Hello,
I've got a giant (30") Frank & Co Bandsaw, circa 1890, that I am starting to piece together a drive train for. As ridiculously overkill as it is, I intend to use it almost exclusively to cut metal stock for my Blacksmithing. So I need to get the speed down to about 80-120 SFPM. Which translates to only 10-15 RPM on the 30" wheels.
I just found myself a 1 1/2 HP motor to use to drive it, which spins at 1750 RPM. So I need to do some reducing!
I'd like to have just one unit between the motor, and the saw drive wheel. The saw has already been converted to 1/2" V-belts, with a 13" pulley. So I've got room to play there up to about 7:1 max. So something on the order of 20:1 would be ideal. A little less or more can be played with on the motor and reducer pulley diameters to get it just right...
I looked into purpose built reducers, and new they run in excess of $200, if not significantly more... But, I'd like to scrape by for significantly less, and I don't mind being creative to do so! But I'm coming up a bit short on ideas, so I figured I'd ask around a bit!
What sorts of common junk can be found with fairly heavy duty gear reducers, fairly cheaply?
The most suitable thing I can think of, is a riding tractor manual transmission... then it'd even be variable speed if I ever decided to actually cut wood with it! :P But, no idea where I'd go about finding such a thing.
I've heard that hay elevators have reducers in them, but there aren't a lot of those around here... Considered the final drive in a car, but the reduction is much too low, the most extreme I've seen is 4.:/1.
So, what else can anyone think of that might work?
