looking for good benchtop bandsaw
03-15-2010, 07:06 PM
#1
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looking for good benchtop bandsaw i been looking for a good bench top band saw for a while now and havent really had good luck. the ones i found that were my size were cheap and weak and the ones that were strong were nutz expensive and huge.
Im looking for one thats small enough to be a bench top, more spefically i can bolt to my fab table, but will cut steel. lots of steel, this saw will prob never see a grain of wood in its life. Ill be cutting mostly small stuff with it, prob 1/8 or smaller but if its not a cheap piece of crap then it will get bigger 1/4 or even 1/2 plate. right now im using my sawzall but it makes crooked cuts.
the biggest reason i want this is to cut the mandrel bends to from my hot sides, cold side, and down pipe, along with all the wierd brackets and what not involved with putting a turbo up front in an f body.
ive been to sears, northern tool, and lowes, not to mention the power of the internet which has been suprisingly un-helpful in my search lol. yall got any tips?
Im looking for one thats small enough to be a bench top, more spefically i can bolt to my fab table, but will cut steel. lots of steel, this saw will prob never see a grain of wood in its life. Ill be cutting mostly small stuff with it, prob 1/8 or smaller but if its not a cheap piece of crap then it will get bigger 1/4 or even 1/2 plate. right now im using my sawzall but it makes crooked cuts.
the biggest reason i want this is to cut the mandrel bends to from my hot sides, cold side, and down pipe, along with all the wierd brackets and what not involved with putting a turbo up front in an f body.
ive been to sears, northern tool, and lowes, not to mention the power of the internet which has been suprisingly un-helpful in my search lol. yall got any tips?
03-16-2010, 12:14 AM
#2
Craigslist, and bigger.
I was looking for a bandsaw for a while. All of the stuff that was not expensive was flimsy looking and it seemed like anything under 400 or so really was for wood only.
I ended up paying $75 for an old floor standing milwaukee.
I was looking for a bandsaw for a while. All of the stuff that was not expensive was flimsy looking and it seemed like anything under 400 or so really was for wood only.
I ended up paying $75 for an old floor standing milwaukee.
03-16-2010, 06:54 PM
#4
You'll probably never find a bench top band saw with enough power to do a decent job cutting steel, plus you would also need to find a supplier for steel cutting blades that would fit a small saw. I wish you the best in your quest, if you find one, please let everyone else know.
BTW, G-Body is giving great advice, I check my local Craig's List almost everyday for the right band saw. I'll find the one I'm looking for one of these days.
Mike
BTW, G-Body is giving great advice, I check my local Craig's List almost everyday for the right band saw. I'll find the one I'm looking for one of these days.
Mike
03-16-2010, 08:54 PM
#5
have you considered a 4x6 horizontal/vertical bandsaw? That's about the only thing even close to the size that you're listing that does a good job with steel.
Otherwise it sounds like you're going to have to find the closest thing to what you want and modify it to work. (for that matter, with most of the 4x6 saws, they are what you make them anyway, there's tons of sites about modifying them)
Otherwise it sounds like you're going to have to find the closest thing to what you want and modify it to work. (for that matter, with most of the 4x6 saws, they are what you make them anyway, there's tons of sites about modifying them)
03-17-2010, 12:21 AM
#6
Duh it just hit me. I cant seem to find it now, could have been on here, the hotrodders forum, or the HAMB but I remember seeing where someone made a mount and a table to convert on of the milwaukee handheld bandsaws into a table mounted saw. They cut metal very well (I have one of them in addition to the full size unit) the only drawback is the limited throat size.
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03-18-2010, 01:39 PM
#8
I've always found portabands absolutely terrifying so I wasn't going to mention it, but one of them, can't remember which now is sold with an optional table. WRT to the home built ones:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=808631
or
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=623605
I've sort of done the same thing to my 4x6 by making a much heavier table that bolts onto it so I can use it as a normal bandsaw, but I consider it safer than doing it with a portaband because it has proper guides and covers... (sorry for the crappy cel phone pictures, the funny shape is so that in most cases I can leave it bolted on and still use the bed/vise assembly):
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=808631
or
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=623605
I've sort of done the same thing to my 4x6 by making a much heavier table that bolts onto it so I can use it as a normal bandsaw, but I consider it safer than doing it with a portaband because it has proper guides and covers... (sorry for the crappy cel phone pictures, the funny shape is so that in most cases I can leave it bolted on and still use the bed/vise assembly):
03-18-2010, 07:04 PM
#9
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I like that notched plate, I need to build one of those for mine. I have a Harbor Freight 4x6, I'm happy with it. Especially for ~$150 brand new. Throw on some $15 Irwin bimetal blades from Enco and you're ready to rock.
03-31-2010, 03:26 AM
#10
I got a sears 10" band saw and i searched and found a shop who custom make blades, any lenth you want. I have a carbide blade to cut steel with many teeth. thats what you need. good on like 16ga. steel but only thing i have had no luck cutting stainless steel with it. I use a chop saw for that.
04-04-2010, 04:28 PM
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If you want to do a little work, you can find an old benchtop bandsaw made for wood and put a jack shaft under it to slow the blade down eneough to cut metal
I found an old Delta with a cast iron frame and put a jack shaft under it to slow it down. Put a bimetal blade in it.
I found an old Delta with a cast iron frame and put a jack shaft under it to slow it down. Put a bimetal blade in it.
05-22-2010, 02:04 PM
#12
Mine is one of the old school HF ones, that wasn't nearly as adjustable as the current ones, but I've modified just about everything on it to make it more adustable, durable or work better. At this point:
- all the vise adjustments as well as a few of the orignal plastic thumb screws have been replaced by wing nuts
- the vice pivot hole was much bigger than what it pivoted on, making for sloppy adjustments, that was redrilled round and fitted with a proper fitting bolt
- all the odd metric threads that you can't find at a standard hardware store have been redrilled and replaced with the more common metric sizes
- the main pivot was taken appart, properly aligned, bronze bushings installed and drilled for grease zirks
- the cast iron slides that the blade guides were riding on were drilled and tapped for adjusting bolts to give a fine angle adjustement
- the guide bearing mounting holes stripped out so I drilled them out and pressed it modifed t-nuts to make for a more durable thread
- I found that the wimpy factory motor that wouldn't want to start in cold weather was a combination of crappy gear lube in the gear box (replaced) and crappy, insufficient start capacitors (put new, larger ones on it) now it starts and runs with authority, like a proper power tool
someday if I have time I'd like to build a much nicer stand for it, and if I"m going to have it apart again, I'll probably take it's cast base, flip it upside down on my mill and machine the underside of the vise area flat and smooth to get smoother vise operation. I also need a new vice handle, it's starting to strip...
Otherwise, it's a really nice saw
06-01-2010, 09:55 PM
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If you want to do a little work, you can find an old benchtop bandsaw made for wood and put a jack shaft under it to slow the blade down eneough to cut metal
I found an old Delta with a cast iron frame and put a jack shaft under it to slow it down. Put a bimetal blade in it.
I found an old Delta with a cast iron frame and put a jack shaft under it to slow it down. Put a bimetal blade in it.
i too have been keeping my eyes open for a god, compact bandsaw for steel....
