>>>ABRASIVE CUT-OFF or BAND-SAW ??<<<

[powerstroke444e]

I have a milwaukee portable bandsaw and would not trade it for anything. I have had it for several yrs. We have @ the farm and one in my shop. I have used for everything from pvc pipe to cutting steel for my shed no sparks, and easy to use. I think they still make a 18v one also. The local tool dealer has blades that are 100% better than one you buy in the stores. The portable bandsaw & plasma are my 2 favorite purchases. Both run on 110v and can be used with my generator.

 

[GE222]

I currently own a Kalamazoo horizontal band saw and a Milwaukee portable band saw. I couldn't live without the large K-band saw as I often cut thicker steel items. I am sure that I would get a more accurate cut as well versus a chop saw.

I have never had a chop saw but have used one from time to time. They have their place, such as cutting hardened steel, but they are very noisy an make a real mess.

 

[Steve C]

Hey guys... Been following this with great interest as I need some new tools for christmas (Oh thank you Santa!)

That said, What is the realistic sizes I can expect to cut with a 14" Chop and / or a portaband

I see that there are physical limits (I am assuming 6" or so on either) but I wondered what peoples results are .. Thanks for those of you who have thrown in what they have been able to cut....

Let me add one dumb questions. Can I geta 14" abrasive shop saw and put on a Lennox metal cutting saw blade on it?

You can cut some pretty large stuff with a chop saw. It holds a straight line well enough that you can cut things like 6x6 or 8x8 tube steel or large angle iron one side at a time and just rotate it to complete the cut. With my cheap bandsaw unless the blade is brand new it wants to pull to one side of the cut and continues to get worse as the blade wears. This makes it impossible to jut one side at a time because the ends of the cuts won,t match up. The large oil cooled industrial models are much better and are a dream to use but I think the cost is a little higher than most home shop budgets can support.

Our local steel supplier cuts all his smaller steel with a chop saw. The largest I have bought from him is 4x4x3/8 tube steel. It is very loud and very messy but very fast.

 

[BearKiller]

THANKS FOR THE MANY RESPONSES !!!


I note that in many replies about the stationary band-saws that people are experiencing less than accurate cuts.

Such was also the case with my old saw for a good many years.

I finally took the time to address the situation, spent nearly half a hard day making adjustments and test cuts; and, >>>NOW<<<, my band-saw cuts perfectly square in both planes in the largest material it can hold/cut.

There are three (?? or more ??) "cam-shaped" "eccentrics" that make the many adjustments necessary to bring the saw into tune.

Extreme patience and many many test cuts finally rewarded me with straight/square cuts that rival those acheivable in the wood-working field.


When I posted this thread, I had completely forgotten about the portable band-saws.

I have never been any closer to one than pictures in catalogs and didn't really know what their intended use was.

Thanks again for all the information.

 

[Steve C]

THANKS FOR THE MANY RESPONSES !!!


I note that in many replies about the stationary band-saws that people are experiencing less than accurate cuts.

Such was also the case with my old saw for a good many years.

I finally took the time to address the situation, spent nearly half a hard day making adjustments and test cuts; and, >>>NOW<<<, my band-saw cuts perfectly square in both planes in the largest material it can hold/cut.

There are three (?? or more ??) "cam-shaped" "eccentrics" that make the many adjustments necessary to bring the saw into tune.

Extreme patience and many many test cuts finally rewarded me with straight/square cuts that rival those acheivable in the wood-working field.


When I posted this thread, I had completely forgotten about the portable band-saws.

I have never been any closer to one than pictures in catalogs and didn't really know what their intended use was.

Thanks again for all the information.

Good work! I hope it stays in tune. I gave up fighting with mine years ago. I would get it to cut good for a while and the next time I needed it to work well it wouldn't.

I would just eyeball the amount of correction needed and clamp the material in the vise crooked to compensate, and grind as needed. I started building most things with non critical overlapping joints rather than percision butt joints.

Perhaps I should have purchased some premium blades for it

My neighbor has been running a wood cuttting bandsaw sawmill professionaly for 20 years. He claims that the blade going out of tune is the nature of the beast. When he has them sharpened they run them through rollers to stretch one edge of the blade to help compensate for the run out. I don't know if this applies to metal cutting saws or not. His blades cost him around $70 each. He has told me that he can buy blades for half that price but even at that the cheap blades but they are not worth it. They just won't cut straight. I have taken his blades to his sharpening service in lots of 40 and 50.

He has a couple of bucks wrapped up in his equipment.

 

[mjncad]

That's the key to any bandsaw Bearkiller...patience to tune them up properly. It took me the better part of a day to tune both of mine up; but the results are well worth it. I'm also using Starrett blades, which are better than the cheapies that came with each one.

 

[cleatus]

When cutting 1" to 6" x up to 8" wide solid, I use my 25yr old import band saw and get straight cuts one heck of a lot faster than any chop saw. Besides one blade is still going when finished with 20 plus cuts as compared to several dozen cut off wheels.

 

[J_J]

Hey guys... Been following this with great interest as I need some new tools for christmas (Oh thank you Santa!)

That said, What is the realistic sizes I can expect to cut with a 14" Chop and / or a portaband

I see that there are physical limits (I am assuming 6" or so on either) but I wondered what peoples results are .. Thanks for those of you who have thrown in what they have been able to cut....

Let me add one dumb questions. Can I geta 14" abrasive shop saw and put on a Lennox metal cutting saw blade on it?

Carl,

NO, to the last question.

The rpm of the cold cut saws are about 1/2 speed of the abrasive chop saws. I think you would ruin the blade. However there are electronic speed controller that will reduce the speed as long it has the current carrying ability. I believe they use a silicon control rectifier to only use part of the sine wave, and therefore the slower rpm.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

When cutting 1" to 6" x up to 8" wide solid, I use my 25yr old import band saw and get straight cuts one heck of a lot faster than any chop saw. Besides one blade is still going when finished with 20 plus cuts as compared to several dozen cut off wheels.

You should clarify that when you say chop saw, you mean abrasive chop saw. That is what you mean isn't it?

 

[dex3361]

Carl,

NO, to the last question.

The rpm of the cold cut saws are about 1/2 speed of the abrasive chop saws. I think you would ruin the blade. However there are electronic speed controller that will reduce the speed as long it has the current carrying ability. I believe they use a silicon control rectifier to only use part of the sine wave, and therefore the slower rpm.

I picked up a router speed controller from HF to experiment with whether it would do the job with a metal cutting lenox or other blade. I will use a tach to adjust the speed and then check it. Any thoughts would be appreciated.