Thread: Modifying a bandsaw to cut metal

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The base on my motor was 4" wide, with adjustment slots in the base to tighten the belt. I had a peice of 4" x 3/16" flatbar, and a left over 4" butt hinge (see finger pointing in bad photograph). I also had a peice of 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" x 1/4" angle iron. I cut the flat bar to 16" long, welded it to one leg of the butt hinge. Cut the angle iron to about 17" long (width of bandsaw base) and mitered the corners at 45 degrees, because this angle gets bolted to the OUTSIDE of the bandsaw base, and I hate gouging my shins on pointy peices of angle iron. The hinge was then welded to the angle iron. So--Now I have a peice of angle iron welded to the outside of the base (The base is open on 2 sides), and a long plate hinged like a tongue which can swing up or down inside the machine base. This allows the motor and jackshaft assembly to swing up and down, to tension the second belt, which runs from the jackshaft up to the lower bandsaw pulley.*** I positioned the plate so that it would keep the motor shaft end in the same relative position it had before I started changing things. I welded a peice of 1 1/4" x 1 1/4" x 5" long angle iron to the far end of this motor mount plate, to support the bearing closest to the 4 step pulley so that I didn't have to cantilever the 4 step pulley out too far from the side of the motor mount plate. (see pictures--it should show what I mean). This gave me everything I needed except that it wasn't rigid enough to suit me. the answer was to bolt a peice of plate from the far end of the motor mount plate (opposite from the hinged end) down to a crossmember in the original frame--AFTER THE SECOND BELT WAS TENSIONED.