Fabric bandsaw for wood?

[Mitch schiffer]

I came across a really unique looking bandsaw for cutting fabric. It is cheap and seems to be a nice quality machine. I can't find any info on anyone putting a wood blade on one of these. Is anyone firmiliar with these and is there any issue using this for wood. The things I could see as a potential issue is blade speed and dust collection. I plan to run it with a vfd so I'm thinking blade speed shouldn't be any issue as long as it isn't drastically different. I imagine o could figure something out for the dust collection. Any information would be helpful. The gentleman selling it said he would take 400$ for it. Seems like a good deal to me.

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[Arnold E Schnitzer]

Cool looking machine. I suppose it would accept some thin wood-cutting blades, but I wonder how much power it has. Cutting fabric is way easier than wood. The main drawback I see is that it doesn't have much throat depth for re-sawing, something most bandsaws excel at.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I would be a bit doubtful about the amount of blade tension you could get on a frame that shape. For running a narrow blade and cutting curves in plywood sheets it looks like it could be great. I don't know anything, and am just guessing.

[Edwin Santos]

Interesting looking machine. If you have the space, for $400, I could see getting it and using it as a mega scroll saw, assuming you do much of that kind of curve cutting work. And assuming it has the necessary power to cut wood.
If a design like that lent itself to woodworking, woodworking bandsaws would look like that but they don't. It's obviously a three wheel machine, and three wheels introduces its own limitations because of the bending the band must endure.
I keep wondering how a bandsaw could be useful to cut fabric. Wouldn't a toothed blade tear up fabric, even a high pitch blade? But I don't know anything about fabric cutting, so maybe this is the way.
Maybe it is aimed at leather not fabric?

[Paul F Franklin]

Interesting looking machine. If you have the space, for $400, I could see getting it and using it as a mega scroll saw, assuming you do much of that kind of curve cutting work. And assuming it has the necessary power to cut wood.
If a design like that lent itself to woodworking, woodworking bandsaws would look like that but they don't. It's obviously a three wheel machine, and three wheels introduces its own limitations because of the bending the band must endure.
I keep wondering how a bandsaw could be useful to cut fabric. Wouldn't a toothed blade tear up fabric, even a high pitch blade? But I don't know anything about fabric cutting, so maybe this is the way.
Maybe it is aimed at leather not fabric?

Early in my engineering career, I was designing a computer controlled monogramming machine for a local company. I got to attend the Bobbin show, which was a huge fabric industry trade show, held that year in the Georgia World Congress center in Atlanta. One of the most memorable displays was for a huge CNC fabric cutting machine that cut out the material to be sewn into various garments, shirts, pants, dresses, whatever. It cut a stack of fabric two feet tall and at least 20 feet x 20 feet. The cutting blade was not a band, but a straight knife that oscillated up and down like a jigsaw blade. The thing was amazing to watch. They only did the demo once or twice a day because of the amount of material needed for each demo.

Can't really see the blade in the OP's pics, but maybe it is just sharpened to a knife edge and not toothed.

I agree that the OP's machine would likely only be useful as a giant jigsaw and would probably not do well at more typical bandsaw tasks because of the limited ability to tension a blade of much width.

[Mitch schiffer]

To clarify I already have a 15" bandsaw that I have set up to resaw. I would be buying this to keep maybe a 1/4" blade on for curves. It is currently running a non-toothed blade. I don't know how much hp the motor has but I can't imagine I would need more then 1.5hp to run a small blade through mainly 3/4 material. I was surprised that I couldn't find anyone else using one of these for woodworking. It seems like a really nice supper size scoll saw.

[Andrew More]

I'd have a couple of concerns about the blades.

First, 3 wheel bandsaws break the blades quicker than 2 wheel bandsaws.
Second, the odder the blade size, the hard it is to source, assuming you can find one at all, and don't have to weld one together.

Finally it's unclear if it's single or 3 phase. 3 Phase power has it's own set of challenges.

[Mitch schiffer]

I believe it is 3 phase. I'm not to concerned about that I have a background in some electromechanical, so wiring up a vfd is no big deal. I have several 3 phase tools in my shop as is and I like the programmability of them. My local woodworking supplier can get or make me any length blades. I didn't consider 3 wheels being harder on blades. Is this a huge concern? If a blade lasted 30% less I would think I'm ok with that. The small blades are reasonably cheap.

[Bill Dufour]

Make a nice belt sander.
Bill D

[Barry McFadden]

Looks like a scam with the price at $123,456

Edwin...don't know where you got the price of $400 from.......

[Edwin Santos]

Looks like a scam with the price at $123,456

Edwin...don't know where you got the price of $400 from.......

He says the seller will take $400 in the first post

[Andrew More]

I didn't consider 3 wheels being harder on blades. Is this a huge concern?
I honestly don't know, I just remember Mathias Wandel mentioning it as being an issue with the design, but not how much of an issue, while discussing his decisions when building his latest bandsaw. I figure that's part reason why you seldom see 3 wheel designs outside of cheaper bandsaws, but who knows if it's a major issue. It's a pretty simple way to get more throat, and yet doesn't seem to get used. About the only major bandsaw I've seen with it was a Do-All metal working bandsaw, which also had it's own built in blade welder.

As you said, none of these are impossible to overcome, but they all would influence the price, IMHO.

[andrew whicker]

Does that say 50 Hz on the motor tag?

[Bill Dufour]

A three or four wheel bandsaw uses smaller diameter wheels then a two wheel bandsaw of similar throat size. the smaller radius bends the blade more at each wheel and fatigues the saw blade metal faster. AFAIK 36 " is the biggest wheel diameter except in log mills.
Top quality makers make 3-4 wheel machines, normally for metal use.
Bill D

[Bill Dufour]

I have heard people saying they are going to buy and convert a band file machine into a bandsaw. Never actually heard of one getting done.
Bill D

[andy bessette]

This would be an extremely foolish waste of $400 if what you really need is a wood-cutting bandsaw.