Choice?

R

Rey Garza

Joined
Nov 27, 2008
Messages
39
What portable band saw is the knivemakers choice, Milwaukee 6232-6N 10.5amps or the DeWalt DWM-120 10amps. to cut blade steel stock?. Trying to make the right decision before I buy one of these or help in other brands?.
 
I recommend this one: http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=8919

I owned the top of the line Milwaukee saw, and it lasted less than a year. And even though it had a 5 year warranty, when I took it into the local shop, they refused to honor the warranty, stating that the failure was cased by "Wear and Tear." I kinda got a sour taste in my mouth for the Milwaukee brand after that.

(The Milwaukee saw is worm gear driven, and the Dewalt is chain driven) When I got the Milwaukee saw back home, I pulled the gear box and found that the worm gear was not steel....but rather some kind of light weight cast gear....with the rest of the gears being steel, which is why I suspect it failed...about all that was left of the worm gear was a shaft, with the gear box full of what looked like aluminum shavings.

If you go with any of the lower end models, from either company, they are just not designed to be durable for anything other than occasional light cutting chores. If you take the time and effort to look/watch on Ebay, you can often times find the saw I mentioned for a very good price.

Its been nearly a year since I purchased the Dewalt saw...its much quieter than the Milwaukee, and the added features of the built in work light and the variable speed adjustment are very nice features. (Both the Milwaukee and the Dewalt saws were setup on a stand and used as stationary saws.)
 
Rey,

I have the Dewalt D28770K (the same one Ed recommended). It is a great saw and can be had for close to $200 if you search long enough. I think I got mine HERE.:thumbup:

Good luck.

Erin
 
Thank you Erin for the toolking website and the price is $200 which is ok by me. Since both of you gents are familiar with this model I will certainly go for it. Thanks, Rey
 
Great thread, thanks Ed and Erin. Due to a current "adventure" I'm having with some G10, I've been wondering about this too. I look at it this way, the $200 will eventually pay for itself in time-saved alone. Not to mention the dreaded "hacksaw elbow" (much like tennis elbow, except you don't have any fun in the process of getting it :o).

Do you fellas recommend a specific blade for steel and G10? IIRC there is rule for TPI... something like 3 teeth in the piece at a time?
 
James_Terrio said:
Great thread, thanks Ed and Erin. Due to a current "adventure" I'm having with some G10, I've been wondering about this too. I look at it this way, the $200 will eventually pay for itself in time-saved alone. Not to mention the dreaded "hacksaw elbow" (much like tennis elbow, except you don't have any fun in the process of getting it :o).

Do you fellas recommend a specific blade for steel and G10? IIRC there is rule for TPI... something like 3 teeth in the piece at a time?
Click to expand...

James,

If you're going to mount the saw verically, you'll need to build yourself a better table. It's easy enough to do.

As far as blades go... I have been using Dewalt DW3986 14/18TPI .02inch blades (they come in packs of three... my first one is still going strong). These blades were recommened to me by Mr. Wheeler awhile back, and I have been happy with them. They cut through 1/8" & 3/16" 1080/1095 like nobodys-business. They seem to choke when it comes to James Todd's G11 though. That's some mean stuff. :eek:

Erin
 
James: I keep both 14 tooth per inch, and 18 tooth per inch in the shop. I personally don't like the multi pitch toothed blades (10-14, 14-18, etc.) as I always seem to rip one or two of the larger teeth off during use, and then you get a jolt every time that portion of the blade comes around...just darn annoying.

Most of the time I keep an 18 tooth blade on the saw, even for things like doing accordion cuts in damascus billets. The thing I like so much about the Dewalt saw is the variable speed knob located on the side....you can dial the speed up or down to fit whatever it is your cutting. So far its been a very good tool.
 
Thanks guys. Variable speed is always a good thing. There was a thread here not long ago about mounting those vertically, I'll have to dig that up.

Thanks again!
 
Just a question for you guys that have purchased from the ToolKing.
Is that particular model they're selling refurbished? It doesn't say so,
but it seems too cheap if you know what I mean.
They are offering a 3/1yr warranty though so it would still be taken care of if need be.

mike
 
I called Toolking and the rep. told me this models are new and since, they buy in large volume they can fiddle with the low price. The warranty applies and it's good. I'am sold on this model and thanks again gentlemen, Rey.
 
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