Recommend a good bad saw

eyeeatingfish

eyeeatingfish

Joined
Dec 9, 2003
Messages
4,817
Im thinking that a band saw is the next step in tools for me. Already got a belt sander and drill press. Its getting annoying to cut micarta with a hand held scroll saw.
So what is a good all around type to buy? Craftsman has one for about $100 at sears and I think its a 9 inch.
But I dont know what 9 inch is, and dont know if thats good for all around.

Want to make sure I can get a size where blades are available.

Can band saws cut heat treated metal if I need to trim something on a knife handle or something?

Thanks
 
is this a trick question? A porta band in a vise will work for what your wanting to do and will be cheaper on blades and save space.
 
Don't bother trying to cut heat treated metal. Do buy a metal cutting bandsaw, not a wood one. You can use the metal cutting saw for just about everything we do.
 
I think you'll find that Bad Saws are pretty much universally Bad. There aren't really any good ones. The reason for that is, as soon as a Bad Saw starts turning good, it's then a Good Saw.
So if you're looking for a Bad Saw, you just have to live with the badness.





;)
:D
 
Go with a 14" bandsaw one for cutting steel not wood. I use a Wilton here in my shop. VS speed. Something to think about. What ever you do just get one for cutting steel.

Terry
 
Hopefully my plan will work. I got a 14" import saw from Wholesale tool for Christmas, and I am gonna install a new (I.E. MORE HP!!) motor and VFD. I get to pick it up the 26th.
 
eyeeatingfish said:
Im thinking that a band saw is the next step in tools for me. Already got a belt sander and drill press. Its getting annoying to cut micarta with a hand held scroll saw.
So what is a good all around type to buy? Craftsman has one for about $100 at sears and I think its a 9 inch.
But I dont know what 9 inch is, and dont know if thats good for all around.

Want to make sure I can get a size where blades are available.

Can band saws cut heat treated metal if I need to trim something on a knife handle or something?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I don't think you are looking at a metal cutting saw for a $100?
 
How do you know whether its for cutting metal or not?
What brands are good?
I know ill have to spend at least $100 but I dont want to spend $1000

I dont know about the portable ones though, seem more limited. Ive seen peoples set ups with them. I dont know if I would really use a bandsaw on anything else that I would need to to be portable.
 
I have that Harbor Freight model. It is okay for the price but if you decide to get it make sure you replace the blade that it comes with. Look at some Lennox blades. Kind of pricey but are worth it. The one that comes with it will dull fast and any pressure will cause the blade to come off the tracking wheels. It is slow at cutting steel but will do the job. Forget about cutting HT steel wiith it. Hope this helps.
 
The saw listed is the most common one for knifemakers I think. Replace the blade with bi-metal lennox as mentioned above. You can find the portable saws for less, many makers seem to think they are less limited than the HV listed above. I don't have an opinion on that part.
 
panch0 said:
An old knifemaker has one of these and said he has had it for more than 15 yrs. It was an older model than this one but he recommended it so I am saving my pennies for one. You might have to put a new tool from what I understood.
-frank
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93762
Click to expand...

I personally don't care for the harbor freight saw, just because it is cheesy and I also am spoiled with jet and powermatic tools from my Dads wood shop. however I have one and at the end of the day its a saw and it cuts, I have used the crud out of it in the last few weeks and is holds up just fine. I think it was well worth the money and I would buy it again. always get the best you can afford, you won't regret it.

-Josiah


Edit: I did break the blade it came with in the first fifteen minutes I had it, but I have been using the bi-metal I got from HF ever since.
 
I've always said the $150 I spent on my HF metal cutting band saw was the best tool money I ever spent. I still think so. Like everyone else says, only use bimetal blades, and like belts, use them like they're free. You won't believe how much better a fresh blade cuts than the old one you finally replaced... That being said, I've been dragging my feet on replacing mine but I'm going to be cutting some 1/4" stuff soon so I know I'll change it then! :D

As far as the tracking goes, I had trouble with the blade popping off for a while but I just kept messing with the tracking until it stopped entirely. I love that saw - I guess because I still remember all the hard ways I used to apply to profile blades. ;) One thing I will suggest is to tighten the blade as hard as you can. I use a big channel lock pliers to get the last half turn or so to really make that blade ping. I think that goes a long way to keeping the blade on the wheels.
 
If you want a saw to cut out shapes as opposed to a horizontal cutoff saw get a 14 inch 2 wheel saw and run it slow. I have an old bandsaw that has no name on it, I set it up to run about 75 feet per minute which looks really slow but works very well. I love it. I use a fine toothed blade in it I think 18tpi. I have a good Jet saw for woodworking and a large Wellsaw for stock cutoff and they are both very good saws. On any band saw pay attention to setup adjustments and you'll have a much better experience.

Alden
 
eyeeatingfish said:
How do you know whether its for cutting metal or not?
What brands are good?
I know ill have to spend at least $100 but I dont want to spend $1000

I dont know about the portable ones though, seem more limited. Ive seen peoples set ups with them. I dont know if I would really use a bandsaw on anything else that I would need to to be portable.
Click to expand...

If you are refering to the one at Sears for $123 it is a wood saw. Cheapest metal cutting band saw Sears sells is $350'ish. I have been looking to get one also. The Harbor Freight one is now $260 so I keep checking to see when it goes on sale. I might just opt for the Jet saw which is nicer.
 
panch0 said:
An old knifemaker has one of these and said he has had it for more than 15 yrs. It was an older model than this one but he recommended it so I am saving my pennies for one. You might have to put a new tool from what I understood.
-frank
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93762
Click to expand...

That one looks decent, not too expensive either at $250. Dont know how you would cut certain stuff like split a block to make handle scales or cut kydex.
So what is the difference between wood cutting and metal cutting, and can you tell just by the look? Can the metal one do everything the wood one can do?
 
That saw will go on sale again, should be able to get it for $149 - $179 if you can wait it out. You can cut your handle materials, including splitting blocks on it. A table saw might work better for straight rips of blocks, but you'll also have to account for the saw blade more.

For what it's worth, the metal saws cut much slower than the wood saws. The blades are also different. You can slow down a wood saw and get a metal cutting blade, but you still have to worry about things like overheating the blade and melting parts inside the saw. Some folks friction cut thin steel (1/8" or less) on very high-end wood cutting bandsaws at full speed, but this is an exception to the rule.
 
eyeeatingfish said:
That one looks decent, not too expensive either at $250. Dont know how you would cut certain stuff like split a block to make handle scales or cut kydex.
So what is the difference between wood cutting and metal cutting, and can you tell just by the look? Can the metal one do everything the wood one can do?
Click to expand...

You can generally tell by the design of the saw, they just tend to look different. the big difference between them is the blade speed, my wood saw goes 2700fpm while my metal saw goes 280fpm. You can cut kydex with a metal bandsaw but wood is better left for a wood saw.

-Josiah
 
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