metal cutting bandsaw recommendations

cool thanks for the tip!

And thanks to tatooedfreak for telling us about his light switch and his relatives in new glasgow.
 
First off, Sorry for hijacking the thread earlier Tippet, we just happened to be looking for the same tool at the same time and I noticed that tatooedfreak was from an area I know, so once again I am sorry.

With that out of the way, I just got home from picking up the Princess Auto version of the HF portable band saw, and after a little comparison it looks like they are nearly identical. The HF one is a little more powerful with700 watts while the PA one is 500 watts. I think I will like mine, I gave it a test run and it flew threw 3/16 mild steel will no binding and no pressure using the stock blade. Both are on sale right now. Next I have to make a base for it so it will stand on its own. I wont say what I paid for mine but it was less then the sale price so I think I got more then my moneys worth. I will use the stock blade till I burn it out then I have a bi-metal blade to replace it sitting in the wings.
 
hehe uh, ya, what he said. It comes with a bi-metal blade and I grabbed a plain carbon blade for $10 for non-ferrous stuff. It works fine so far but I wont push it too hard for a bit.
 
tattooedfreak said:
hehe uh, ya, what he said. It comes with a bi-metal blade and I grabbed a plain carbon blade for $10 for non-ferrous stuff. It works fine so far but I wont push it too hard for a bit.
Click to expand...

Hmm mine says carbon blade comes with, so I bought the bi-metal blade:confused: I will have to look into that a little closer before I wear off all the writing on the stock blade. I will be making up a base for it over the next week while I wait for the next order of steel to come in. I am at a stand still with my hidden tang knife till I find or make a belt for that old drill press I got. With buying the band saw I had to make a choice between HT or steel this week so I went with steel
 
On my box it said bi-metal and it cut through 1/8 O1 pretty easy. Maybe it shipped with different blades for different areas.... I still have some O1 left over from my last order.. nothing else and I have a list ready to go at knifemaker.ca hehe. However, I made my own forge for HT because I got tired of trying to get it right with a torch. As for the base, zaph1 has a setup for his HF (looks oddly familiar) and this link http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=623605 has a full layout with pics for another. Cant wait to rig mine up. Oh and this thread has a whole bunch of ideas on it. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=634110&highlight=portaband
 
Definitely lots of different ways to mount your bandsaw. My biggest issue with the wall mount saws is longer stock runs into the wall. Vise mounted is probably the best, but I really like having mine on a nice heavy base.
 
Being that I don't have a shop to set up in I need to keep the saw movable. I have been working in the backyard on an old bench and put all my tools way right after finishing up for the day. I don't have a vise here either, for that I have to go to work.
I drew up some rough plans last nigh that has 2 mounting towers to hold the saw through the cover mounting holes and a large base plate that I will be able to clap to the bench with a couple of c clamps.

roughdraft.jpg


When I finally get my garage cleaned out, re build the walls to close off the door, insulate and run power to it, I will be able to drill a couple of holes through the base and bolt the saw and base to a bench in there. I should have the mount made up by the time my steel order from Rob gets here and I am in business again:thumbup:
 
This is the one that I got
8106783.jpg

It is a hand held with no base so there is no locking it in an upright position:(
In time better tools will come but for the volume I do this will keep me covered and save some wear and tear on my arms
 
You make the cutting table and base out of wood and/or metal, and bolt/clamp the porta-band in it. There are several shown in the threads on mounting a porta-band saw..
 
I have some scrap mild steel laying around that I will be making the mount out of. I was wondering what to use the cutting table out of, I was thinking a piece of aluminum but the wood idea is cheaper and I can always glue a piece of counter top laminate to it to give me a smooth cleanable surface.
 
Unky, if you look at mine, it's similar to your plan. Consider putting a post at the handle, also, I used the bolt through the handle right behind the trigger. Just a little added stability since you will be putting a fair bit of torque on the saw. I used a piece of 10"x10"x1" steel plate. Most steel supply shops have a fair number of square plates laying around and can be had pretty cheaply. For a more solid mounting, keep the three point base and drill 3-4 holes in the base at the corners. Drill matching holes on your bench and bolt it down with wing nuts. Then, you can easily remove it if you want to take it somewhere.

Don't forget the hearing protection, these things are horribly loud.

Now, if you figure out a more solid work surface, let us know. The dewalts have nice aftermarket ones, but I haven't found one for the HF.
 
The Princess Auto one that I have is fairly quiet, but it isn't as power full as the HF one so that could be the noise difference. I got the idea for my stand from yours, I just don't want to modify the saw in any way so that if it craps out I can return it for a new one. We do have a metal supremarket here in Winnipeg I will have to go see if they have any thing I could use as a table for the saw that is sturdy enough.
 
Not sure about the PA model, but on the HF you can easily remove the bolt behind the trigger without modifying it. You will need to use a longer bolt, though.

Wish mine was quieter. Everyone on the street knows when I'm cutting!
 
The only difference I can find between the two is that the Harbor Freight model is 700 watts and the Princess Auto model is 500 watts. That is a picture of the PA one that I posted and the HF one looks identical to it so that power rating could just be a difference in how Canada and the USA measure things
 
If it turns out that the US and Canada measure wattage differently, I'm moving to Europe.
 
I don't think they do, I was making a joke but the HF unit runs with just shy of 1HP 700w=.94 hp electric while the PA unit is .67 hp electric I would say the that is the cause of the noise difference, just over 1/4 horse power should make some noise. there may be material and construction differences too that make a difference.
 
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