Sawzall or portaband which is better

[PILOON]

Denmansoft;

The blade looks like a 7" disc without teeth, picture a disc with only 16 slits (about 2" deep) and no teeth.
In other words the blade is bi-directional.

The one that I have was made by Vermont American.

As such those blades are only good for thin material like siding and roofing .
They also cut a nice straight line.
The only down side is they tend to leave a narrow (like 1/8") scortch or burn on the finish, however when looking up at the roof line from the ground you don't see that.
Also do the cuts where there would be an overlap. (also do your trim cuts where there will be something that overlaps the cut, like the ridge cap on the roof or a corner trim)

Word of caution: Wear leather gloves when handling trimmed cladding)

Hey, I have used that blade to shorten steelclad doors with success.
The trick is to clamp a guide and lower the blade a mere 1/4" and cut away then use a file to dress the metal edge.
Then I cut chip chissel or pry out the wood filler, clean the cavity and fit a new filler that I generally glue in place with spraycan foam and use 2 pieces of board to clamp until the foam sets up.
Lumber supply outlets around here generally want $150. for factory 'special dimension' order doors.(and saves the 2 week 'special order' lead time)!
Hey, that's $300 for a french patio double door!

My clients loved the fact that I saved $$ as I'd do the trim in less than 1/3 the factory cost.

 

[denmansoft]

Thanks for all the info. My biggest problem is being Tool-Store challenged!
The nearest Princess Auto is a 6hour round trip + $100 in ferry costs.
HF, NT, Grizzly are great for info, but what a tease, when I look at shipping costs are to Canada all of a sudden its not so great a deal.
I don't mind ordering online as long as I'm sure of what I need and what is being offered.

Piloon: how did you know I have a beutiful fir Steel clad door with Full glass panel sitting here? I picked it up(stole it) at a lumber yard garage sale for $20. No marks on it at all.
There wasn't any price on it so I kept asking different staff what they wanted for it. The first guy said $100, the next guy said they would take $50, when I found someone who said $20 I said SOLD! This is a $300 door for just the slab!

 

[sleepynightowl]

Hi i use all 3 a chop saw a sawzall and a porta-band they are Milwaukee brand i found out for using them for work if they hold up at work for you ,then i cant kill them at home. with the porta band go with the deep cut model .and the blades i use in the sawzall are lenox they are number one as far as im concerened .I did demo work and found out it pays to buy lenox brand. the porta band cuts great on thick metal, i just cut 3/4x3" flat bar for my loader adapter and also 3" square tube 1/4 thick with no problem hope this info works for you.Mark

 

[ray66v]

Thanks for all the feedback on this. Seems like this thread has taken on a life of it's own. I just wanted to get back to the first question though. I can see the advantage of having several different cutting tools to cover multiple jobs. The Chop saw I have is a Ryobi, I know it's not a Dewalt of Milwaukee but it does have a 15 amp motor and up until I started cutting thick stuff it worked fine. The blade is another question, mine is a grizzly ......34 grit I believe. It almost seems that after about 1/4" into the cut it just stops cutting..........almost like the metal is getting case hardened, it just sits there and sparks but not much else.........and if I push it it just pops the breaker. If I turn the piece several times....on round stock, it works better but it still takes too long to cut. My Sawzall is a Milwaukee and long long ago when I was in the heating and plumbing trade that saw practicaly became an extention of my arms, that's how much I used that saw. It's going on 30 years old now and............hold on, I'm scaring myself now.........I'll be Ok in a minute, too many years. Back to the subject, it does have it's draw backs on cutting things that I'm doing now. As some of you have said, the blades do dull fast even using milwaukee blades. So I fugured the chop saw would take care of all of the heavy stuff but not so. I'll try another brand of blades, there are Dewalt and Norton available around here.........any suggestions other than those?
On another point I think the portaband is a great Idea since I do work outside with this stuff it's easier to move around than a stationary horizontal saw ( I have plans for that as well but Harbor freight has them at $259.00 right now and I'll wait for the sale)
I was able to win an Ebay auction yesterday on a Porter Cable Portaband model 725. This is the older discontinued model but for $101.00 that's the right price. Time will tell how it works out here.
Thanks again for the feedback and keep it coming, I like all the ideas.
Scott

Ryobi makes good cheap tools. But, If your saw is stalling, and not maintaining rpms, It is being over taxed and not up to the job. It seems to cause the blade to load up and quit cutting, rather than abrading away as it is supposed too.

Cutting thick metal is where this will show. A couple of years ago, I went to HD to buy a Milwaukee metal chop saw, (known good saw), but came home with a Ridgid. It holds its speed, and cuts heavy thick metal very well. There is no comparison between this, and the Harbor Freight model I had.

The only thing that cuts faster than this saw, is a gasoline concrete saw with a metal blade.

 

[Lar1911]

Just wanted to throw out a question here. I have been wondering if there are any advantages to having a portable bandsaw in addition to a sawzall. Have been trying to cut some pretty thick 1 1/2" round stock on a 14" chop saw and it just does not work well, not to mention the sparks and overheating. It works fine for angle iron and such but anything bigger than 1/2" thick and it takes forever to cut. Then I resort back to the sawzall but have been reading about these portable units and wondered if they may be better at cutting this thick stuff. I have also pondered the thought of a horizontal bandsaw which I can imagine is more versatility but not as portable as the others. I work outside more than in when I'm working with steel so I have to lug whatever I'm using back and forth. Just like most of us time is in short supply and anything that can speed up the cutting part of the job is OK with me.

Thanks for any feedback, Scott

If you are cutting large amounts of heavy bar or where accurate cuts are important in a shop setting I would go with a larger coolant cooled type band saw. The porta band's small blade tends to dull fairly quickly and wander from what I have used. The same thing with a recipitating saw where you are only using about 5/8 more blade then the material thickness your cutting and dulls quickly to. Trying to use the end of the blade often ending with it bending or breaking. As far as which is better for bar I would go with the portaband. All I have used over the years were Milwaukee, they seemed tuff even though with the ruff field usage they endured most had ended up needing somewhat frequent repair.

 

[scottr5150]

I bought a power hack saw on an auction a while ago. It looks like a small stationary band saw but the blade reciprocates. Does anyone know where I could find blades for something like that?

thx

 

[J_J]

I bought a power hack saw on an auction a while ago. It looks like a small stationary band saw but the blade reciprocates. Does anyone know where I could find blades for something like that?

thx

I believe the motorized hack saw that I have is very much like the one you described. I have a bunch of blades for mine. Some I found at a flea market, some I purchased on Ebay. I believe that you can order them, maybe from Lenox. They are 1 in wide by about 14 in long.

http://www.airgas.com/browse/product.aspx?Msg=RecID&recIds=248117&WT.svl=248117

http://www.simondsinternational.com/productpages/powerhack.php?menu=mnuPHolesaws

http://www.technistoolsltd.com/carbon_power.htm

http://www.newmantools.com/eclipse/eclhack.htm

http://www.technistoolsltd.com/tec_ref.htm

 

[schmism]

which is better for what?

for cutting metal with small crossectional sizes, a portaband.

for doing demo work in construction, a sawzall.

in short, a sawzall will do everything a portaband will, perhaps with a little more effort on some things, but the flip side is far from true. a portaband cant come close to doing all the things a sawzall can do.

in a perfect world id have a sawzall and stationary horizontal band saw and leave the portaband out of it.

 

[gizmo]

I have a Sawzall and a Porta Band with a stand. For cutting steel I always use the Porta Band. It quicker, cleaner, quieter, and safer than either a cutoff or a Sawzall. But I guess in some cases a quality cuttoff is quicker.

 

[J_J]

I have a Sawzall and a Porta Band with a stand. For cutting steel I always use the Porta Band. It quicker, cleaner, quieter, and safer than either a cutoff or a Sawzall. But I guess in some cases a quality cuttoff is quicker.

A carbide metal cutting saw will give a nice clean cut, almost looks polished. I believe that most of the manufactures are producing the saws in a 14 in and an 8 in version. The 14 in blade will cut through 4 in steel. The saws are expensive. I have the Dewalt saw with 14 in blade. I haven't used my other chop saw in a couple of years. The smaller version will cut sheet metal and rebar, and thin stock steel. The rpm on the metal cutting saws is around 1300 rpm, and puts out very little sparks. If you put this blade on one of the regular chop saws, you will ruin it and waste your money.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Evolution-Rapto...14&_trkparms=72:1205|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318