Bandsaw Blade Speed for Steel

[Bib Overalls]

I am going to (hopefully) convert my old 15" vertical Jet bandsaw to cut steel. Mostly plate up to 3/8" thick.

Charts for bimetal blades on the net generally show 200 to 300 sfpm mild steel. From that, I thought 200 sfpm would be a good target. However, on a couple of forums I saw speeds of 80 to 100 sfpm for a shop saw that does not have a speed control.

So, now I am confused. Should I shoot for 100 sfpm, 200 sfpm or something else.

 

[A_Pmech]

200-300 FPM is about right for a bi-metal saw running in 3/8" or less mild steel.

 

[zkling]

What type of saw is it, welded or split cast frame? I don't recall off the top of my head a 15" unit, outside of one of the goofy 3 wheel bench jobs.

I'd keep it in the 100-200 range, unless you are certain you will be primarly doing thinner plates. The problem I've ran into with the smaller saws is at higher speeds they just don't have the ridgidity to keep the blade on cutting steel at a faster rate.

 

[Bib Overalls]

Oops 14". As part of the upgrade I bought a set of Jet 14" bandsaw roller bearing guides. I'm hoping these will get the blade under control. The saw came with guides that used 1 roller bearing mounted crossways and two consumable plastic/uhmw side guides. The new guides have three roller bearings and they are a solid and well made item. I bought them on eBay for $154 including shipping. Best price I could find. Vendor was CPOoutlets.com.

 

[kabinenroller]

I converted my Jet saw to cut metal about 10 years ago. I built a jack shaft assembly and remounted the motor away from the original location. It still runs slightly faster than I would like but I have been cutting various thicknesses of steel with no real problems. I use blades purchased from a source I found on-line.
I can post pictures if you late interested.