I’ve been working on some projects recently that my GMC chop saw was too loud and messy to bear after a while. I’ve been on the hunt for a bandsaw for a while when this Rockwell popped up.

I’m a real fan of older equipment (I have a 1946 Hercus Lathe) as I feel the heft and mass of them is purely unmatched with modern equipment and as I hoped to covert it to cut metal, that extra sturdiness would hopefully help.



It says it’s an F01:





I have the saw stripped for cleaning and replacing old work out parts (and a few upgrades) and need some help. I can’t remove the wheels to clean behind them, replace the bearings and do some remedial work. Are they just stuck on there as I would assume they would pull off. I do not have a flywheel puller but lols like I’d need one if they should pull off:



The tires have really deteriorated so I’ll be replacing them. Is there an option that will work better with metal and can I find ones that don’t require glue (urethane maybe)?

Also I have a crack in the top cover. This isn’t really a stressed part of the saw but if I can repair I will do. Could I silicone TIG braze it or even TIG weld it?



My plan is to add a 36:1 reduction jack shaft to the machine to reduce it down to 100 odd SFPM for steel cutting but I’m keen to get it running first.

It has a 3ph Motor too, so that will be getting a VFD.


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