Dewalt porta band saw or 4x6 metal band saw?

J

Jsteele

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Dewalt porta band saw or 4x6 metal band saw?

I am new to knife making and wanted some input from the veterans on what is easier to use,cheaper on blade replacements and gets better results for cutting metal. Is the Dewalt 6 amp or 10 amp porta band saw with the swagoffroad vertical stand better than a 4x6 metal band saw? I am only a hobbyist so the tools will not be used heavily. Thanks guys..
 
Portaband by a mile for me. Some have great success with 4x6's but I didn't. Guess it's a hit or miss thing. Not the case with the portaband, never heard of someone not 100% satisfied.
 
Thank you Patrice. Do you recommend the 6 amp or 10 amp Dewalt portaband to cut metal?
 
I have a portable and a 4x6. I've used about a half-dozen 4x6 saws (all the cheapy types) and I've used several brands of portable - Porter-Cable, Milwaukee, HF, though not the Dewalt. Yes, you'll have to do a couple tweaks to get the 4x6 "perfect", but then again, you have to do some work to mount the portable. The work is about the same in my book. I'd take a 4x6 all day over the portable.
 
Yes AS, but mounting the portaband, anyone can do. On the other hand, getting a saw to track properly or the blade to stay on, if it doesn't, is a little harder and may be out of reach to some. Like me for example. :(
 
To mount the portaband should not be a problem at all. Swagoffroad.com sells a vertical stand for it. I have read some very good reviews on them.
 
Patrice - based on the experience of so many other makers, I have to think that your machine was a particularly bad apple. I've seen two fresh out of the box Red 4x6s that track well enough and really only need table upgrades to be serviceable. The old grey and green ones do seem a bit higher quality, perhaps Enco or Grizzly offers a better one than the new HF Red jobs, but my experience with them hasn't been as bad.
 
Patrice Lemée;9357929 said:
Yes AS, but mounting the portaband, anyone can do. On the other hand, getting a saw to track properly or the blade to stay on, if it doesn't, is a little harder and may be out of reach to some. Like me for example. :(
Click to expand...

Funny you should mention that Patrice, and I hope it's okay to bring it up in this thread. I think it may be pertinent to the discussion.

I got a Dayton 4x6 a couple months ago. It's an old used one but the price was right (FREE:D), built in 1980 in Taiwan, but it runs solid and cuts pretty quite well. I got most of the tracking dialed in pretty good, but the blade sits a bit too far out on the lower wheel and I tighten it up as much as possible but if I apply too much pressure when cutting the blade jumps off of the lower wheel. I can't figure out how to adjust the blade tracking to get the blade farther back on the lower wheel? Any suggestions? The Dayton is practically identical to the current 4x6's from Grizzly, HF, etc.
 
I'm a porta-band user and I really like what it offers for the price. Fair warning, though. It's not the best tool for splitting any material that's longer than it's throat. The material to the right of the blade can pass right by the back but anything to the left of the blade will hit the back. This is different on other portaband setups, many of which have more space to allow up to 2" of clearance to the left of the blade.
 
I've owned both, I'm using a Dewalt portaband right now and it works well. My problem with the Dewalt saw is that the little casting that the bottom roller guides are mounted on is weak and has split. This allows the blade to twist at the bottom. I've sort of dealt with it, the little part last I checked was very expensive to replace. I don't know that it's a super common problem, but I've heard others complain of it.

The "central machinery" 4x6 that I had for a while was a basket case, it ran blades onto the rim and would bend them into an L shaped cross section. I couldn't figure how to fix it at the time, got frustrated, and let the saw go cheap. I may be getting another one soon, hopefully it's better. I do like them better when they run right, they just have more power and bigger capacity.
 
I have a dewalt portaband and it works pretty well. I welded up a stand for mine. I have an issue that the blade runs about 1/8" off both wheels. I just frequently untighten slide it back on and i'm good. Search the archives and you can come up with a variety of mounting options rather than spending the $ on the swag mount.

I went with the portable vs the 4x6 secondary to valuable shop space.
 
I'm with Patrice on this.. my 4x6 is ok for horizontal.. ... it would alway pop blades off ... tried every trick in the book to get it to work right.. ...

for a vertical... i use a dewalt ... and try to cut in a straight line (blades last longer and that is what the machine is meant for).... use the wolfband lenox blades from lowes.. those are best !


Greg
 
I reciently purchased the Dewalt 10amp Portaband along with the Swag-Offroad table and absolutely LOVE it!! I highly recommend it.
 
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I personally use a Pro-Cut 4x6 and have for the better part of 7 years. Mine has been amazing. I made a new table for it, and with a few minor tracking tweaks, it cuts great. If you get a 4x6 i would recommend making a new stand for it, as the metal one kinda sucks....thin sheet metal warps and bends easily, making a sturdy saw a problem. There are a few good mods you can do to a 4x6 for pretty cheap that really kick up the performance. I have never had a blade pop off, but have had one break cutting a 5" piece of round brass stock. Mine is now pretty much a vertical saw,as i don't cut too much large round or square anymore.
Mods can be found here
http://www.mini-lathe.com
 
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After reading the results from this thread i decided on the portaband instead of the 4x6 metal band saw. I just ordered the Milwaukee 6232-6n 10.5 amp portaband,i got a fantastic deal on it with the case. And you can't beat the 5 year warranty. I also ordered the vertical stand from swagoffroad.com I would like to thank all the members who helped with there input on this thread. :thumbup:
 
Spend the extra bucks and get a Porter-Cable variable speed Porta-Band.

It probably gets more use in my shop that any other saw, and I have a bunch.
Fabricate a vertical stand and you'll find it cant be beat. Use Lenox
Bi-Metal blades and it will cut darn near anything.

A little spendy, but finestkind.:thumbup:

Bill
 
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