Problem with Harbor Freight Portable Band Saw

Yes, I've had that problem. They replaced it for free and extended the warranty.

 

Good ol harbor freight quality...

 

The problem with many of the HF tools is they are really cheap quality. The good thing is they are cheap price, and they will replace them with no argument. Get the warranty on any tool that costs more than $50 if you plan on using it a lot .... because you will likely replace it.

 

My HF bandsaw just bit the dust when I lent it to a friend to use. I went to buy an new one last weekend and they completely changed the design. The new one is bigger and more powerful and a little bit more expensive. Only problem is that it doesn't fit the stand I built for my old one and because they completely changed the design I couldn't figure out how I would be able to build another stand that would work with it. I found the very last floor display model of the old version available in the Dallas area and went ahead and bought that one for cheap.

If you have the old version mounted on a stand and they send you a new one as a replacement you may have trouble making a mount for it. Then again I'm not exactly real great at that sort of thing and maybe I just wasn't thinking of a good way of mounting the new one.

 

The only way to fix the problem is by buying a Milwaukee.

 

I have a Milwaukee Portaband and it works very well except that the rubber wheel covers which the blade tracks on are prone to cracking. My first pair didn't last a year and I bought two more pairs from Milwaukee and the second pair lasted about 15 months and the third pair are still on the saw. I am going to order some more but try a rubber preservative on them. I think the saw is great but wondered now if should have bought the Dewalt equivalent. My other Dewalt tools are excellent. If anyone knows how I can get more life out of the rubber wheels please let me know. Larry Lehman

 

btw, I just went and looked at pics again and the new HF portaband looks like a carbon copy of the Milwaukee. Of course the quality isn't the same but if there's a stand for the Milwaukee the same should work for the new HF one.
http://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/band-saws.html

 

I used a porta band for a long time before I managed to get a good vertical metal cutting bandsaw. I didn't bother with a stand, just clamped the handle in a vise and used a cord tied around the trigger and stepped on it to turn it on. Looking at he HF one, I'd probably have to come up with some sort of clamp to mount it to make it usable.

A better choice would probably be this, http://www.harborfreight.com/horizontal-vertical-metal-cutting-bandsaw-93762.html I just got one for cutting a bunch of material for some projects I'm working on. Pretty well made and easy enough to fix anything that breaks or wears out. Get it on sale and use a 20% off coupon and it's 220$ after tax. It comes with a table for use vertically, but I'd probably make my own as it's kinda flimsy. Make a decent table, use a bundle of rags for a seat and you should be good to go.

 

For the Milwaukee portaband, SWAG off-road makes a stand for them I believe.

 

I bought this model off ebay for about 120 shipped. The motor is out of the way, so I can make lengthwise cuts no problem. The base is easy to clamp in a vise, so no stand necessary. Variable speed. It's also not made in China.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DEWALT-DW32...222493?hash=item1ea61217dd:g:584AAOSwwbdWHva0

 

You don't need to call harbor freight, just walk in to the store and walk out with a new one.

 

If it's under warranty. Only hand tools are lifetime

 

I've had that saw for over 10 years. Aside from a set screw on the motor pully loosening up and the pully slipping once I haven't had any problems.

 

They don't seem to care much if the warranty has expired. At least at my store. Guess it depends on the employee. It's worth the few extra dollars either way.