Horizontal power band saw

In a band saw for cutting metal or the like comprising a frame including a bed, legs supporting said bed, and a head assembly pivotally carried by said bed at one end thereof for swinging in a generally vertical direction between a raised portion and a lowered position, said head including a pair of spaced blade wheels rotatably mounted thereon, an endless blade entrained around said blade wheels, said blade having a cutting surface thereon, and means for driving said blade around said blade wheels, wherein the improvement comprises:

• said bed being constituted by a pair of elongate, generally parallel, spaced, horizontal bed members extending the length of said bed, each of said bed members having a generally vertical web, said head comprising a head post and a head beam generally perpendicular to the head post, said head beam carrying said blade wheels, said bed members being spaced apart a distance sufficient to receive the lower end of said head post therebetween, and means for pivotally mounting said head post relative to said bed members for rotation of the head about a horizontal axis between its raised and lowered positions, said saw further comprising adjustable means between said bed and said head for controlling the rate of downward movement of said head relative to said bed, this downward movement of the head constituting the feed rate of the saw, and adjustable spring means interconnecting said bed and said head post at a point below the level of said horizontal pivot axis of the head for counteracting the weight of said head which biases said head toward its lowered position.

In a band saw for cutting metal or the like comprising a frame including a bed, legs supporting said bed, and a head assembly pivotally carried by said bed at one end thereof for swinging in a generally vertical direction between a raised position and a lowered position, said head including a pair of spaced blade wheels rotatably mounted thereon, an endless blade entrained around said blade wheels, said blade having a cutting surface thereon, and means for driving said blade around said blade wheels, said blade having an upper and a lower reach, wherein said improvement comprises:

• said band saw further including a pair of blade guides engagable with said lower reach of said blade and means for slidably mounting said blade guides on said head for movement in a direction generally parallel to the lower reach of the blade, said blade guides each being engagable with said lower reach for twisting the blade so that its cutting surface is oriented toward the work piece for accurately guiding and supporting the blade as it cuts the work piece, each of said blade guides comprising a pair of rollers disposed on opposite sides of said blade, each said guide roller being rotatable about a respective axis, a thrust bearing engagable with the edge of the blade opposite its cutting edge for the transfer of thrust loads from the blade to the blade guides upon cutting of a work piece, and a pair of guide inserts, one on each side of the blade, said guide inserts being slidably engagable with a respective side of the blade for holding the blade against twisting from a desired plane upon cutting a work piece, the peripheral surface of one of said guide rollers being engagable with said blade so as to constitute a reference for the portion of the blade extending between the blade guides, said other guide roller being adjustable movable toward and away from said one guide roller so that said other guide roller may be adjusted to insure that both said guide rollers are in rolling engagement with opposite sides of said blade.