[TheForge] New Bandsaw question

[Dave Brown]

At 20:16 11/02/04, you wrote:

>A busy blacksmith friend of mine used a small cheap horizontal bandsaw 
>without ever using coolant.  Never had a problem.
>Regards,
>Bill Woolley

Bill is right, a coolant isn't necessary.  Maybe it your are cutting a lot 
of really thick stuff for really long periods.  But a coolant isn't 
necessary most of the time.

Probably the best thing you can do for this saw is to get it adjusted right 
off the bat.  The guide bearings, tracking, square, tension, etc.  Get all 
this done and you'll have a good cutting saw.  If you want to add a 
modification that's worthwhile, get rid of that lousy spring thingy that 
controls the downward pressure on the blade.  Replace it with a pneumatic 
cylinder setup.  Just for starters try 
http://www.mini-lathe.com/Bandsaw/Bandsaw.htm for good stuff about setting 
up these saws.

Dave Brown
Heritage Smithing
Green Bay, WI