I need to get a bandsaw this week and i have no $$$$$ , but i do have a pretty large gift card for HARBOR FREIGHT..... Anyone used to 14" vertical bandsaw to cut metal all the way up to 1/4"?? With a good quality blade of course!!! i went to the store today and the saw has multiple pulleys, so that makes me think it has the correct speed for metal cutting?!?!?! Any advice is appreciated!! Ian With the 20% coupon total cost is gonna be 304$ including tax!! http://www.harborfreight.com/14-inch-four-speed-woodworking-bandsaw-67595.html
You would have to gear it down a bit to cut metal, that is more of wood working tool, there is a thread on here where someone changed the gearing and made it work, not sure how long it would last. Also, cheack to see if they or anyone has the metal cutting blades for it, there are still some shops around that will make custom size blades.
Don't try it, Ian. The HF bandsaw definitely isn't a bad piece, but the speeds it's going to run at are much too fast to cut metal, let alone steel. You'll need to slow it down drastically, which can be done. A gear reduction from McMaster-Carr, or you could get creative with pulleys to underdrive it to the desired speed. I have a 1938 Delta 14" band saw (which is basically the same as the HF model in design, except that the Delta is much sturdier) with a crazy Grob Brothers base with 4 pulley reductions to cut metal. If you get creative, you can modify the machine to suit your needs
A HF horizontal/vertical bandsaw works great with bi-metal blades from Enco. The blades are on sale now.
That's what i thought!! I dont wanna have to spend more time and money to modify a HF chinese made band saw!!! Thanx man!! Thanx for the info man!!! the band saw has 2 pulleys at the top and 4 at the bottom, Not enough pulleys to slow it down??? I need a saw that'll cut wood and metal... my father in law is flying in to fab the inside of the cadillac to get it ready for upholstery and he's obviously not bringing his tools ya' know?!?!? Im kinda boned,,,, so last minute!!!! ^^^^^ i need vertical... thanx though!!
Ian, the vertical/horizontal saw is both...and with a little fab work you can build a larger table for the vertical usage...ORRR...go buy a handheld portable bandsaw and build a stand and table for it and you have a vertical bandsaw AND a handheld bandsaw all in one...
Not to hijack but I have a really nice Rockwell band saw that I got from my father when he passed away a few years ago and I got a new metal blade and all and it won't cut for shit!!! Perhaps I need to slow it down like it had been mentioned like above. Why slow it down for metal? Specifically how does that work?
LA Grinding in Burbank, on Victory will make any blade you want. Get a Diemaster. It will last years! You have to slow it down a ton, like to 100 feet per minute. And if you want a reduction box, I have one you can have if you wanna shlep to Chatsworth.
we use a few of these in the shop, ok to cut sheet metal 16 ga max with high quality blade. these are not for bar stock. the motors on the 14 inch will not last long, and the blade guide system is weak, after market upgrades for the blade guides are avail. if you want cut bar stock then the hf horizontal band saw is a very good deal
When looking for info on setting up my craigslist 80.00 wonder horizontal band saw I saw a thread somewhere about building a larger table to use one as a vertical band saw. Once you figure out what you need to do to make it work it should take you all of about ten minutes by my guess. I'll see if I can dig up that thread, it was something that came up on a Google search. I think this is the one. http://www.mini-lathe.com/Bandsaw/Bandsaw.htm Scroll down a bit.
Yeah Lucky burton told me about them and i was just looking them up online!!! that's too nice!!!! i wouldn't know what to do with the reduction box, it wires to the motor??? hmmmm??? I need to educate myself a little better man!!!
I slowed my old, old Delta/Rockwell down with a jackshaft and pulleys. It turns about 200 fpm now and will cut 3/8" steel all day. In a pinch for time, I would agree that the horizontal/ vertical saw is your best bet for the money. I've had a HF one for years and it is the best $150.00 I ever spent. Good luck Ian!
Nah, just a simple mechanical gear reduction box. You mount a pulley on the in and out shafts, one from the motor to the reducer, and from the reducer to the saw. Pretty simple actually, just sounds complicated. I've been running a cheapo bandsaw for years with a reduction and good blades. Works great.
You need to slow the blade speed down because of the hardness of material you're cutting, which relates to the Surface Feet (per) Minute...the softer the material, the faster you can run...for instance, on 6061 aluminum I run around 500-900 SFM, depending on the rigidity of the tool (in this case a bandsaw), the thickness of the material being cut and the cutting ability (sharpness and teeth per inch)...for mild steel it's recommended to stay between 90-200 SFM, the thinner the material being cut the closer to the upper limit for SFM you can go...hopefully that helps explain things a bit...
Hey Mr Ian They work okay, just use plenty of cutting oil to keep the blade cool from turning fast, and/or pick up a cheap pulley. They are sort of wonkitty, so you can probably do fine with it, bit if you let someone else use it....... Should get the job done until you can find that incredible deal on an old American Made one that you can use and pass down to your grandkids. Or let other people use it, and they won't break it. See ya soon Wil
It's also recommended that if you do intend to cut aluminum, wood and steel with the same saw that you buy the proper blades with proper TPI (teeth per inch) for each material...it makes the blade investment last longer and gives you better results...wood and plastic for one blade, aluminum and soft copper or brass for another blade and steel, bronze and hard copper or brass for the 3rd blade...and get yourself a few bars of Ivory soap to use as blade lubricant, just rub it on the blade every now and then as it's running to keep softer materials from sticking to the blade...
Nah, unfortunately even at it's slowest speed, a wood cutting band saw will be much too fast for steel. You could get away with aluminum, but if you're cutting steel you'll definitely need to slow it down. Here is a quick guide to band saw speeds, as they go by feet/min; http://web.mit.edu/machineshop/Bandsaw/speeds.html To figure it out, you'll need to dig deep into grade school math formulas. However, a quick review of the HF website tells me that your slowest speed on the saw is 600 feet/min. So to hit the proper 100 feet/min speed you're looking for, you'll need a 6:1 ratio reduction. You could do it with a gear driven unit, but that can get expensive. Or you could outfit a belt underdrive using a regular 2" and 12" V pulley to achieve the same reduction.
I can't thank you guys enough for all the help!!! Now i just gotta figure out what im gonna do!!!! Badshifter, maybe i can swing by and see if i can understand better and see that reducer box?? see you soon WIL!
I added the link I mentioned to the other post but in case you missed it. <table id="post7351942" class="tborder" border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%" align="center"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td class="alt1" id="td_post_7351942" style="border-right: 1px solid #e5e5e5">I think this is the one. http://www.mini-lathe.com/Bandsaw/Bandsaw.htm Scroll down a bit. I need to make one of those tables for my saw. </td></tr></tbody></table>
There's a ton of used machinery out there right now and I'm sure if you look around you can come up with a smaller industrial used unit thats single phase and in the $400 to $600 dollar range. I'd rather save an old name brand saw than try to reinvent a H.F.
The table is a great addition to the HF 4 x 6 vertical / horizontal band saw. Made mine huge out of 3/4" M D F. Change to wood blade or metal as needed. Dead ass straight cuts, you need a guide and to run some test cuts to position guide. Good luck
Here's an idea if you have a port-a-band saw:http://swagoffroad.com/Porta_band_Modular_Mount_Product.html
For years we only had a Jet horizontal/vertical bandsaw and it has been terrific. It allowed us to make cuts that we couldn't have done any other way. And while it flipped up to become a vertical bandsaw, it wasn't ideal in that position. It ran too fast and the blade is too wide to make intricate turns in the piece. I kept looking around for a good used metal cutting vertical bandsaw and everytime I went to see one advertised as metal cutting it was actually a wood cutting one. Finally, I saw an ad for a sheetmetal shop that was going out of business and I bought an old Delta bandsaw that was made strictly to cut steel. It has been well worth the wait. The blade goes so nice and slow that you never feel like you are going to lose any fingers and it makes cutting stuff so pleasureful. I used to dread using the Jet in vertical mode but this one really does it so much better. Keep looking around, I paid $ 250 for mine, probably the best money I have spent on a tool. Don
I've got the swag portaband table and it works great with a deep cut band saw for metal. Doesn't do much for wood though.
The HF 4x6 bandsaws have a HUGE following. They're cheap, but they're work-horses. They're also simple, so there isn't much to "cheap out" on--which makes them a good piece. The stands for them are universally considered junk. But the saw itself is very good. I had one for several years, and traded for a Shop Fox because I liked the miter gauge better. I wouldn't have let the HF saw go if I hadn't gotten a great deal on the shop fox. The fox also has a much better base. Google "4x6 Saw" or "Harbor Freight 4x6 saw" and you'll see a LOT of upgrades people have made to them: larger tables for use in the vertical position, coolant pumps, better bases, hydraulic cylinder feed, etc. etc. I just tuned mine very well, and was very happy with it's performance. The nice thing about a horizontal saw is it can be used vertically, but you get to keep it horizontal to cut tubing, angle iron, etc. The vertical-only saws aren't nearly as versatile. -Brad
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