Portable Band Saw Review

[3RRL]

Larry,
It says that right in the instructions to store it that way with the blade loose, but guess what...I forgot to loosen it.
Thanks for reminding me.

Yea, for the price, man...it's pretty darn good. As little as I will need to use it, I figure it'll be there for my emergency cuts at camp for a long time.

 

[CATMAN]

Great review; I,too, almost bought one of those on sale a while back. I will now wait for it to come on sale again and hope I have a 15% off coupon at that time. I didn't know about the "loose blade" storage issue. That's good to know. Thanks guys.

 

[stumpfield]

Rob, Great review. I'm going to have to run over to the HF store to get one. Now...open that chain saw chain sharpener and start using it. I have one and I used it to sharpen all my chains that I would have thrown away before I bought this sharpener. Great tool for the price!

 

[3RRL]

Rob, Great review. I'm going to have to run over to the HF store to get one. Now...open that chain saw chain sharpener and start using it. I have one and I used it to sharpen all my chains that I would have thrown away before I bought this sharpener. Great tool for the price!

Hahaha, yeah I've been hand sharpening the chains all this time! I just give them a lick for the little sawing I've done.
Too lazy to bust it out, but I will. Pretty soon I'm gonna round up all the downed Oaks and buck them for firewood, so I'm sure I'll be sharpening a lot of chains.

 

[erj]

I bought one of the Harbor Freight portable bandsaws that Rob started this thread with some time ago. Only recently have I started really using it and I wonder whether any of you have had a similar problem with yours. As you can see from the picture, the blade jumps off the right wheel and cuts into the bottom base. This happened 3 times yesterday. I took the bottom base off, reset the blade. It would cut for a couple of minutes then jump off again.
The manual leaves much to be desired as expected. I am not aware of any adjustment for the blade run. There is also a 6mm allen wrench that came with it which I can find no use for. The only 6mm bolts are for the front handle that I could find.
Anyone got any thoughts on what I might do?
RonJ

 

[SPYDERLK]

If you bought it at a store take your brand new looking saw back and see if they will exchange it then try out the new one immediately. Ifthey wont exchange, take the bottom covers off on yours. I dont think there is an adjustment for wheel tilt, but you may see something that is just a little off that you can fix. Have you been storing it with the blade loosened?
larry

 

[3RRL]

Ron,
Yeah, like Larry says, take it back and they should exchange it for a new one once you show them what it does. You may still need to make some kind of adjustment like I did with the roller guides. That was the big drawback in the saw review. There is now adjustment built into it, so you will have to get clever with how to make it work. Once the blade is set correctly, you will be pleased as to how it cuts though ... I was.

Since the start of this thread 2 years ago, I have since cracked one of the plastic drive wheels that carries the blade. It still works but I need to replace one of those wheels. I think there is a parts list for the wheel?

 

[erj]

Larry,
Yes, I have been storing it loosened.
Rob,
The drive wheel under the trigger side is 41d Rubber Ring Gear, Motor
The one under the front handle is 41c Rubber Ring Gear, Drive
RonJ

 

[svejkovat]

I arrived here from a google search on reviews for this portable band saw.
For as much as I'd use it, your reviews of the HF saw sound pretty promising. I'm impressed that you've reported at least a couple of years use without meltdown.

My question concerns discounts. HF seems to run this stuff fast and loose and it seems, from dozens of comments in a number of forums, that it almost depends on the day you go or the person at the register. Here is a page capture online of an ad from the back page of Car and Driver. Here you go...

http://a2.slickdeals.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=227893&d=1246481390

These coupons are good for 20 percent off of any single item through November of 2009. BUT It says right in the fine print that cannot be used with any other sale or discount. Yet many customers, even some in this thread, report that they used discount coupons in addition to the sale price in the store.

The fine print also states that the coupon may not be duplicated in any manner including photocopies or computer printouts. But I have used a laser printout from the page link above twice now with no questions asked.

Has anyone out there ever been refused discounts according to the literal rules in the fine print? I get the feeling sometimes that the employees just want to get the most product in the back and then out the front again in the shortest time possible. D@mn the profit, full speed ahead! Like that perky gal in the Geico commercials. "20 percent off sale price? Sure! Another 15 percent for being a municipal employee? OK! You're military vet? Fantastic! Another 10 percent! Active duty you say? Take another 20 percent! Did you know it's Tuesday? That's 30 percent more on everything! What's this... you've got a Car and Driver 20 percent coupon? Wow, looks like we owe you 15 percent of the original purchase price. Congratulations! .... (she interrupts for a sec to bend into the intercom) ... Uh, Bob, can I get another register open here, I've got a line!"

Incidentally, I was in the dentist's office last week and managed to get four of the coupons out of the back of various past issues of car/driver, popular mechanics, etc. I wouldn't recommend this at Barnes and Noble, but I figure dog-eared doctor's office copies are fair game.

 

[3RRL]

svejkovat,
What a great first post and welcome to TBN!
I've had great luck with the 20 percent coupons. My local store honors a computer print out without questions.
The saw is still working fine for me and I still haven't replaced the cracked plastic wheel.