Band saw for basic fab work - this one?

[Oldoak]

I have a bandsaw pretty much identical to the OP's question. Bought it back in the '70s and cut literally thousands of cuts with it, and it still purrs along. Being Twain made, one much be sure to fill the grease/oil supply every few years. Blades are available everywhere. And yes, I can vouch that it will indeed cut railroad track. ...made a lot of anvils from track.

Accuracy is no better than the care given to setup. In my opinion also, I think it's lightyears ahead of chopsaws. Perhaps not a fast, but much cleaner cut.

Bottom line, buy it. You'll use it more than you think.

I too own a similar saw and almost as old. Paid under two hundred for it back then. And I agree with your assessment of the saw although I never cut a railroad track with it.

Good saw for what it is and what it cost. And can make accurate cuts with a little tweaking and repeat square or mitered cuts once set. Replacement blades are readily available as well as different quality blades and various teeth per inch counts.

Much better saws out there? You bet! But at a much greater cost.

 

[BigBlue1]

Tried to look at both the Klutch (at Northern Tool) and the Harbor Freight band saws today. NT did not have the 4x6 Klutch on display. But the bigger ($879) Klutch model looked really solid and good quality. The 4x6 unit at HF looked awful. Tiny in comparison to the next step up model (the HF equiv of the $879 Klutch) and the metal casting looked like a 4 year old blind kid did it. No offense to blind kids. Even at almost $100 savings I could not buy it. I'll try to see the Klutch 4x6 in person or maybe check out the Grizzly. I understand they are all the same basic saw but I think there are enough differences in fit & finish to mean something.

Also looked at the Ironton dry saw at NT. The NT sales guy that helped me find it pointed out nicely to me that while Klutch is their 'beginning of pro model tools', Ironton is 'throwaway stuff'. He cautioned me that if you need to use it more than a few times expect to have problems. Surprised at the forward honesty there, but happy to have it.

I guess with all of these, as with most things in life, you get what you pay for. Sometimes the bargain one is worth it and sometimes it isn't. My search continues...

Thanks,
Rob

 

[Norm W]

I got a Buffalo Forge saw that was trashed. Cost? Free, cart it away. The blade guides were broken and the input shaft was broken at the bearing. I welded up the guides and made a new shaft. That was 20 years ago. The biggest problem is getting the guides set correctly. If they are off, the cuts will not be straight and blades won't last. It has cut the materials for three trailers and a truck flat bed, as well as other odds and end projects.

 

[Xfaxman]

I have an Alfra dry cut that I bought at a local welding supply store and an old Dayton H/V Bandsaw at an auction many years ago.

Would not want to give up either one.

 

[Raspy]

I was trying to make the same decision and looked and looked at the smaller band saws. Just couldn't quite buy any of them. Always something like cheap legs, poor build quality, or something. Finally, I got the bigger liquid cooled HF model on sale for under 800 bux. It has been wonderful! No repairs or modifications needed. Very accurate. Heavy and solid stand. Large capacity for bigger diameter pieces. Larger, more powerful motor.

I built a roller stand to hold the other end of long pieces out of a jack stand. The blades last a long time with liquid cooling and the soluble oil is not a problem for cleaning up the pieces for welding. It also has the hydraulic feed.

Just watch for the sale and get a coupon. Well worth the approximately $780. It may stretch your budget, but you'll have it for a long time and it will not frustrate you.

I also have a portable band saw that I bought about 30 years ago. They are extremely useful for smaller work, but only get a good one, like a Milwaukee, with a cord. Mine happens to be a Skill and I have literally made hundreds of cuts over 30 years. It just keeps going.

 

[TractorGuy]

I have one of the cheap ones like sold at HF. I bought it from Homier many years ago when they roamed from city to city doing tent sales. I had to do a fair amount of work on mine to get it to perform decent. I can't remember how much use I got out of it before the spur gear in the gearbox failed. thing is still in the way in my garage so I ought to fix it or throw it out. Mine had a brass spur gear driving a steel gear. The teeth came off the brass gear. Seems like the gear case was filled with grease and I added some gear oil to make it more fluid. Might be why mine failed.

Despite the fact that mine failed it was worth what I paid for it. I cut all the end runs on the flooring in my house with it. Saved a lot of trouble and mess. The slow moving band saw made much less dust than a miter or radial saw would have.

 

[sdef]

I been using a harbor freight metal cutting circular saw. Cant find them listed on the sit anymore but here is something similar:
Evolution EVOSAW18HD 7-1/4-Inch Steel Cutting Circular Saw - Metal Cutting Saw - Amazon.com
I been cutting 1/4" C channel, a 1/2" I beam (the top web), and tons of plate and angle iron and it works great and is SUPER quick!

I have the chop saw version and have had terrible luck with the blades destroying teeth simply cutting 1/8" angle. Have gone through two blades cutting not too many pieces of angle and refuse to purchase another blade. I have much better luck with a Porter Cable abrasive chop saw and an Eastwood 60 amp plasma cutter. A friend and his friend used my Evolution chop saw and did not like it.

Shop Evolution 15-Amp 7.25-in Chop Saw at Lowes.com

I have never had a metal cutting saw. But from all of these posts, it looks like I will be getting one after the new shop is built.

BTW: Northern Tool is one of my go-to places for tools and fortunately have one local. Their customer service has been outstanding, along with most products I have purchased.

 

[shadetree]

Keep your eye on CL. You can find the 4 x 6 HF saws for around $100. You will either get one that is very lightly used or one that has all the bugs worked out. The older HF (Green made in Taiwan) seems to be a little better quality than the newer HF (Red made in China). A little angle iron and 4 of HF <$5 10 inch wheels bring it up to usable height and easy to move.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I just sold on CL a 7 x 12 MSC saw for $370 that had a new Starrett blade. the guy got a good deal.

 

[cdrill]

I bought a 15" Evolution dry cut saw from discountsteel.com for $365 with free shipping. Last week I cut a bunch of 3x3x1/4 square tubing with it, just like cutting a 4x4 with my miter saw. A buddy of mine uses one in his welding shop all the time he recommended it to me and I bought the same saw he has. If you don't want to spend that much they make a 14" saw I found on amazon for $190. My buddy cuts angle, channel, tubing, and flat stock all the time.

MK Morse has a great youtube video on how to use it.