shopsmith 11" bandsaw (for free) some time ago
and have gotten the bug to finally do something with it or get rid of it (I
don't own a Shopsmith). It's got all of the pieces including the mounting
base. I do need a new cover, table insert, and maybe some new tires but
otherwise everything else is OK. I looked at the power stand kits Shopsmith
offers but I can build the same stuff for a lot less money. The kit has the
motor mounted under the table. I've also looked at several other band saws
and some have the motor on top of the base, next to the frame.

Seems to me that there are pluses and minuses about both. While the table
will need to be bigger for the top mounted motor, I think I could use a
shorter belt to drive it. This also gave me a thought about using a pair of
stepped pulley's that would allow me to change the speed (just like on my
drill press). This would allow me to cut various woods as well as some
metal.

So anybody want to voice an opinion regarding the motor location? What
about the speed?

TIA for any input.