On May 7, 10:39*am, Jim Chandler wrote:
stryped wrote:
We had a local store open up and they have the metal cutting band saw
for 150 bucks or so. I bought one of these cheap bandsaws at TSC
several years ago and went through two of them before I finally
returned them and bought a chop saw. The problem was the blade cutting
3 inch square tubing crooked.

Should I try it again or not?

I've had one of these saws for several years now and for $150 it's a
good bargain. *In the vertical position you can cut sheet, something
that a chop saw can't do.

Jim

I never thought of that. how thick? I am wanting to make some triangle
gussets out of 3/16. Could I use it for that?

stryped wrote:
On May 7, 10:39 am, Jim Chandler wrote:

stryped wrote:

We had a local store open up and they have the metal cutting band saw
for 150 bucks or so. I bought one of these cheap bandsaws at TSC
several years ago and went through two of them before I finally
returned them and bought a chop saw. The problem was the blade cutting
3 inch square tubing crooked.

Should I try it again or not?

I've had one of these saws for several years now and for $150 it's a
good bargain. In the vertical position you can cut sheet, something
that a chop saw can't do.

Jim


I never thought of that. how thick? I am wanting to make some triangle
gussets out of 3/16. Could I use it for that?

If you're talking about this sort of thing
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cbs45md-41-2in-x-6in-metal-cutting-ban/path/power-hacksaws-bandsaws-metal-cutting-saws
,which I have had one of for maybe 10 years now, I have cut 2" aluminium
plate and 1" bronze plate with it without problem. Use a good blade, I
usually use Lenox which is what J&L stock in the UK in the size
required. Main thing to bear in mind is the limited throat with the
frame being behind and to the left of the blade, many times I have had
to think through the operations to get the cuts completely through the
part, where a dedicated vertical with deeper throat wouldn't have had a
problem.

stryped wrote:

On May 7, 10:39 am, Jim Chandler wrote:

stryped wrote:

We had a local store open up and they have the metal cutting band saw
for 150 bucks or so. I bought one of these cheap bandsaws at TSC
several years ago and went through two of them before I finally
returned them and bought a chop saw. The problem was the blade cutting
3 inch square tubing crooked.

Should I try it again or not?

I've had one of these saws for several years now and for $150 it's a
good bargain. In the vertical position you can cut sheet, something
that a chop saw can't do.

Jim


I never thought of that. how thick? I am wanting to make some triangle
gussets out of 3/16. Could I use it for that?


I don't see why not. Just set the band speed for slow (belt pulleys)
and take it easy. I found that you can sit on the bed when the thing is
vertical. Puts you down at the level of the work and makes it a lot
more comfortable. Just down forget to put the lock pin in, that is
unless you relish the idea of a face full of bandsaw. It is limited to
the width it can cut in vertical because of the saw frame but I haven't
really found that to be a problem.

Jim

David Billington wrote:

stryped wrote:

On May 7, 10:39 am, Jim Chandler wrote:


stryped wrote:


We had a local store open up and they have the metal cutting band saw
for 150 bucks or so. I bought one of these cheap bandsaws at TSC
several years ago and went through two of them before I finally
returned them and bought a chop saw. The problem was the blade cutting
3 inch square tubing crooked.
Should I try it again or not?


I've had one of these saws for several years now and for $150 it's a
good bargain. In the vertical position you can cut sheet, something
that a chop saw can't do.

Jim



I never thought of that. how thick? I am wanting to make some triangle
gussets out of 3/16. Could I use it for that?


If you're talking about this sort of thing
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cbs45md-41-2in-x-6in-metal-cutting-ban/path/power-hacksaws-bandsaws-metal-cutting-saws
,which I have had one of for maybe 10 years now, I have cut 2" aluminium
plate and 1" bronze plate with it without problem. Use a good blade, I
usually use Lenox which is what J&L stock in the UK in the size
required. Main thing to bear in mind is the limited throat with the
frame being behind and to the left of the blade, many times I have had
to think through the operations to get the cuts completely through the
part, where a dedicated vertical with deeper throat wouldn't have had a
problem.



Nah, it's not the same. Harbor Freight's has RED paint. :-)
(It's identical except the paint)

Jim

I don't see the original post to respond to, but I'll add this 4x6 bandsaw
link to the discussion for anyone that's interested in purchasing one of
these very versatile little saws.

http://www.kwagmire.com/shop/saw/4x6saw.html

Some adjustments and modifications are almost mandatory to improve the
performance of these saws to the point where they will cut fairly straight
every time, regardless of the stock thickness or shape.

I don't encounter wildly crooked cuts because the saw was disassembled and
set true as it was reassembled (replacing inferior hardware and making some
adjustments during reassembly).

In the horizontal cutting mode, a 4" downward cut varies less than one blade
kerf from the scribed line for the cut.
So, cutting 2" square tubing results in fairly close to perfect (TLAR) cuts
and fit-ups for welding.

WB
..........
metalworking projects
www.kwagmire.com/metal_proj.html


On May 7, 10:39 am, Jim Chandler wrote:
stryped wrote:
We had a local store open up and they have the metal cutting band saw
for 150 bucks or so. I bought one of these cheap bandsaws at TSC
several years ago and went through two of them before I finally
returned them and bought a chop saw. The problem was the blade cutting
3 inch square tubing crooked.

Should I try it again or not?

I've had one of these saws for several years now and for $150 it's a
good bargain. In the vertical position you can cut sheet, something
that a chop saw can't do.

Jim

Keywords:
In article , "Wild_Bill" wrote:
I don't see the original post to respond to, but I'll add this 4x6 bandsaw
link to the discussion for anyone that's interested in purchasing one of
these very versatile little saws.

http://www.kwagmire.com/shop/saw/4x6saw.html

Some adjustments and modifications are almost mandatory to improve the
performance of these saws to the point where they will cut fairly straight
every time, regardless of the stock thickness or shape.

I don't encounter wildly crooked cuts because the saw was disassembled and
set true as it was reassembled (replacing inferior hardware and making some
adjustments during reassembly).

In the horizontal cutting mode, a 4" downward cut varies less than one blade
kerf from the scribed line for the cut.
So, cutting 2" square tubing results in fairly close to perfect (TLAR) cuts
and fit-ups for welding.

I bought the Jet version with a USA motor. Lots of folks ahve reported
that the import motors are shot lived.

I ditched the flimsy sheet metal stand, and built a frame with casters so
I can wheel it under a bench for storage. The frame I made & the frame
of the saw aren't sufficiently rigid to guarantee a perfectly straight
cut, depending on how uneven the floor is & where I park it, but it
still works pretty well.

First thing you want to do with any of these is to open up the gear box
and clean out the teaspoon of casting sand they leave in, presumably so
you have to buy a new one sooner.

One thing that helped mine enormously was to install a Fenner link belt.
It ran LOT smoother. Just be careful with the length & make sure the
cover clears the pulley & belt at all three speed settings. I set mine
up at one end of the range & melted the cover when I changed speeds where
it was just touching the belt.

Doug White

On May 12, 7:03*pm, (Doug White) wrote:
Keywords:
In article , "Wild_Bill" wrote:





I don't see the original post to respond to, but I'll add this 4x6 bandsaw
link to the discussion for anyone that's interested in purchasing one of
these very versatile little saws.

http://www.kwagmire.com/shop/saw/4x6saw.html

Some adjustments and modifications are almost mandatory to improve the
performance of these saws to the point where they will cut fairly straight
every time, regardless of the stock thickness or shape.

I don't encounter wildly crooked cuts because the saw was disassembled and
set true as it was reassembled (replacing inferior hardware and making some
adjustments during reassembly).

In the horizontal cutting mode, a 4" downward cut varies less than one blade
kerf from the scribed line for the cut.
So, cutting 2" square tubing results in fairly close to perfect (TLAR) cuts
and fit-ups for welding.

I bought the Jet version with a USA motor. *Lots of folks ahve reported
that the import motors are shot lived.

I ditched the flimsy sheet metal stand, and built a frame with casters so
I can wheel it under a bench for storage. *The frame I made & the frame
of the saw aren't sufficiently rigid to guarantee a perfectly straight
cut, depending on how uneven the floor is & where I park it, but it
still works pretty well.

First thing you want to do with any of these is to open up the gear box
and clean out the teaspoon of casting sand they leave in, presumably so
you have to buy a new one sooner.

One thing that helped mine enormously was to install a Fenner link belt. *
It ran LOT smoother. *Just be careful with the length & make sure the
cover clears the pulley & belt at all three speed settings. *I set mine
up at one end of the range & melted the cover when I changed speeds where
it was just touching the belt.

Doug White- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I guess I lucked out with mine, gear box was clean as a whistle, the
old lube was as stinky as the new 90 gear oil I stuck in there, worm
and gear looked good after a bunch of chrome-moly tubing went through
it. I stuck a magnetron magnet on the cover to suck up any particles
of gear that might float around and also act as a wrench holder for
adjusting the "vise". The link belt is a good idea, I just got one
from the hardware store, think it was a Goodyear. No lumps, anyway.

Stan

wrote:
On May 12, 7:03 pm, (Doug White) wrote:

Keywords:
In article , "Wild_Bill" wrote:






I don't see the original post to respond to, but I'll add this 4x6 bandsaw
link to the discussion for anyone that's interested in purchasing one of
these very versatile little saws.

http://www.kwagmire.com/shop/saw/4x6saw.html

Some adjustments and modifications are almost mandatory to improve the
performance of these saws to the point where they will cut fairly straight
every time, regardless of the stock thickness or shape.

I don't encounter wildly crooked cuts because the saw was disassembled and
set true as it was reassembled (replacing inferior hardware and making some
adjustments during reassembly).

In the horizontal cutting mode, a 4" downward cut varies less than one blade
kerf from the scribed line for the cut.
So, cutting 2" square tubing results in fairly close to perfect (TLAR) cuts
and fit-ups for welding.

I bought the Jet version with a USA motor. Lots of folks ahve reported
that the import motors are shot lived.

I ditched the flimsy sheet metal stand, and built a frame with casters so
I can wheel it under a bench for storage. The frame I made & the frame
of the saw aren't sufficiently rigid to guarantee a perfectly straight
cut, depending on how uneven the floor is & where I park it, but it
still works pretty well.

First thing you want to do with any of these is to open up the gear box
and clean out the teaspoon of casting sand they leave in, presumably so
you have to buy a new one sooner.

One thing that helped mine enormously was to install a Fenner link belt.
It ran LOT smoother. Just be careful with the length & make sure the
cover clears the pulley & belt at all three speed settings. I set mine
up at one end of the range & melted the cover when I changed speeds where
it was just touching the belt.

Doug White- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


I guess I lucked out with mine, gear box was clean as a whistle, the
old lube was as stinky as the new 90 gear oil I stuck in there, worm
and gear looked good after a bunch of chrome-moly tubing went through
it. I stuck a magnetron magnet on the cover to suck up any particles
of gear that might float around and also act as a wrench holder for
adjusting the "vise". The link belt is a good idea, I just got one
from the hardware store, think it was a Goodyear. No lumps, anyway.

Stan

I found that with my machinemart version the gear wheel that the worm
meshes with eventually went as the worm had sharp edges and slowly cut
the gear wheel away over years of use, also the shaft had slipped
slightly to the mesh was tight. Luckily the parts were available and
cheap so a strip down, clean, bearing replacement, and adjusting of
meshes and all being well it shouldn't give me any more problems with
the gear drive for another 8 years or so use. One of the ball bearings I
pulled had an inner race that was 0.004" over what it should have been
for the bearing designation.