Metal Cutting Band Saw for small shop.

N

nthe10ring

Joined
Mar 20, 2007
Messages
178
In the market for metal cutting band saw. I have a small shop and space is at a premium. I had originally looked at the Dewalt Porta Band, and then was over at Harbor Freight and they have their version on sale along with the generic 4 x 6 red saw that lots of folks have. Would you have more options with the larger saw or will the Portable with a cobbled up stand be a better option. I have a nice 14" Delta Wood band saw but need something for metal. I forge to shape most of my stuff but there are times when I have to break out the cut off wheel on the angle grinder and hack saw and its getting old hat.
Thanks
Jerry
 
I would stalk the Tools section of Craigslist. I just scored a Famco 612 for 4 bills a few days ago. This thing is a priceless machine, it is so damn heavy you can barely hear the pulley gear box drive the blade. I think if you want a quality machine you need to take it's mass into account when buying. This saw was a few dollars more; and only a few dollars more than the new Milwuakee Porta-Bands at Home Depot. And given the worst case it is made from 6-700 lbs of good cast steel (not cast iron), so the raw material value has a plus side to it as well.

Not a picture of my saw, but they are identical for the most part. Mine is being stripped, cleaned, and painted.
12207-A.jpg
 
I have the harbor freight saw. The way I made it small shop friendly was to not put the legs on it. It can now go up on the bench when I need to saw, and tucked away on a shelf when not in use. The machine is heavy but I have no problem carrying it to where I need to,
 
I've had a Harbor Freight 4x6 for several years now. It got much more usable after I made a 3/8? aluminum
replacement table for it but is still a royal pain to keep working with blades popping off all the time.

Then I got a DeWalt portaband and a Swagoffroad mounting plate for it. Vast improvement for *almost*
everything. The only big problem, and it is a big one, is that you can't cut more than about 5" in a straight
line without running into the body of the machine. So I've kept the HF for long straight cuts.
 
I have both, I use the 4x6 for cutting out blades and for cutting down stock for damascus.
The portable is mounted to the wall and is a dedicated saw for my mokume jewelry work. It has helped improve my recovery yield for precious metals.
If I were only making knives I would use it for cutting out blades, although as Dan pointed out the through depth prevents long cuts.
Del

Dan,
You might increase tension a bit on your blades, that might help keep them on.
 
try the pawnshops, I just picked up a porta-band that takes the 53 3/4" blades for under $100, it gets mounted in my post vice when I need to use it, with the trigger tapped down, and plugged into a power strip for an on/off switch. about the cheapest heavy duty metal cutting bandsaw ive seen, and its still portable if u need to use it elsewhere.
 
I have the DeWalt portaband and a green 4x6 (Intergram Tools, an older saw) and they are both fine. I like to use the green saw to chop thru heavy stock, and lots of profiling and heavier work.

The DeWalt does most things fine, I find that blades wear out a bit faster and of course it doesn't have as much power. I like about the DeWalt brand that it's got a dial to adjust the speed. Some other portabands such as Milwaukee have variable triggers, good in the field but not on the bench.

The downside of the DeWalt saw IME is the lower blade guide casting. Mine cracked, affecting the blade angle, then split. Basically this is the two bearings not staying together and parallel. The replacement part is expensive, I had to rig my own repair- a metal tab that needs swung out of the way when I change blades. It's still vastly better than no saw. I use it for smaller jobs now, cutting pins, G10 handle slabs, etc.

If I had to pick, it would be the 4x6.
 
I've been very happy with my Wilton 14", I don't know if they still make this model or not, but it's variable speed and is very well made.
 
I'm still quite pleased with my HF portable bandsaw. But then, I prefer tools that take up less space (and cost less).
 
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