Question on cast iron sheaves and 14" Delta upgrade?

[Bobb Babcock]

I'm preparing to upgrade my bandsaw to a 1 1/2 hp 3450 Baldor motor. One driveline option is 2.5" X 9.75" the next is 3" X 11.75" because of local parts supplier, Princess Auto our Canadian HF. What kind of experience have folks had with a 2.5" motor pulley. I'll be using a notched Gates Tri-power AX belt or a linkbelt if absolutely necessary.

The sheaves are not well balanced. Anyone tried to balance their sheaves? I'm going to give it a try.

At the risk of being too abrupt the question of how sensible this upgrade is has been hashed out in my home forum. I really like my bandsaw and have no need or interest in acquiring a steel framed saw of any size. Also tuning my iron is a big part of my retirement joy. Finally my saw is made in the USA. I really admire this forum and its members for a wide reaching group and sound advice. Thanks

[Bill Dufour]

I would say 2.5" is kind of small. Look at ebay for sheaves. Taper lock is much better then the old keyway and set screw mounting. Used cast iron sheaves are not too pricy but Canada post will be a killer. How is ebay shipping cost from the USA into Canada?
Last sheave I bought from the bay was about $20 US for a cast iron 7.5? inch around 3/4" bore.
Bill D

[Mike O'Keefe]

Check out Iturra Design. He sells cast iron pulleys and has a very interesting write up about Delta bandsaws and RPM's.

[Marc Fenneuff]

Yep tuning your old iron saw up is a great idea. There's an SFPM calculator in the Iturra catalog that you can use to know exactly what diameter your sheave(s) should be.

I did this on my Delta 14 with a cast iron sheave from ebay and it worked great.

vintagemachinery.org also has an online calculator you can use.

[John TenEyck]

I did a similar upgrade on my 14" Delta. I think the motor pulley is about 2.5", too. I haven't had any problems with it; I used a link belt from the get-go due to the small radius. I didn't know enough then to even think about balancing the pulleys. Whatever vibration it has isn't enough for me to be concerned.

John

[Brian Runau]

I'm preparing to upgrade my bandsaw to a 1 1/2 hp 3450 Baldor motor. One driveline option is 2.5" X 9.75" the next is 3" X 11.75" because of local parts supplier, Princess Auto our Canadian HF. What kind of experience have folks had with a 2.5" motor pulley. I'll be using a notched Gates Tri-power AX belt or a linkbelt if absolutely necessary.

The sheaves are not well balanced. Anyone tried to balance their sheaves? I'm going to give it a try.


At the risk of being too abrupt the question of how sensible this upgrade is has been hashed out in my home forum. I really like my bandsaw and have no need or interest in acquiring a steel framed saw of any size. Also tuning my iron is a big part of my retirement joy. Finally my saw is made in the USA. I really admire this forum and its members for a wide reaching group and sound advice. Thanks

Sheaves are balanced at the factory and have a maximum rating, they don't come dynamically balanced. I think please confirm maximum is 6500 fpm. Be careful not to get too small a drive sheave for the motor, your supplier should know this, but good to ask what the min is to see if they know. I always try to design with a 2.5 service factor. Brian

[Mike Kees]

Hey Bob I have been down this path. I got my machined sheaves from Motion Canada, probably a step up quality wise from my favorite store Princess Auto. If I remember right I just bought the same size as the original pot metal drive pulleys. the ones I used are the taper lock type.

[John TenEyck]

I would guess that Bobb is dealing with a new pulley size with the switch to a 3450 rpm motor. The OE one likely ran at around 1800 rpm. Mine did and the change necessitates a much smaller motor pulley or a huge one on the driven side to keep the fpm somewhere close to original.

John

[Bobb Babcock]

Wow, no one jumped on a 2.5" drive pulley, even one ok! The Vintage Machinery site is a treasured favourite. Their calculators and other resources are outstanding and central to my group of vintage iron.

The Creek Crowd comes through again, thanks much appreciated.

I am buying the parts from local stores first and Canadian mail order second. The border is a mess and hidden fees are rampant for shipping and brokerage from couriers. It is USPS and Can Post when shipping over the border.

I checked out Motion Industries and Graingers and the price for Tbwoods wheel sheaves was almost double, much more when required US shipping and taxes. The dream sheave, Browning, was closer to $200 plus US shipping and taxes. The Gates AX/BX belt runs about $45 and the 1/2" link-belt runs about $70.

The SFPM has been closely investigated and calculates to a touch under 3300 SFPM. The two listed pulley arrangements both calculate into that range and are on the shelf locally for inspection pre-purchase.

I've decided to be cautious and settle on the 3" X 11.75" ratio. It seems that it reduces the risk of a squealing startup for a few extra bucks. As the sheaves are A/B rated the belt will be a cogged Gates Tripower BX.

One heads-up, it is reported that motors with the wiring block on the left side facing the shaft can interfere with the lower door. Even motors of the same frame can be a problem on open frame stands like mine. The fix is to slide the motor back and redrill the stand.

Woodworkers report problems for closed stands sometimes. First just wrestling the motor in and out is tough. Also higher hp motors can be substainlly longer sometimes.