i'm looking at a bandsaw right now, pretty decent price, i think it'll do the job (sheet metal/ aluminum, and metal/aluminum piping)
http://www.northerntool.com/we...15574

 

That's the same as Harbor Freight. If you watch the sales you can get it under $150. I use it a LOT when building my car (see sig.) Between that and pneumatic shears (also HF) I do all the metal cutting. Yeah it would be nice sometimes to have a real shear but I couldn't afford one. Oh, the other must-have item is a grinding wheel with a grinder on one end and one of those magic 3M abrasive deburring wheels on the other. $50 for the wheel but well worth it.

 

so shipping on that beast is like 92bucks, screw that haha. I'll check out harbor freight

P.S. mini project= off the hook

 

harborfreight has the same machine but green, and has a 1hp motor instead of the 1/3hp motor. I just ordered mine for 175 shipped thanks kb

 

I have seen that saw painted like 5 different colors at 5 different stores. I have one I got locally for about 180. Works great except the plastic ***** fall off. I just welded on some nice T handles on mine. make sure you get a fine tooth blade for thin stuff.

 

I have the harbor-freight one but the ******* blade keeps walking off on me. I have a 1yr warrantee but I cant find my damn receipt anywhere.

Does anyone have a warrantee I can 'borrow' to replace mine with a new one? I would really appreciate the help

I also use a chop saw which cuts WAY faster than the HF bandsaw does. You also don't have to worry about the blade walking when you use a chop saw. Walking blades SUCK.

 

I never have a problem with the blade walking unless I jammed the blade. I have a chop saw but haven't used it in years. Thowing sparks and grit, and making a cloud of smoke isn't a good thing in most garages. And you definitely have to finish the ends on a grinding wheel after using a chop saw, something you can usually avoid using the bandsaw.

 

PrecisionH23a - have you tried to adjust it? Its really easy to get the blade centered once you figure out how to set up the guides. There is also a tracking adj on the top wheel but I have never had to use that to fix any alignment problems. Make sure both guide are square to the bed and not staggered first

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by b16hybridsol &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what do you guys cut your metal with?</TD></TR></TABLE>

11k rpm craftsman angle grinder with a cut off disc

and ear plugs

 

What's the thickest metal those bandsaws can cut through?

 

chop sawzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jonathan_ED3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What's the thickest metal those bandsaws can cut through? </TD></TR></TABLE>

4" x 6" for that particular saw.

 

I used one of those band saws at my internship over the summer to hack up some charge pipes, They work great!

 

I dont make accurate cuts really, but I use a chop saw, and for smaller metals, a dremal with a cut off wheel.

 

depends on what i am cutting, i ahve a band saw shears, cut off wheel, chop saw, and a plasma cutter,... love my esab plasma cutter

 

plasma cutter, chop saw, grinder with a cut off wheel, band saw, i use it all of them and each has a plus and minus depending on the job.
band saw is definitley and must have tool

 

porta band, chop saw, grinder w/ cutoff wheel, vert/hoz bandsaw. Whatever the job requires. I use the bandsaw most of the time. sparks and dust everywhere sucks.

 

ive heard a butter knife works very well. also known as a plasma cutter, it cuts like butter.