SteveB wrote:
What electric hack saw would you buy and why? Is the HF variety okay, and
will they last a reasonable amount of time, or should I spring for more
money, and get a better one? Sources? Northern Tools? What do I look for
in a good saw?

What blades do I use for cutting .065-.120 tubing, and stock up to 1/2"?
Sources? TPI? Probably the biggest thing I would cut is 3 x 3 x .120

And when fixing blades, what is the procedure? Worth the time, or just take
them to a shop? What equipment is needed to repair blades?

TIA

Steve


First, I'm glad to see there's someone besides me who occasionally
screws up and reposts twice, for a grand total of three.

That said, I've had one of those chinese cheepy electric hack saws for
about a year, and it's been a "just mahvalous" addition to my home shop.
It whizzes right through jobs in seconds, the ones which used to have me
pumping away with a hand hacksaw for what seemed like ten minutes, but
was probably more like theee. I still use the hand one for "delicate"
stuff though, as I can control it better than I can the massy power hacksaw.

If I had to use one daily in a professional capacity I'd probably have
sprung for a Milwaukee, but for the once every other week I'm using
mine, It'll brobably last me the rest of my life. 'Course at my age I
don't even buy green bananas anymore. G

As far as blades go, the rule of thumb I was taught was to have a
minimum of three teeeth in the width of the stock you are cutting. For
the stuff you mentioned an 18 tpi blade should work pretty well.

I bought (on eBay) a few genuwine Milwaukee blades for mine, the
"bimetal" type, but so far I haven't had a chance to try one as the
chinese blade which came on the machine is still going strong.

Blades are cheap enough so it really isn't worth even thinking about
fixing them or making your own. If you break enough blades to make that
a problem, you're probably doing something wrong. You could buy an awful
lot of blades for what a decent butt welding rig would cost you, and
from what I hear, silver soldering isn't the best process for blades
which take as much twist as those portable saws put into them.

So, If you can't find a good used Milwaukee at a price you like, go for
the HF one. I noticed they were in a flyer this week for less that $60 even!

Good luck,

Jeff


--

Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"If you can smile when things are going wrong, you've thought of someone
to blame it on."