I hate my 4X6 bandsaw...

Ok thanks I will, I got nothing to loose.
But I think there is something else wrong here. I was cutting a straight line and it felt as something went wrong and then the blade popped out.

Patrice
 
I got rid of my 4x6 and got the Dewalt Portaband D28770K. Best move I could have made! Got it at ToolKing for around $200 shipped. They have a factory reconditioned one now for like $190.
 
I just got my dewalt today!! mounted it and made a rest for it.i can already tell even with this crap blade that its a better saw!!love the variable speed and light on it :). just need some good blades!!
 
balibalistic said:
I just got my dewalt today!! mounted it and made a rest for it.i can already tell even with this crap blade that its a better saw!!love the variable speed and light on it :). just need some good blades!!
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Now go out and buy a cheap foot-switch and then clamp the trigger. Makes for very convenient on/off.

Erin
 
Most of my experience with the 4 x6 has been bad. I have seen some that have basically been disassembled and trued and re-assembled. Adding a reasonable true and sound work table is a good idea. It can be a great machine. For the time involved to correct this machine you could of had a V-8.

I have built a frame for my porta-band that quick sets in a socket at the end of my bench and I can use it as designed or as the verticle saw that it spends the majority of its time.

I use a MSC 7 x 12 x 93.5" x .75" with a hydraulic controlled drop rate with lenox or starret by-metal blades for cutting loaf slices. I hate all the smoke and airborn dust from the chop saw so I trim and cut all my forged billets with this saw. After thermal cycling a couple of times I put the billet on and slightly embedded into the vermiculite for about a half an hour and then air cool. Smaller billet and blades should be embedded into the vermiculite fully for an hour then air cooled if you want to be able to bandsaw the material. I get about a 5 gallon bucket of cuttings per 35$ bandsaw blade. I guesstimate that one $35 blade cuts more than $100-$200 worth of chop-saw blades. You generate HALF the scarf with NONE of the dust.

Because of the space consideration the portaband is a great solution. Another advantage is the lower opperational speeds. To get this slow of speed in a verticle commercial saw you have to pay thousands of dollers. Use wax or mystic metal mover as a lube for your tougher to cut materials and it saves your blade and pays for the lubrication.

Milwakee makes the deepest throat portable saw. What ever you use consider a modified improved work rest...Take Care...Ed
 
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I will second that!! i've added 1/4" workrests to both saws. it will improve accuracy and cutting speed by ten fold.i kid you not!! those slimsy tables are terrible,but you may not realize it until you add a more rigid table.
 
Again I want to move to the states. The Dewalt is 400$ at the store here. :(
Guess I'll have to wait. :(

Thanks for the tips just the same of course, I'll be sure to save those.

Patrice
 
wouldnt it be better and cheaper to just get to get someone to cut them with a water jet . By the time you break a blade there goes your profit on 5 knives. I dont know but i was told by a guy who is a full time knife maker thats what he does now and it saves him time and money.
 
Patrice Lemée;6747645 said:
Again I want to move to the states. The Dewalt is 400$ at the store here. :(
Guess I'll have to wait. :(

Thanks for the tips just the same of course, I'll be sure to save those.

Patrice
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Patrice,

i have the same craftex as you.i just got my dewalt off e-bay (bnib) for $189 shipped! seller even valued it at $1 to save me the fee's.just keep your eye out and something will pop up!
 
It hurts to hear all this negative feedback about me beloved 4x6.

With the enclosure open, how does the blade track on the upper wheel ?
Are the wheels-coplanar ? They must be - and can rather easily be adjusted
if they are not.

Is the blade-back support bearing nice and tight ? It should be no farther than
1/32 from the blade, it is OK if the blade actually rubs it even when not cutting.

Lower the upper support bearing as low as you can, to give the blade the extra support.

When you tighten the blade, use needle-nose-pliers - use it as leverage when tightening up the blade (the plastic nob on top usually has holes in it).

Report to the collective :)
 
With the enclosure open, how does the blade track on the upper wheel ?
Are the wheels-coplanar?
Yes

Is the blade-back support bearing nice and tight?
Yes

Lower the upper support bearing as low as you can, to give the blade the extra support.
Did that

When you tighten the blade, use needle-nose-pliers - use it as leverage when tightening up the blade (the plastic nob on top usually has holes in it).
Yes I tried that as Bali suggested

I blame the shop gremlins. :(

Patrice
 
balibalistic said:
Patrice,

i have the same craftex as you.i just got my dewalt off e-bay (bnib) for $189 shipped! seller even valued it at $1 to save me the fee's.just keep your eye out and something will pop up!
Click to expand...

Will do but with my luck with bandsaws I may just wait and get the 400$ one just to be sure I can use the warranty if needed. Where are you located if I may ask?

hellgap said:
wouldnt it be better and cheaper to just get to get someone to cut them with a water jet . By the time you break a blade there goes your profit on 5 knives. I dont know but i was told by a guy who is a full time knife maker thats what he does now and it saves him time and money.
Click to expand...

I like being able to do all of it. From cutting the blanks, the heat treat, the grind, the sheath... I would probably have some stuff done if I was a profesionnal maker for efficiency like you said but I still do this just for fun.

Thanks.

Patrice
 
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just a suggestion I had the same experiance come to find out it was the bottom pulley was loose I tighned and used loctite it has run like a top ever since.

tr
 
In my first reply to this post, I said I was going to throw my Enco 4x6 in the lake. Well, I am going to keep it for awhile. I was in the big city of Fargo, ND for the past 3 days, and hit all shops that sell bandsaws. I fell in love with a Jet with a 3/4"X93" blade. They wanted a grand for it. At the Fleet Supply, I saw a Delta brand blade for my 4x6 for $9, so I bought it. I thought I would give it one more try before pitching it.

I put the blade on and adjusted the top tracking control, and it tracked perfectly! So, I put the guide assemblies back on, and adjusted them to what seemed right, and made a cut on some 1-1/4' square tubing. The cut drifted slightly. I made further adjustements and made another cut- perfect!

I think these cheap saws just need to be carefully adjusted and they will work fine. So, at least for now it will get me by, and I can spend my grand on something else- like a mini mill, hardness tester, etc.

Milt
 
Pat i know what you are going through my HF saw kept braking blades so i bought the cheep ones from them because if you brake them in less then 30 days you can take them back and get a new one.It is all in the tracking and you have to play with it to get it wright. The bolt on the top that adjusts the tracking is the problem i think. You wont to have just touch or not quite and use the cheep blades until you get it going. PS I broke 7 OR before i got mine going. Good luck JRH.
 
Thanks for the encouragement JR. I don't know if I have enough patience to do that but I'll give it a try.

Patrice
 
maybe you could send it back or take it to a HF store and trade it for another one, what do they say when you call them?
 
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