Metal cutting Bandsaw Reccomendations

Chuck Gedraitis Knives

Chuck Gedraitis Knives

Joined
Dec 10, 1998
Messages
4,860
So the MSC metal cutting bandsaw that I have used for the last 3 years or so has just craped out. It was small with a 64-1/2 in blade. So I need a new one soon. I tend to cut out everything so it is a valuable tool in my shop. I'm looking for your opinions on the best. Please DO NOT suggest enco or harbor freight, i'm too poor to buy cheap! Any good suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Chuck
 
I have a Clarke its the same as MSC,Harbor freight,Enco
or Grizzly, its still goin strong after about four years.
I don`t see anything wrong with them.
 
I have a Wilton I got on sale from Travers. I gave my Delta to my wife for her woodshop. I use mine for metal, wood, plastics, resin, etc. It wasn't cheap, but an end of the year (tax deductible) purchase made it possible.

I only have room for one bandaw, otherwise I would have gotten a cheaper horiz-vert model. In has slow speeds i addition to the fast wood cutting speed, which the Delta did not - which is the main reason I got it - I got tirsed of burning up expensive bi-metal blades.

All this being said, the guides, table and blade change system are inferior to the Delta - IMHO, by a big margin. I'm going to change out the guide system in the future, though this is not a concern for those who just cut metal.

I'm not unhappy with the machine, but for $950 w/shipping, I expected a little higher quality. If you want quality in a bandsw, get an older, American made (very heavy) metal cutting bandsaw. It will probably be 220 3ph, but a converter will take care of that.

Bob
 
Hi Chuck,

I don't have any first hand experience with this, but James Gibson was telling me just the other day about a setup they use at the ABS school. He said they have a Porter Cable porta band-saw mounted to a vertical stand with a tool rest they constructed. He said this thing cut through metal unlike any other metal cutting band-saw he's used. It sounds very interesting to me...maybe someone with some first hand experience with a setup like this will chime in and give us some opinions.....

:)

-Darren
 
That sounds interesting to me, as it might be something I can do as a bnech top, which is what I want. So someone chime in with experience, pictures and diagrams. :)
 
There is a Powermatic Model 143 on E-Bay. Do a search for single seller, "papapault". I think the auction ends sometime next date. I've seen the saw, it appeared to be in excellent shape. I bought another Powermatic from this same guy last month.
 
I've had one of the cheap Harbour Freight metal cutting band saws for about five years and I've used and abused it with no problems. For the price, if it dies tomorrow I'd order another one. The only thing I changed was the table, I made a bigger one out of some aluminum plate I had laying around.
 
I bought the Wilton that is shown on Koval's website. I got it from Grainger though and was able to pick it up to avoid shipping. The thing is heavy, around 250 pounds I think.

I spent double what I wanted to, but I don't regret it. It is a great saw, even though it is an import. I would say to spent as much as you can afford to. I looked for months to try to find that great deal on a new or used one and had no luck. I finally got sick and tired of looking, and went and bought what I wanted.

Yup, it should be paid off in a couple months. Visa loves me.:D
 
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