Band saws are powerful, reliable tools used in construction for cutting various materials. In order to avoid problems during operation, it is necessary to carefully approach the choice of equipment, take into account the technical characteristics. First of all, you need to find out for what purposes this or that type of saw is intended, get acquainted with the parameters of the teeth, the size of the blade, the quality of sharpening the cutting element.

Types of band saws

The band saw tool can process:

• a rock,
• tree,
• metal,
• synthetic material.

For hard materials, it is recommended to use equipment reinforced with heavy-duty alloys: the cutting belt will not tear, spoil the workpiece. Before buying, determine the scope of work that is planned to be performed using the installation.

A large amount of work requires a powerful, hardy saw that can withstand increased loads. Its cost will be high. For a one-time procedure, infrequent use, cheaper equipment with standard strength characteristics is suitable.

Saw size

Width, length are selected according to the same parameters of the machine. Recommendations for the selection of components are in the instructions for the unit.

Additional Tips:

• Wide band saws have a smoother cut and are more commonly used for ripping.
• The thinner the workpiece being processed, the more likely it is to be damaged by a thick saw.
• When carrying out curly and contour cutting, the width of the cutting element must allow processing the product at a given angle. This type of tool is produced with a width of 14–88 mm. For standard work, the average parameter is suitable - 35–40 mm.

Tooth pitch

The distance between the pointed segments of the saw corresponds to the mating part of the unit.

• Thin sheet material is processed with a saw with a large uniform tooth pitch.
• A frequent constant step is suitable for working with large canvases.
• Variable teeth are designed for cutting natural and synthetic materials with a soft structure. The cutting speed increases as the saw does not clog.

The quality of cutting, the level of vibration during operation, and the wear resistance of the main element depend on the setting of the teeth. The canvas can have a different profile:

• Wavy. Used for small workpieces, thin materials.
• Standard. Differs in the alternating arrangement of all cutting elements, one segment is placed in the center. Choose for the processing of bulk workpieces, contour cutting, mounting on a vertical type of machine.
• Variable, or group. Contains paired teeth. The unit is more expensive: it is more durable, efficient, and has a reduced load on the cutting edge.

Particular attention is paid to the quality of saw sharpening. They check how sharp the cutting segments are, whether the steel from which they are made is uniform, and the evenness of the cutting edge line.

You need to find out if it is possible to re-sharpen the saw, how many cycles for updating the cutter are provided.

Drawing of a homemade band saw: 1 - tape drive pulley (lower); 2 - base; 3 - band saw; 4 - V-belt A710; 5 - damper; 6 - guide; 7 - carrier bar; 8 - belt drive pulley (upper); 9 - table (plywood s20); 10 - electric motor AOL-22-2; 11 - belt drive pulleys; 12 - bracket (steel angle 40×40); 13 - nut M12 (2 pcs.); 14 - top support; 15 - adjusting screw; 16 - slider.

Band saw machine: device and assembly

Tape-type joinery machines for wood consist of a desktop, which serves as the basis for the rest of the elements, and the elements themselves. The design provides for a constant circular motion of the web, based on two pulleys.

A full-fledged unit with a bed and a table top is made if there is a separate large room for installation: the equipment has impressive dimensions. In other cases, a desktop manual mini-installation is made, on which it will not be possible to dissolve whole logs.

bed

The machine frame is a load-bearing element that must support the weight of the entire structure. It is better to make it from a metal profile, but wood is also suitable. Plywood, chipboard are usually not used, a board with a thickness of 20 mm is used. The frame is glued according to the rule of intersection of the fibers of each next layer relative to the previous one.. Self-tapping screws are used to reinforce the frame. The design must be rigid and at the same time elastic in order to act as a damper that dampens the jerks of the cutting blade.

Pulley block

The upper pulley block does not hold the blade in tension when moving vertically. The frame requires hard wood. On the inside of the frame there is a wooden insert to which the wheel shaft is mounted. The inclination of the axis is adjusted with a threaded rod and nuts embedded in the wood.

The vertical movement is carried out along the guides fixed in the upper part of the frame, provided by a screw mechanism. For reinforcement, the adjusting nuts are supplemented with washers or welded. When turning the shaft, a flange is provided, due to which it will be fixed from the back.

Pulleys

Wheels with a thickness of about 30 mm are glued together in several layers of plywood circles, after which a hole for the bearing is formed in them. To make the sawmill stable, the bearing is fixed in the clutch. From the inside, a washer is put on the shaft, and from the outside it is fixed with a flange. In order for the tape to be able to center itself, the wheels are barrel-shaped, the treated surface is pasted over with a bicycle inner tube.

When installing the bearing, it is necessary to monitor the perpendicularity of the shaft, otherwise the wheel will hit the plane during operation. As a result, the cutting blade may slide off the seat. A drive pulley is attached to the lower wheel.

table top

The tabletop is located on a pedestal base, inside which is placed a motor with a trigger mechanism. The table is usually made from a sheet of thick plywood, on the working side it is pasted over with textolite. To make it more convenient to cut at a given angle, the tabletop is made swivel. They also provide a parallel stop; for this, roller guides or a profile with clamps are used.

Saw setup

First provide parallel placement of the wheels relative to each other. Fluoroplastic washers strung on shafts are used against vertical displacement. A trial run of the system is carried out without guides, a test cut - without load. The correct setting of the saw is evidenced by the smooth running of the wheels without sharp jerks that provoke the slipping of the tape.

After debugging, the tape guide block is mounted. It consists of two halves installed along the line of the cutting element.

The video shows how to assemble a band saw yourself.

Making your own saw is a painstaking and difficult, but quite doable task. The easiest way is to assemble a home-made band saw on a wooden frame - you don’t have to cook anything, and almost everyone has a carpentry tool.

For the frame, it is better to choose strong and hard wood, otherwise the structure will turn out to be unreliable and will vibrate. Some elements, such as a desktop, can be made of plywood, and the ribs are edged with slats for rigidity. The cheapest option is to dismantle old furniture by putting plywood on pulleys and a table. A maple beam will do for the carrier bar.

First of all, you need to decide on the drawings, according to which the frame will be assembled in the future. So, the size of the band saw itself will depend on the height of the working room. It is necessary to think in advance about the convenient height of the table, the length of the rod and the diameter of the pulleys. The drawings can be either conditional, reflecting only the general dimensions, or detailed, as in the photo.

Installation of the rod and supports for pulleys

The simplest do-it-yourself band saw is on a wooden C-shaped frame, where the support bar is made of a bar with a thickness of at least 8x8 cm, to which two supports are attached from one (conditionally rear) part.

Pulleys will be held on them. It is better to make such supports from strong material; multilayer plywood with a strong core is allowed.

The distance between the supports must be selected so that the logs needed for sawing fit there. In any case, it is recommended to make the distance “with a margin” so that there are no problems in the future.

Desktop Assembly

The height of the table must be comfortable to work on, while still being able to accommodate the lower and drive pulleys, the motor, and a large amount of chips. The form itself can be any, but often it is made in the form of a closed cabinet that serves as a container for sawdust.

It is advisable to provide an easy way to open the table and the waste tray - this way it will be much more convenient to clean the saw.

Cutting pulleys and attaching them to supports

The diameter of the belt drive pulleys can be chosen arbitrarily, but the larger the pulley, the longer and better the saw works. In this case, it is necessary to select the blades correctly, the ideal ratio is 1/1000 of the blade to the pulley diameter. Thus, for forty cm pulleys, the tape should be 4 mm. But with proper operation, even on narrow pulleys, you can safely work with 6 mm blades.

The diameter of the belt drive pulley must be selected depending on the diameter of the main pulleys, the length of the belt and the engine speed.

1. The circumference of the saw pulley is calculated: D = 3.14 * pulley diameter.
2. On average, the web speed should be 30 m/s.
3. The number of revolutions is determined: O = 30 / D;
4. The ratio (C) of the motor revolutions (OM) to the revolutions of the belt drive pulley is calculated: C = OM/O;
5. Drive pulley diameter = D/S.

The diameter is selected one or two sizes smaller than the pulley. This rubber cover prevents the canvas from slipping.

The upper pulley is mounted on a movable block, which must move horizontally, providing tension to the belt.

For this, a special lifting mechanism is provided. The simplest option is a bar located under the block and attached to the lever with a very tight spring. By pressing the lever, the beam raises the block with the pulley, providing the required tension.

It is necessary to provide a way to fix the lever in a given position, for example, with several bolts located at different levels. The spring will provide the necessary pressure and at the same time will dampen the tension, preventing the tape from tearing.

It is important to correctly balance the upper and lower pulleys in the same plane, minimizing the "eights" when the wheels move.

For fastening the upper pulley, it is convenient to use self-centering bearings, which will allow you to quickly remove and put on the wheels.

But they need to be attached to the pulleys as tightly as possible, otherwise the bearings will loosen very quickly. After attaching the wheels to the frame, test run the saw with the utmost care.

Mounting the blade guides

In order for the band saw on wood to make an even cut and the blade not to be “squeezed” by the sawn tree, guides are mounted along the blunt end of the saw on a narrow beam.

The easiest option is to screw three roller bearings to the beam. The flat side of the canvas rests on one, the other two hold the tape tightly on the sides.

Be sure to perfectly align the guides at the attachment point on the support, otherwise even a microscopic vertical deviation can result in 3 mm at the opposite end. It is best to mark the position of the beam with the canvas stretched to the maximum and the guides already mounted. This ensures their exact position relative to the saw blade.

Instead of two bearings on the sides, you can make wooden stops. Also, it will not be superfluous to install additional guides under the countertop, and not just from above.

It should be borne in mind that the guides should be as close as possible to the workpiece, ideally at a distance of 3-4 cm from the log. Therefore, if you plan to cut workpieces of different thicknesses, it makes sense to adjust the height of the guides.

Finishing

This is not so much for aesthetic purposes as for safety - even if the tape slips off the pulley, it will linger in the casing.

It is better to take out the belt drive from under the table so that sawdust does not fall on it. To protect the motor, it is also recommended to arrange a cover to prevent the ingress of dust and other particles.

Finishing wood with varnish or paint will not only prolong its life, but also protect your hands from unpleasant rolling pins and chips from untreated wood. Previously, all surfaces must be sanded and treated with antiseptics that prevent decay.

The video provides an overview of a homemade wooden saw and describes the advantages of such a solution:

The band saw is a mechanism used for cutting ferrous and non-ferrous metals, wood. This device is a cutting machine and is used for cutting material. High-quality consumables allow you to achieve a flawless cut and high precision in processing workpieces.

Why you need a band saw

Industrial band saw KRATON

With the help of band saws, straight and figured cutting of metal sheets, profiles, pipes, wood, plastic is performed. There are both household models for the home and industrial models for small workshops with automatic start, vertical or horizontal position of the table. Tape machines allow you to increase labor productivity, achieve acceptable cutting accuracy, adjust the cutting angle and process workpieces in batches on the stream.

Device and principle of operation

The classic design of the machine consists of:

• beds;
• desktop;
• support mechanism of the web holder;
• billet feeding and loading systems;
• control systems;
• drive mechanisms;
• corps.

The blanks are sawn using a tape blade, which is a closed loop. The canvas, based on two pulleys, makes a continuous circular motion. Different types of machines allow you to work at an angle, the value of which is adjustable. The saw blade moves at high speed and creates a smooth cut.

The cutting speed must be stable in order to maintain the accuracy of cutting the material, so the power of the power plant that starts the machine to work reaches 11 kW.

Homemade machine bed

With self-manufacturing of the machine, they start with a bed, which can be made of wood or metal. Dimensions are selected in such a way that it is easy to process the desired material on site. A well-designed machine can cut wood up to 35 cm thick and metal up to 2-3 cm.

Pulleys and supports for them

The main elements of a band saw are pulleys, which are wheels on which the band is fixed. They are attached to the frame or to the bar, which is installed on the table. A belt drive is connected to the lower circle or a motor is directly connected. To dampen vibrations of the tape, a damper is used, placing it under the tabletop.

table top

The dimensions of the saw table are selected individually, because. the small size will save space, and the wider table will make the work more convenient. Installed on the end face of the base of the machine between the pulleys. To make the saw blade move freely, a cut is made in the table.

Guides

In order for the sawing of materials to occur evenly and accurately, a guide mechanism is installed. It is attached to the blade from the side free of teeth. Guides allow the tape not to bend during operation. The simplest option can be made from 3 roller bearings: 2 of them are installed on the sides of the saw blade and 1 on the blunt side.

How to make a band saw machine with your own hands

To make a band saw for metal with your own hands, you can take some parts left over from decommissioned machines, buy the missing components and assemblies, or even make it yourself. The cost of the manufactured machine will turn out to be half the price of the purchased atom and more. At the same time, the level of performance and the accuracy of adjustments of these two devices will not differ.

From the materials we need:

• boards or plywood 15 mm thick;
• carpentry glue PVA;
• hairpin 150-170 mm high (diameter - 5 mm);
• saw blade (length - 1065 mm, for example, for Proxxon MBS 240);
• a drill or screwdriver that will serve as an engine;
• self-tapping screws;
• tape and camera from a small wheel;
• clamping wing screws;
• bolts, nuts (including driven nuts), washers;
• steel corners 40×40;
• bearings (inner diameter from 5 mm).

To assemble the machine, you must acquire the following tool:

• screwdriver;
• Bulgarian;
• wrench;
• hammer;
• clamps;
• jigsaw or cutter.

Step-by-step manufacturing instructions with photos, drawings and dimensions

We proceed to the manufacture of the device. We follow the algorithm:

1. To create a machine, we need a drawing. You can find it online or use the one below.

2. Before starting the assembly of the structure, it is necessary to make / find a table or cabinet on which the device will be fixed. You can independently build this structure from metal or wood. The size of the countertop must be at least 500 mm x 500 mm. We select the height depending on the height and position of the master at work.

3. It is necessary to cut out the frame, which is the main supporting element that serves to secure the pulleys, table and tensioner. The bed will be glued from 4 sawn blanks with the following dimensions:

4. We supply two central boards with a rectangular recess in which the tension and stabilization element will be located. In the side cuts a groove (width - 5-6 mm, length - 50 mm), it should be located in the center of a rectangular cutout as in the photo above.

5. We glue the four parts together with carpentry glue: first the central parts, then the side parts (with grooves) are glued on top. To connect, we fasten the layers with clamps and wait at least a day before drying.

We will tension and adjust the saw band using a wooden rectangle 65 mm high. A minimum of 4 cm must be left to the upper edge of the support. The opening for the bar was cut in advance. Inserting it into the opening should be easy, but with minimal play.

6. To create a tension mechanism, it is necessary to drill a hole in the upper part of the bar exactly in the center. From one end of the threaded stud we make a through hole (diameter - 2 mm). We will thread a self-tapping screw into it for fixing.

7. To accurately hit the hairpin, place it in the hole until it stops and wrap the edge with electrical tape. Then we apply it to the outside of the bar and put a mark on ⅓ of its length. We drill a hole of 1-2 mm. We insert the hairpin into the center of the bar, and screw the self-tapping screw on the side, this will help fix the element.

8. We make a cover (see the diagram of the tape tension mechanism) for the top of the frame made of wood. We drill a hole in it to place the stud and fix it on top with a lamb screw.

9. The next stage is pulleys with a diameter of 150 mm. We cut out even circles with a jigsaw or milling machine from plywood or boards 15 mm thick. The cutter allows you to make more even circles, but if necessary, they can be processed with sandpaper.

10. In order for the saw blade to be securely fixed, we glue the rim of the pulleys with electrical tape. From above we stretch the cameras from small wheels.

11. We make holes in the bed for installing pulleys. We make a hole for the bottom exactly under the groove. We make shallow grooves around the hole on both sides and place the bearings in them. We place the tension element, drill a hole through the groove to fix the pulleys and insert the bearings into it.

12. The pulleys are installed on the same vertical line in the holes made. They are put on axles and closed with bushings on both sides of the circles.

13. The slope of the upper pulley can be adjusted using a screw that we will thread into the tensioner. To create a threaded connection, we place a drive nut at the very bottom of the upper groove on the side where the pulleys are not located.

When a strong tension is set, which will cause the pulley to tilt, the latter is easily aligned with a few turns of the screw.

14. We install and tighten the saw blade, connect the screwdriver, clamping the lower pin into the chuck. Then we check if all the elements work.

15. If the mechanism works without delay, install the table. The surface is cut from the board, its size depends on the preferences of the master. We fix the table with the help of corners.

Do not glue the table and the frame, this will prevent the machine from being changed and disassembled.

The band saw for wood and metal after assembly should be prepared for work. To do this, we check the correct operation of the device, adjust the cutting tape, which should be located at a right angle and be as tight as possible. Even the slightest distortion can cause malfunctions in the device.

The rotation on the drive shaft of the tape machine is transmitted from the electric motor, which is connected to it by means of a belt drive. The speed of the belt mechanism can be adjusted, thereby changing the modes of processing parts. The belt of a surface grinder can be located horizontally or vertically, as well as at a certain angle, which is allowed by some models of equipment in this category.

When choosing a model of a belt grinder for processing a particular part, it is important to consider the length of the surface that needs to be grinded. It is much more convenient to process parts on such machines, the surface length of which is less than the length of the abrasive belt and the desktop. Under such conditions, the quality of processing will be much higher.

The belt sander can be of various designs: with a movable and fixed work table, with a free belt. A separate category includes wide-belt equipment, the peculiarity of which is that their desktop, which is also a feed element, is made in the form of a caterpillar. In those models of equipment that have a working table in their design, the abrasive belt is located in a horizontal plane, and in equipment with a free belt, in which a working table is not provided, it can have a different spatial position.

An obligatory structural element of any belt grinder, including a desktop one, is an exhaust device, which is necessary to remove dust, which is formed in large quantities during processing. Both professional and any homemade grinder used in a home workshop or garage is powered by an electric motor.

Principle of operation

The main parameters of the belt grinder are the feed rate and the force with which the belt is pressed against the workpiece. Parameters such as the degree of grit of the abrasive belt should be selected depending on what material the workpiece is made of, as well as the degree of roughness that the surface of the machined product should have.

The characteristics of the material to be processed, in particular its hardness, primarily affect the grit size of the abrasive belt. The processing modes that are directly related to each other are the feed speed and the belt pressure. So, if grinding is carried out at high speed, but with a slight pressing force of the abrasive belt, then some parts of the surface of the part may turn out to be untreated. If, on the contrary, you increase the pressing force and reduce the feed rate, then you may encounter the fact that burns and blackening of the material may appear in certain areas of the treated surface.

Another variation of the machine is a view from the side of the working surface of the tape

The results of grinding are also influenced by how well the abrasive tape is glued together. In order to obtain a high quality finish and not to experience a malfunction of the band machine, do not use abrasive belts that are not glued correctly or have torn edges. When putting on the tape on the shafts of the equipment, it should be positioned so that the end of the seam, which is overlapping, does not lift up on the surface of the workpiece, but slips along it. Learn more about gluing the tape in the video below.

Any, including a manual grinding machine, should provide for the possibility of adjusting the belt tension, which is ensured by moving a movable shaft that is not driven. Tape tension is a very important parameter, the choice of which should be guided by the "golden mean" rule. If the belt of the grinding machine is tensioned too much, then this can lead to its breakage during operation, and too little tension will cause slippage and, as a result, its excessive heating. The main characteristic for determining the degree of tension of the tape is the arrow of its deflection, which is measured by lightly pressing on its surface in a taut state.

The manual belt grinding machine of the group can be operated by one operator, who moves the desktop with the workpiece and rotates it so as to bring all parts of its surface under the abrasive belt.

How to make a belt sander

Many home craftsmen and professionals are wondering how to make a grinder with their own hands. The reason for this question is quite simple: the high cost of mass-produced grinding equipment, which, with irregular use, not everyone can recoup. In order to make such equipment, you will need several basic components: an electric motor, rollers and a reliable frame. Naturally, the drawings of such a device or its photo will not be superfluous. Also at the end of the article you can watch videos on assembling a tape machine on your own.

The motor for belt sanding equipment is easy to find, it can be removed from a used washing machine. The bed will have to be made independently, for this you can use a sheet of metal with dimensions of 500x180x20 mm. One side of the frame should be cut very evenly, since it will be necessary to attach the platform on which the electric motor will be mounted to it. The platform for the electric motor should also be made of a sheet of metal with dimensions of 180x160x10 mm. Such a platform must be fixed to the bed very securely with a few bolts.

Another version of the bed

The efficiency of a belt grinder directly depends on the characteristics of the electric motor that is installed on it. If you are going to make a grinding machine with your own hands, then an electric motor with a power of 2.5–3 kW, developing about 1500 rpm, is quite suitable for you. In order to use such a motor to move the sanding belt at a speed of 20 m/s, the drums must have a diameter of about 200 mm. Which is convenient, if you choose an engine with such characteristics, then you do not need to make a gearbox for your grinding machine.

The drive shaft is connected directly to the motor shaft, and the second - the driven one - must rotate freely on the axis, which is installed in the bearing units. In order for the abrasive belt to more smoothly touch the surface of the workpiece, the section of the bed on which the driven shaft is installed should be made with a slight bevel.

It is possible to make shafts for a belt grinder with minimal financial costs from a chipboard plate. You simply cut square blanks 200x200 mm in size from such a plate, drill central holes in them and put them on the axle with a package with a total thickness of 240 mm. After that, you just have to grind the resulting package and make a round shaft out of it with a diameter of about 200 mm.

Drawings and a detailed analysis of some parts of a machine made of wood.

Wood belt sander (click to enlarge)

Table Tilt Adjustment Mechanism Plate Unit Belt Tensioner

A lot of tasks can be done with a custom made band saw. Using the recommendations of the proposed article, it is quite simple to reproduce this device.

1 - tape drive pulley (lower), 2 - base, 3 - band saw, 4 - V-belt A710, 5 - damper, 6 - guide, 7 - carrier rod, 8 - tape drive pulley (upper), 9 - table ( plywood s20), 10 - AOL-22-2 electric motor, 11 - belt drive pulleys, 12 - bracket (steel angle 40x40), 13 - M12 nut (2 pcs.), 14 - upper support, 15 - adjusting screw, 16 - slider

The desktop of a home-made band saw (dimensions 420x720 mm) is made of plywood 20 mm thick, pasted over with textolite on top. Around the perimeter, it is edged with hardwood slats. There are narrow grooves in the table to guide the saw band. The base is a box measuring 420x720x500 mm glued from 20 mm plywood. Among other things, it serves as a place to collect sawdust.

The carrier bar is a section of channel No. 8 680 mm long, the shelves of which are cut to a height of 20 mm for convenience. The bar is attached to the table with a bracket from a 40x40 mm corner and four M8 bolts. The saw band drive pulleys are machined from 20 mm thick plywood. On the working surface, they are pasted over with dense sheet rubber, docked at the mustache. Used polyurethane adhesive. After rubberizing the pulleys, the wood is impregnated with epoxy resin, sanded and painted. The working surface is barrel-shaped, necessary to hold the running saw blade. A duralumin bushing is glued into the upper pulley with epoxy resin, in which a socket for a 60203 ball bearing is machined. The lower pulley is mounted on an axle made of 30KhGSA steel and fastened with three 5x20 screws. The axle is inserted into a box with two 60203 ball bearings mounted on the lower end of the carrier rod. At the other end of the axle, the driven pulley of the belt drive is fixed through the spacer sleeve. After installation, the belt pulleys are balanced. The principle of operation and the dimensions of the details of the saw band tension system are clear from the figures shown (section A-A).

Tape drive pulley (upper)

The gear ratio of the belt drive from the engine is i=1, so the driving and driven pulleys are the same, except for the mounting hole, which on the driving pulley depends on the motor shaft. Pulleys are made of duralumin. V-belt - A710 (in this design).

To eliminate vibrations of the saw band, a damper (vibration damper) is provided, assembled from textolite parts on M6 bolts. The fixed element of the damper is fixed at the bottom of the desktop, and the movable bar allows you to select the required gap. It should be noted that an upper damper is also provided on the band saw, however, its installation is advisable if the upper pulley of the saw band begins to "hit in diameter". Otherwise, the upper damper only increases the friction of the belt. By design, it is similar to the main one and, if necessary, is mounted on the bar with M5 bolts using a special bracket 105 mm above the plane of the desktop.

1 - base, 2 - M6 bolt (2 pcs.), 3 - strap, 4 - nut with washer.

The guide for feeding the sawn timber is made of a steel angle 100x100 mm. It is desirable to grind its perpendicular planes on the machine. In one of the shelves, two grooves are made along the edges to adjust the gap between the guide and. tape, and in the middle - a cutout to increase the course of the bar. Safety during work is ensured by a protective casing that covers the entire assembly of the upper pulley of the saw band, which leaves the cavity of the casing only in the working area.

The saw blade itself deserves great attention. It must be sufficiently elastic, on the one hand, and durable, on the other. For its manufacture, we recommend cold-rolled sheet steel grade U8, U10 or 65G with a thickness of 0.2-0.4 mm for sawing soft woods (balsa, linden) or 0.4-0.8 mm for harder woods. By the way, many people use steel tape measures made of high-quality metal with a thickness of 0.2 mm and a width of about 10 mm for this purpose. "Automatic" modern roulettes with a curved tape profile are unsuitable - only old samples are suitable. The length of the workpiece for the given dimensions of the machine is 1600-1700 mm. On the blank strip, teeth are cut with a file in increments of about 3 mm, after which the tape is soldered into a ring, the ends are sharpened in thickness by a mustache at a length of 3-6 mm. Then the adhesion site is sprinkled with borax and heated on a gas burner. Solder brand PSR-40 is applied to the joint and the seam is tightly compressed with pliers with asbestos pads on the sponges (otherwise, the joint cools quickly and the metal in this zone becomes brittle). If necessary, the joint is ground. To obtain a better cutting surface, the front and rear surfaces of the teeth are sharpened in the same way as a hacksaw for wood and slightly parted. Of course, you can also use commercially available blades for branded band saws, but then the dimensions of the machine should be made in advance in accordance with the dimensions of the purchased blade.

The considered home-made band saw is used for straight-line sawing of soft woods (balsa, linden, aspen, spruce, pine). Harder woods (beech, oak, mahogany) can also be sawn when a 0.8 mm thick tape is installed on the machine.

The disadvantage of this version of a homemade band saw is a small overhang of the blade, but this greatly simplifies the design. If a small blade overhang does not suit you, then in order for the blade overhang to be like that of branded band saws, you will have to make the location of the carrier bar like theirs and use larger diameter pulleys.

Specifications of a homemade band saw:
Maximum sawing thickness, mm
soft breeds - up to 100
hard rocks - up to 40
The smallest cutting width, mm - 0.25
Tape drive pulley diameter, mm - 240
Center distance of belt drive pulleys, mm - up to 500
Gear ratio from engine to drive pulley, i - 1
Engine speed, rpm - 2800
Electric motor power, kW - 0.6
Rated voltage, V - 380
Linear speed of the tape, m/s - 35
Tape length, mm - 1600-1700
Sawing speed, m/min - up to 5
Overall dimensions, mm - 720x420x920