Is this a viable bandsaw

[kent wardecke]

Has anyone had experience repurposing a meat saw into a woodworking saw. My dear uncle has a 16 inch bandsaw he'll sell me for $200. it sat outside under a tarp for a few years and I'll need new bearings for the motor and tires for the wheels. I'll mainly use it to resaw wood

406201

406203

406200

[Jim Becker]

A meat cutting saw may be "backwards" from wood cutting saws, too. I'd personally pass on this without blinking...

[Derek Cohen]

Kent, if you are really adventurous, there are possibilities. But not at $200. $20, perhaps.

Meat bandsaws run as about 300 rpm, and wood bandsaws at about 3450 rpm. You would need to either change the motor (what hp is this one - and it needs bearings, etc) or change the pulleys to increase the speed.

Then it is likely set up for a 1/2" blade, and that raises questions about the rigidity and ability to run a wider blade. The whole blade support system may need to be replaced.

The fence is absent, but I like (the only thing I like) is the sliding table, which could be great for resawing (if all the other areas are sorted).

$20. After all, it is just sitting outside rotting away.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Bill Dufour]

You will have to make or install proper blade guides that will work with that saw and figure out how to install them.
You will need to get tires to fit. The wheels may have to be machined to use tires or maybe you can find tires to fit the factory all metal wheels.
Bill D.

[kent wardecke]

I gave the thread the wrong title, it should have been " what do i need to do to make this a viable bandsaw". Because the truth is i want to give my uncle some money without "giving him money"
The motor is a 1 1\2 hp tefc farm duty motor. I don't know why it needs bearings but i can guess it's a lack of use. I know it's bearings because it screams like a banshee. I did the math and it developes about 4000 sfpm
Maybe i can get more money for him if i sell it to a home butcher as a meat saw. Either way I'll have the motor serviced then buy a belt and a blade and turn it on and see what we have

[Richard Coers]

I gave the thread the wrong title, it should have been " what do i need to do to make this a viable bandsaw". Because the truth is i want to give my uncle some money without "giving him money"
The motor is a 1 1\2 hp tefc farm duty motor. I don't know why it needs bearings but i can guess it's a lack of use. I know it's bearings because it screams like a banshee. I did the math and it developes about 4000 sfpm
Maybe i can get more money for him if i sell it to a home butcher as a meat saw. Either way I'll have the motor serviced then buy a belt and a blade and turn it on and see what we have

It screams from the souls of dead animals! LOL

[John K Jordan]

I gave the thread the wrong title, it should have been " what do i need to do to make this a viable bandsaw". Because the truth is i want to give my uncle some money without "giving him money"

In that case, I'd buy it in a heartbeat even if it was not useful.

A farmer or a hunter might be interested - you could advertise on Craigslist and/or put a note on the board in the local farmer's co-ops. A friend of mine bought one to go with his deer-hunting hobby. I picked it up for him and didn't look at it too hard but my impression was it was fairly flimsy compared to the 14" Delta I was using at the time. It certainly was lighter weight.

JKJ

[Edwin Santos]

In that case, I'd buy it in a heartbeat even if it was not useful.

A farmer or a hunter might be interested - you could advertise on Craigslist and/or put a note on the board in the local farmer's co-ops. A friend of mine bought one to go with his deer-hunting hobby. I picked it up for him and didn't look at it too hard but my impression was it was fairly flimsy compared to the 14" Delta I was using at the time. It certainly was lighter weight.

JKJ

I too was thinking of a farmer, hunter or home butcher/sausage maker. Rather than trying to convert it to a woodcutting use, I think you'd be better off thinking about the kinds of end users that would use it for it's designed purpose. Seems like there's a market for everything. I hope to have a nephew like you one day.
Edwin

[Derek Cohen]

I gave the thread the wrong title, it should have been " what do i need to do to make this a viable bandsaw". Because the truth is i want to give my uncle some money without "giving him money"
The motor is a 1 1\2 hp tefc farm duty motor. I don't know why it needs bearings but i can guess it's a lack of use. I know it's bearings because it screams like a banshee. I did the math and it developes about 4000 sfpm
Maybe i can get more money for him if i sell it to a home butcher as a meat saw. Either way I'll have the motor serviced then buy a belt and a blade and turn it on and see what we have

Kent, you have a good heart. This thread is not about what you can do with the bandsaw, but what you can do for your uncle.

Is the bandsaw worth more? You need to research this area. Google may be your friend.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Tom Bender]

Guessing that you already have a bandsaw, how about converting this one to metal? Lower FPM should work out.

[Thomas Canfield]

It has been 35 years or so since using a commercial meat saw to breakdown fore and hindquarters of beef but they are definitely heavy duty. Problems are they are not designed to handle different size blades, do not have slots for miter guage, and similar things designed in for wood. Blade speed may be a smaller issue that pulley change could address. There are blade guides shown in picture and usually there was an adjustable fence to allow cutting steaks, etc to thickness. Handling the wood dust would also be an issue compared to the "meat and bone" dust of meat. Think there would me more negative than positive factors.

[Tony Pisano]

A related anecdote: my cousin and I once tried to use my Craftsman wood cutting bandsaw to cut up some deer steaks and chops. What a chore. We did manage to get through some of it, but the blade kept sliding off the tires. What a pain, plus the cleanup. Only tried that once.