Craftsman 1/2 HP band saw

smitty0331

smitty0331

Joined
Dec 5, 2006
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I'm considering buying a Craftsman band saw, probably a 10'' 1/2 HP. Does anyone here have any experience with them? I'm wondering if it will be big enough to handle mostly 1'8'' steel, but maybe a little 1/4'' too. My budget really doesn't allow for a better saw and I'm wondering if I can get away with this one for now, since right now I don't have anything. I just bought a Craftsman 2 x 42 belt sander, and I'm anxious to get started.
 
If your referring to the woodworking type band saw your not going to be happy with it when it comes to cutting metal. Even with the best of bi metal blades a wood working band saw is to fast. It makes to much heat. I used to cut 1/4"brass on mine until I got a metal cutting band saw. It took a long time and the brass got so hot it would stick to my skin. I got a harbor freight vertical/horizontal for around $150.00 delivered and it was money well spent, even though I've had to do some modification to the HF saw right out of the box. A grizzly is a bit better saw for a few more bucks.
I cut 4"x4" square pipe with 1/4" thick wall yesterday, you know how long it took? It doesn't matter I could do something else while the saw did the work. I word of caution the auto cut off switch is a hit or miss so you do need to keep an eye on it.
 
Thanks for the info. What kind of mods. did you have to make to the HF out of the box? There's a HF store not too far from me.
 
The stand that comes with it is the thinest piece of tin you have ever seen. I used it but I'm having to reinforce a few areas. The wheels that come with are on a flimsy piece of tin, Replace with angle iron. ( I need to be able to move it easily) The table for using is in the upright position is another thin rickety thing. You can use it for a while but it needs to be fixed.. All that said I was still cutting metal within a few houris of it getting delivered. This is from a earlier post on modding a HF saw.


http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=541751
 
HF had them on sale for $129.95 Last week.I have been useing mine for about 3yrs now seems OK.
 
I, too, would like to know the secrets of using a bandsaw to cut metal. Mine is a Sears Craftsman 12-inch 1-HP bandsaw that my late brother-in-law kindly left me, I remember going over to his house where we tried to cut 1/8" thick 440-C stanless plate on it and the blade jumped right off the wheels. I understand there is a way to modify it for moderate metal use. Does any one know how?
 
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