I need to find a bandsaw that can cut....
1) 14-20g piping up to 4"
2) Aluminum up to 1"
3) Steel up to .5"

Any recommendations?
Phil

 

Check out Enco or any other industrial supply books they have tons of models I like Do All's make sure it has a blade welder....

 

What is the blade welder option?
Phil

 

Many of the pro grade saws have a blade welder so when it breaks you just fix it right there remove the blade do a little grinding and weld'r up...

 

I'll tell ya which one not to buy- the ones at Harbor Freight. I bought their most expensive one and I can even cut a 1/8" before the blade pops off the pulley..
I've come to realize that Harbor Freight, although extremely convinient, has the shittiest tools (even worse than JCW)..

 

im an electrican and at work we use a Milwakee band saw, and that thing cuts everything like butter. rigid pipe (ive done 3'' cuts with no problem), unistrut, EMT, everything that goes under the blade doesnt stay in one peice the blade also has stood up very well. i dont know what your using it for but thats what i use on my car projects as well and it works great.

 

Get Milwakee if you want a portable band saw, these are the best, I have even seen a stationary stand.

If you want more of a stationary and money is not a problem get a horizontal wet-dry bandsaw. Craftsman has one for $1000.

 

If you’re talking about the HF 4x6 saw, well I would partially disagree.

First, as far as I can tell, all of them, HF, Enco, Jet, Grissly, Northern…. Sell the same 4x6 saw painted different colors, so you’re not going to get anywhere by going with a different one.

Second, with the blade popping off… well they all do that if you don’t take the time to adjust the top wheel and guides correctly

Lastly, they all seem to have the same problem, that they don’t like to start up right when they’re cold. My personal thought is that the little motor they use is too small (I actually took my first one back and got a second to see if the second would work any better), but the fact is that I’ve never had it stall once it was running, even cutting though heavy stuff like a block of 2” thick stainless. I’ll probably swap motors when I find something appropriate that doesn’t unbalance the saw too much. Others on the net mentioned that cleaning out the worm drive gear box and putting some high quality gear lube in there instead of the goop that it ships with fixed theirs, I wouldn’t be surprised since mine only seems to have a problem below about 55 degrees the first time I start it up and only when pullied to the highest speed. If it’s warmer or if I’ve had it running it a bit (which should warm up the gear lube) it starts up fine. Until I actually do something to fix it I have it assembled without the pulley guard on it and if it’s having issues I just give it a quick spin with my hand…

Otherwise, it’s a great time saver and I highly prefer it to a chop saw or even my sawzall for cutting exhaust and similar stuff that can be tedious to get precise. For that matter, using the clamp/bead it’s accurate enough that I’ve used it to saw down the middle of an bunch of AN4 fittings (I just needed the male threads and took a bunch of -4 unions and sawed them in half) by putting them in a drill press vice and then clamping that down in the built in bed calmp.

 

I just picked up a 15" sears bandsaw and absolutely love it. Just did a job for some custom intake piping, all aluminum, cuts came out very clean and needed mininal prep. Surfaces were true and went right to the welder.

 

It looks like you already got a saw but for anyone else looking. I have the 4x6 horizontal/vertical bandsaw from harbor freight and have had zero problems with it. I ordered a new blade for it from enco after I wore out the one that came with the saw and its still working great. The base stand is flimsy and cheap but if you have a welder and like to build stuff then you can easily make one.

Check out http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/index.php? for some ideas on how to make a stand for it and also some great info on welding in general.


Dave

 

Thats funny ****. I love how their sig. has what type/quantity of welder they have. We show cars and mods, they show welders. Now makes me curious of what other types of boards are out there with sigs. Wonder if I can find any BDSM boards with sigs.

Brandon