Aluminum sheetmetal shroud for under-mounted Horizontal Bandsaw motor

[jakeru]

My new (vintage craftsman) bandsaw I acquired a week or so ago, came with a "custom fabricated" steel frame (which was actually pretty decent, and obviously made by someone handy with not only this bandsaw, but also a stick welder.) However, the location they mounted the electric motor at put it right where all the bandsaw's metal cuttings would fall down right onto.

Since the metal bandsaw dust appeared to be getting sucked directly into the electric motor's air cooling inlets, I decided that the least I can do for this old motor was to fabricate a sheetmetal shroud to protect its cooling air inlets from the metal dust. (This is kind of fun for me also, a bit of a labor of love. This old vintage bandsaw is not only useful; it's got "soul". )

So I made the shroud by cutting some .025" aluminum sheet (using plain old scissors, followed by some detailing by a hand file and a flap disc), and I gave it the cylindrical shape of the motor by bending it around a metal pipe. I then cut and bent, TIG welded, and drilled three pieces of .065" aluminum, for mounting brackets to secure the shroud to three studs protruding out of the motor. I decided to also secure the shroud under the starting capacitor cover. Even without any mounting nuts installed over the studs, it seems pretty rigid and secure, and does not buzz, so I may just call it good without the nuts (which could be a pain to remove and install because I think there may not be enough room for a socket.)

So anyway since I was kind of just whipping this out, I left on a blunted 3/32" tungsten I used to weld this with - definitely not ideal a 1/16" would have been much better. And probably because of that, I did accidentally melt down my first .065" mounting bracket I had to discard and replace, but then all the subsequent welds went well. I realized I had to give this thin material some time to cool off between (not all too well controlled) TIG torch heat bursts. Well I got all my dimensions spot-on, and it ended up fitting like a glove!

I finished the shroud with a little hand "graining" on the outside surface with a maroon scotchbrite hand pad.

This will not be my last bandsaw related project. I really should do something to "de-ghetto" the motor's mounting pivot. (Notice that socket that came hammered onto the pivot fastener? Came that way with my bandsaw. )

I am still also working on getting the hydraulic feed cylinder completely functional, which at the moment has some "issues". Finally, I intend to add an on/off switch. (Talk about high-tech! ) It seems kind of unsafe to me to have to plug/unplug the bandsaw's power cord to turn it on/off.

[everlastsupport]

Nice work Jake.

Looks like you left plenty of room to breath and the aluminum will act as a heatsink and move any heat away nicely. Nice job all the way around.

Funny, mine has a switch, it is the 4' cord that ticks me off. Maybe that's a project for after Mother Day lunch.

Also, arrange the switch so when your cut is complete it will hit the switch and cut off. Makes a nice touch.

[jakeru]

You appear to have mind reading abilities, Mike! I too am annoyed by my saw's short length power cord, and was planning on swapping on a longer cord I have, which is even in "period correct" old school rubber jacketing. And also I want to position the switch so the saw's falling arm automatically flips it off as the saw completes the cut.