I've had a Wen 10" bandsaw for a long time, and always wished it could run much slower for cutting metal.  I've cut a lot of aluminum and it cuts okay, but way too fast, and WAY too fast for steel.  My wife has an old industrial sewing machine that I upgraded to an inverter drive a while back.  There are lots of kits that are direct replacements for the old clutch motors, and they work great.  I chose this one for my saw, because it's 1 HP.  The original motor is about 1/2 HP.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CM5QBDZZ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I almost abandoned the idea, because the new motor has a tapered shaft, which I had no way of knowing before I ordered it.  I had a piece of brass that I used to make an adapter sleeve for the saw pulley.  The motor mounts on a plate that's slotted for belt adjustment, and the motor screws were only a half-hole off - quickly fixed with a die grinder.  

Anyway, success!  I can now cut steel on my cheap bandsaw.  It's variable down to about 160 IPM.  $120 for the upgrade.  

Thanks for posting this. I never would have thought of that.

Now that's damn cool!

Ingenious op

Great idea. I bought a separate saw just to cut metal and it was expensive.

Cute pup as well

Thanks!  That's Penny the photobomber.  She has an amazing talent for it.  lol!

I’ve seen a few YouTube videos about retrofitting DC motors with pwm speed controllers into machines for lower speed operation. DC motors are very compact for their power, the speed controllers are dirt cheap, and the motors are commonly removed from treadmills.  

I had no idea you could get a motor and VFD so cheap, that’s pretty cool.

Yep, and I looked for other options.  There are a ton of similar rigs for sewing machines, but nothing close to that price for just a VFD and motor.  

The problem with DC motors is that speed is controlled by lowering the voltage.  The lower the voltage, the less torque the motor has.  That wouldn't work very well on a bandsaw. PWM would probably be better, but you're still reducing power along with speed. The ratio on my saw is .844:1.  To run at 300 inch per minute, the motor needs to turn at 253 RPM.  That's pretty slow, but no problem for a VFD.

I was cutting up some 3/8 aluminum bar for a project yesterday.  It sure was nice - no burr, and no aluminum flying everywhere.