Question About Portabands

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fadugleman

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Dec 28, 2012
Messages
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I have a few questions about using a harbor freight portaband to cut out knife blanks. First of all, the description describes it as used for plastic cutting. I guess that doesnt really matter. Also, are there any good suggestions for blades. Lastly, do you guys have any special tips for operating one while cutting steel. Thanks in advance.:)
 
This is what you are looking at right?

"This amazing variable speed, portable bandsaw goes with you to the worksite to cut tubing, pipes, rebar, wood, metal and plastic! The bandsaw cuts at no-load speeds between 0 to 230 FPM and weighs a light 15 lbs. for easy handling. Features include a needle-bearing-mounted spindle and three wheel-bearing blade guides for even, accurate cuts."

For the most part my experience with hacksaw blades is that the nice ones that cost more like Lenox are worth since they cut faster and last longer.
 
If you're talking about THIS BANDSAW, then I'd suggest you stop by Home Depot and get you some Milwaukee blades. They'll last a lot longer than the ones HF sells. An better option is to hunt down some Lennox blades.

The saw pictured in the link above will cut metal just fine because that's what it is intended to do. It's what I've used for the last year and a half. I cut all my metal on it and my G10 and micarta.

When cutting steel, I use the 2 lowest speeds depending on how thick my material is. I also use Tap Matic oil on thicker pieces of steel.

Finally, wait until this saw goes on sale. They run sales fairly often on it. Then use the 20% coupon and you'll get on heckuva deal! (and yes, they'll allow you to use the coupon on a sale item, at least our store does)
 
Mudbug007 said:
If you're talking about THIS BANDSAW, then I'd suggest you stop by Home Depot and get you some Milwaukee blades. They'll last a lot longer than the ones HF sells. An better option is to hunt down some Lennox blades.

The saw pictured in the link above will cut metal just fine because that's what it is intended to do. It's what I've used for the last year and a half. I cut all my metal on it and my G10 and micarta.

When cutting steel, I use the 2 lowest speeds depending on how thick my material is. I also use Tap Matic oil on thicker pieces of steel.

Finally, wait until this saw goes on sale. They run sales fairly often on it. Then use the 20% coupon and you'll get on heckuva deal! (and yes, they'll allow you to use the coupon on a sale item, at least our store does)
Click to expand...

Those blades are available in Canada at Home Depot too.
They are good to go.
It's nice to be able to get them with out shipping or special ordering.


I had some blades that were the Canadian Harbour Freight equivalent.
The band had improper HT and cracked at the spine every 1/4" to 1/2" inch or so all the way around until one crack went all the way through.
4 blades did the same thing.

I was so happy to find those Milwaukee blades even if they are $12 each here with the tax.
 
Do bear in mind that once you have the bimetallic blades you want to run the saw on very nearly the slowest setting. Fast settings will not work. Slow is the way to go.

As an aside, I use the Morse brand blades from HF, and they have worked fine for me. I'm an occasional user though, not someone who cuts multiple blanks at a time.
 
Mudbug007 said:
If you're talking about THIS BANDSAW, then I'd suggest you stop by Home Depot and get you some Milwaukee blades. They'll last a lot longer than the ones HF sells. An better option is to hunt down some Lennox blades.

The saw pictured in the link above will cut metal just fine because that's what it is intended to do. It's what I've used for the last year and a half. I cut all my metal on it and my G10 and micarta.

When cutting steel, I use the 2 lowest speeds depending on how thick my material is. I also use Tap Matic oil on thicker pieces of steel.

Finally, wait until this saw goes on sale. They run sales fairly often on it. Then use the 20% coupon and you'll get on heckuva deal! (and yes, they'll allow you to use the coupon on a sale item, at least our store does)
Click to expand...

thanks for the input
 
I think it's on sale now. Just got a flier in the mail, and it was in there. Like $90 or something like that.
 
This is a Bimetallic Morse Harbour Freight (Princess Auto) blade, I had 4 of them fail like this.

You can see the cracks best at the spine edge where it's shiny, but they all go at least half way.
When they broke, they separated into several pieces.

HFPortabandBladefailure_zpse72c4f13.jpg
 
For cutting steel, you should run the blade on a lower speed so that you'll not overheat the teeth of the blade.For cutting materials up to 1 inch, you can use either 8-12 TPI or 10-14 TPI . Thinner metal needs high number of TPI. I've tried haltbar porta blade m42 for steel which worked well.
 
I use a HF portaband mounted to my bench. It is a must to get good blades. I use 24 tpi Milwaukee.

My big rule of thumb is: Buy good abrasives. Anything that cuts or grinds needs to be good quality. Cheap stuff is a false economy.
 
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