Can I get recommendations on the best way to cut 1/8 to 1/4 inche thick
slices off of materials like wood and soft metal that are up to 4
inches in diameter?

I'm thinking of getting the smallest bandsaw that would accomodate
these sizes,but I don't know much about how accurately I can do this.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

On Sun, 05 Nov 2006 05:06:17 -0800, Searcher7 wrote:

Can I get recommendations on the best way to cut 1/8 to 1/4 inche thick
slices off of materials like wood and soft metal that are up to 4 inches
in diameter?

I'm thinking of getting the smallest bandsaw that would accomodate these
sizes,but I don't know much about how accurately I can do this.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

The term "soft metal" is pretty vague. Are you contemplating brass,
copper, aluminum, low-carbon steels?

Whatever metal is involved in this arrangement will determine your minimum
bandsaw equirements. And yes, the other posters are correct ...if you are
going to cut any appreciable quantity of this material you definitely want
a horizontal bandsaw with recirculating coolant. The coolant also acts as
a lubricant, reducing the load on the blade, bearings and motor and
extending the life of the unit as a whole while increasing the speed of
the actual cut. For cutting thick metals, you need a STOUT blade and high
blade tensions on a VERY rigid saw or you are just going to make nested
saucers, not disks.

DoAll makes nice saws ... but they are industrial in nature, built like a
tank and priced like one, too.

Bill

Thanks everyone.

I can see that I'm going to have to worry about cutting metals with a
bandsaw another time. I'll obviously have to outsource that work.
Recirculating coolant is definitely not an option. And I need something
with the smallest possible foot print anyway.

The immediate project will involve cutting 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
"plates" off of Delrin cylinders that are 4 inches in diameter, so I
was hoping that perhaps I could get away with a 4 X 6.

Any specific recommendations?

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
************************************************** ************************************************** ******
Bill wrote:
On Sun, 05 Nov 2006 05:06:17 -0800, Searcher7 wrote:

Can I get recommendations on the best way to cut 1/8 to 1/4 inche thick
slices off of materials like wood and soft metal that are up to 4 inches
in diameter?

I'm thinking of getting the smallest bandsaw that would accomodate these
sizes,but I don't know much about how accurately I can do this.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

The term "soft metal" is pretty vague. Are you contemplating brass,
copper, aluminum, low-carbon steels?

Whatever metal is involved in this arrangement will determine your minimum
bandsaw equirements. And yes, the other posters are correct ...if you are
going to cut any appreciable quantity of this material you definitely want
a horizontal bandsaw with recirculating coolant. The coolant also acts as
a lubricant, reducing the load on the blade, bearings and motor and
extending the life of the unit as a whole while increasing the speed of
the actual cut. For cutting thick metals, you need a STOUT blade and high
blade tensions on a VERY rigid saw or you are just going to make nested
saucers, not disks.

DoAll makes nice saws ... but they are industrial in nature, built like a
tank and priced like one, too.

Bill

wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks everyone.

I can see that I'm going to have to worry about cutting metals with a
bandsaw another time. I'll obviously have to outsource that work.
Recirculating coolant is definitely not an option. And I need something
with the smallest possible foot print anyway.

The immediate project will involve cutting 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
"plates" off of Delrin cylinders that are 4 inches in diameter, so I
was hoping that perhaps I could get away with a 4 X 6.

A 4x6 bandsaw will cut that just fine. Use a coarse blade -- 10-12tpi.

With any such "first cut" material, you'll have to true up these disks on
the lathe or mill afterwards.

LLoyd

Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks everyone.

I can see that I'm going to have to worry about cutting metals with a
bandsaw another time. I'll obviously have to outsource that work.
Recirculating coolant is definitely not an option. And I need something
with the smallest possible foot print anyway.

The immediate project will involve cutting 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
"plates" off of Delrin cylinders that are 4 inches in diameter, so I
was hoping that perhaps I could get away with a 4 X 6.

A 4x6 bandsaw will cut that just fine. Use a coarse blade -- 10-12tpi.

With any such "first cut" material, you'll have to true up these disks on
the lathe or mill afterwards.

Some that take the time to tune the blade angle are reporting very
accurate sectional dimensions from consecutive slices of such material.

I have seen people report .001" over a 2" round

Rex B wrote:
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks everyone.

I can see that I'm going to have to worry about cutting metals with a
bandsaw another time. I'll obviously have to outsource that work.
Recirculating coolant is definitely not an option. And I need something
with the smallest possible foot print anyway.

The immediate project will involve cutting 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
"plates" off of Delrin cylinders that are 4 inches in diameter, so I
was hoping that perhaps I could get away with a 4 X 6.

A 4x6 bandsaw will cut that just fine. Use a coarse blade -- 10-12tpi.

With any such "first cut" material, you'll have to true up these disks on
the lathe or mill afterwards.

Some that take the time to tune the blade angle are reporting very
accurate sectional dimensions from consecutive slices of such material.

I have seen people report .001" over a 2" round

I'm still in the learning process concerning how to tune my
mini-lathe(and mini-mill), but I guess tuning the blace angle on a
bandsaw is much easier.

Though, that kind of accuracy is not a necessity. I would want
dimensional consistency determined by the human eye.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Searcher7 wrote:
Rex B wrote:
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks everyone.

I can see that I'm going to have to worry about cutting metals with a
bandsaw another time. I'll obviously have to outsource that work.
Recirculating coolant is definitely not an option. And I need something
with the smallest possible foot print anyway.

The immediate project will involve cutting 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
"plates" off of Delrin cylinders that are 4 inches in diameter, so I
was hoping that perhaps I could get away with a 4 X 6.

A 4x6 bandsaw will cut that just fine. Use a coarse blade -- 10-12tpi.

With any such "first cut" material, you'll have to true up these disks on
the lathe or mill afterwards.

Some that take the time to tune the blade angle are reporting very
accurate sectional dimensions from consecutive slices of such material.

I have seen people report .001" over a 2" round

I'm still in the learning process concerning how to tune my
mini-lathe(and mini-mill), but I guess tuning the blace angle on a
bandsaw is much easier.

Though, that kind of accuracy is not a necessity. I would want
dimensional consistency determined by the human eye.


I can't seem to find a 4 X 6 at Harbor Frieght.

I do have an opportunity to get a used 12" 1.1/8 HP Craftsman 2-Speed
Band Saw for $100.

Any reasons to stay away from this?

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Searcher7 wrote:
....
I do have an opportunity to get a used 12" 1.1/8 HP Craftsman 2-Speed
Band Saw for $100.
....

'12"' sounds like a vertical woodcutting bandsaw. If so, the blade
speed is WAY too fast for metal.

Bob