Metal Cutting Bandsaw Recommendations

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Knifemaker
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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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I've got to get a metal cutting bandsaw. This is getting rediculous. I'm looking to spend very little, so its a 4x6 that I'm looking at now. What say y'all. Good experiences?
 
Get a Dewalt portaband bandsaw. I have a large metal bandsaw and use the portaband much more. It cuts very well and you can buy one for less than $200. Blades are available at every hardware store also. Most of those that have tried it like it very much and it also has variable speed.
 
It might be a little more money than some, but I bought a JET 4 x6 and love it. I think I paid around $350 for it. Smooth saw and trouble free for years. Has no trouble cutting thick stock, (alot of that is in the blades). I did add a larger work table to it.
 
I have a 4x6 bandsaw that I bought from Princess Auto up here for $250. It works pretty good. I even found some bi-metal blades that have some larger teeth on it and it works great for cutting thick blocks of hardwood.
 
Most complaints about the 4X6 are due to using cheap blades (use bi-metal) or using the wrong tooth size (use 18 TPI minimum- I prefer 24 TPI.)
 
Love my HF 4x6. Paid $189.00+tax. Replaced table with 1/4 plate, left off the vise so I can sit on it while using, and got some good blades for it. No regrets.
 
My two cents:

I work in Outside Sales in Houston for a fairly large tool supply company. I recently visited a band saw manufacturer's facility for a week to attend a training seminar related to band saw blades and nothing but band saw blades. I'd like to share information that I think might be beneficial to anyone who uses a band saw:

1. First R.C.Reichert is absolutely right about the bi-metal blades - DON'T waste your money on anything else! Keep in mind two things:

A: You are most likely sawing a tough or hard material (probably some grade or other of stainless steel since you are making a knife, though not necessarily) and metals have changed drastically in the past few decades (I would even say in the past few years!). The same technology that Dad and Gramps used (forgive the pun here) just won't cut it anymore (no offense intended Dad and Gramps).

&

B: Technology has always sought to address issues (call 'em problems if you want to). Yesterday's technology is; unfortunately, what most manufacturers are still using in their manufacturing process today in the band saw blade industry. Regarding bi-metal blades the process is called "electron beam welding". That is a process where the cobalt (Cobalt is used in the preparation of magnetic, wear-resistant, and high-strength alloys.) part of the blade is welded (as a small thin wire section) to the blade backing material. This process has been around for decades and upon it's introduction, it was "the cat's meow". The teeth were then either machined or ground to form the sharp little cutting edges that make up the "business end" of the saw blade. Generally when this type of blade fails, it can be due to many factors (wrong feed or speed or a combination of the two, lack of sufficient coolant or total lack of it, improper tooth selection for the given application, weld breakage, or in many cases, tooth strippage (wherein the electron beam weld; being such a tiny area, can no longer hold up to the stresses being put upon it by one or more of the factors above). New technology has come along that gives an "edge" (no pun intended this time) to the tooth weld area by increasing the actual area of contact between the cobalt and the blade backing material in a process you could think of as "Roll Laminate Welding". This new process involves high heat and high pressure to bond the cobalt to the blade backing.

Care to guess who holds the patent for this process? Most of you are already familiar with the company. It's L. S. Starrett. They call it their "Bi-Metal Unique" process. Here's a link you might enjoy watching: http://www.starrett.com/download/204_intenss_overview_0001.wmv This is not a sales pitch, but an offer to lend my knowledge to anyone who might benefit from my experience over the years. If you actually have read this post all the way to this point that might indicate one of two things: either I have made some sense or you were awfully bored when you got to this post. Either way, Thank for your time! I'm done.
 
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I think we all own a 4 x 6 and they were probably all built by the same abused chimpanzee in the same factory in some third world country. They are dirt cheap and just keep on working. There are tutorials on BF on how to tune them if needed. The day will come when you will curse it. On that day remember the relationship you had with your hacksaw - and gently retune the poor thing. It's essential shop equipment and well priced for what it does for you.

Rob!
 
KnifeMaker.ca said:
I think we all own a 4 x 6 and they were probably all built by the same abused chimpanzee in the same factory in some third world country. They are dirt cheap and just keep on working. There are tutorials on BF on how to tune them if needed. The day will come when you will curse it. On that day remember the relationship you had with your hacksaw - and gently retune the poor thing. It's essential shop equipment and well priced for what it does for you.

Rob!
Click to expand...

Well said!
 
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