I have this old bandsaw that I picked up for next to nothing, it had a broken
mount for the upper wheel.
I was able to buy a replacement mount, but while a wood bandsaw is nice I
really needed one that would cut steel. This bandsaw had a multiple belt
reduction already but it was not slow enough to cut steel.
I switched it to a 3-phase motor and added a VFD. The VFD not only allows me
to run it 3-phase from single phase but also allows speed control from zero to
what ever your motor will allow. Mine works from 0 to 120Hz, so I can run it
faster than usual or slow enough to cut metal, all without changing the belt.
I think if you have the space a dedicated metal cutting band saw is better. I don't have the space for both a metal and wood band saw so I had to make one that does both.
I am using a little 10 gallon steel drum as my side draw forge chimney. I
rescued the drum and the grain bin steel siding from a near-by dump.
The forge I have been using in the local museum is side-draft as are most of the smith's in the area. I like the
side draft style as it leaves the fire unobstructed and actually pulls the
smoke in much better than most overhead hoods.
I went cheap inspired by shady grove and really like how the
round forge and round hood look together.
Looking more like a house siding is going on. The mismatch between the
grey and the florescent yellow will have to be fixed later when we can afford
to reside the bottom.
We used a cement board called hardie boardwww.jameshardie.ca The colour here is night
grey We decided to breakup the walls a little by use of batten boards and
some white transitions.
The walls were pre-assembled on the ground and craned into place.
The trusses were placed on top. That is as far as the crew got that day,
so of course it snowed about 10cm.
The next day they started on the trusses. Now it starting to look like a house
again.
The roof sheeting is going up, but it will have to wait until Monday.