7/10/16 I spent an hour or so Sunday afternoon wiring up the motor to a power cord, and clamping it to the frame. Tried to align everything the best I could and put a blade on.
This saw still lacks blade guides and an enclosure, but I figured I would stand on the other side of the shop and plug the thing in to see what it does.
It works! And it's not too loud either. Doesn't vibrate much at all just sitting on top of a milk crate.
I came closer and shot a video. The microphone in the phone camera makes it seem louder than it actually was.
I wondered how it might cut, but it would be really stupid of me to try cutting anything when there is no table to support the work piece, and there are no blade guides to keep the blade from falling off the wheels, and no enclosure to capture a blade that falls off a spinning wheel.
So I tried it anyway, but put on a face mask first.
It works!
I learned a few things.
Saw dust builds up on the lower wheel tire fairly quickly. The enclosure may help with that.
The belt is currently rubbing slightly on the frame near the motor. I need to try to lower the motor or cut a notch out of the frame. Or move the wheels further out away from the frame.
The blade speed is a little slow. Based on the number of turns of the motor's pulley for each turn of the wheel, and the wheel's diameter, I find that the blade speed is about 954 FPM. It should be about 3,000 FPM for cutting wood. So I need to get a bigger pulley for the motor shaft. Maybe I will make one. I think the slow speed is partially responsible for the sawdust buildup on the tire.
