I just got my harbor freight bandsaw, it cuts square despite what ive been told, so i dont have to tweak it at all. I have it on th elow speed for stainless as its recomended, and it took a while to cut 16ga mild steel pipe. I have the spring on its lowest tension basically, and i had to push a little near the end. will a new (better) blade help or is this just how it cuts?

 

Yep.. Get a bitemal..

Search for the string "bandsaw" and you should get a few links!

http://www.mini-lathe.com/Bandsaw/Bandsaw.htm
may be of interest as well..

Im jeaolous.. maybe one day I will get one

 

I don't own this saw but I'm guessing that that the blade it comes with is a general cutting blade. Something better wouldn't hurt.

 

I have tried two new blades on stainless sch 40 and they keep getting dull before it cuts the first piece. I bought the last blade at home depot and thought it would be better than the original but it still ate the teeth off.

 

also i have it on the lowest speed, would putting it on the middle pulleys help at all?

and can i get a bi-metal blade at home depot? theres not many options here in the keys

 

I use the HF bandsaw and I switched to a 10 TPI HF blade and it works alot better on the SCH 40 stuff. I've cut about 10 pipes on the new blade and it hasn't gotten dull yet.

 

what size is the blade anyways?

 

I got the same saw and i was going to return it at first because it sucks so bad at first. But after a little tweaking here and there, a new blade, relatively cheap blade but new nevertheless, and now it's cutting like a champ. I've been cutting 1/4 flat and it just keep cutting and cutting. I'm loving it now, can't say the same about the stand though.

 

1/2" thick, 64 1/2" long

 

any good websites to get the blades from? i search on yahoo and find really find anything. I tried ordering one form grizzly but the website messes up.

 

I like Do-All brand blades.

I also will spray some wd40 or Liquid wrench on the blade every few seconds and it will make the blade last longer.

 

whenever i cut pipe with a bandsaw, it rips the **** outta the teeth, cause the blade jumps bad when it gets to the middle of the pipe. plus stainless is alot harder to cut.. (its not as bad when i go really slow.


i always cut pipe with chop saw.

 

So how is that harbor freight band saw ?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 90blackcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So how is that harbor freight band saw ? </TD></TR></TABLE>

It walks like no ******* tomorrow.

 

You guys need to read up on how to operate a band saw! Read your manual!!!

Size your blades so that there is a minimum of 3 teeth in the work at the thinest area.

Use the proper speed

Use the proper coolant, if your saw isn't equiped, run it slow and dry

Break your blade in on your first cut

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PrecisionH23a &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

It walks like no ******* tomorrow.</TD></TR></TABLE>

even after tweeking. I've got a home depot blade on mine, it just doesn't cut square enough. makes me wonder if i should go through with buying the hydropress through them

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by b16hybridsol &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

even after tweeking. I've got a home depot blade on mine, it just doesn't cut square enough. makes me wonder if i should go through with buying the hydropress through them</TD></TR></TABLE>

I have heard the hydro press is good, one of the crx members has it. I think his name is eithe driven or travis. I think one of them has it.

 

to those with the hf bandsaw, does it have auto cutoff like others?

 

When people complian about things I wish they'd include a little more info. Did you just fire it up, set the arm down and walk off? What were you cutting? what blade were you using?
I've used a generic h/v and didn't have any problems. I pretty much held the arm and made very slow cuts and sprayed wd-4d a lot, I babied the thing and eveything came out straight.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by G2turbo_terror &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">When people complian about things I wish they'd include a little more info</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well put, I know a lot of people have complained about parts before but yet I still bought them, and when I got home and tried them out, I really wanted to know what all the bad talk about the product was.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hybridvteceg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">to those with the hf bandsaw, does it have auto cutoff like others?</TD></TR></TABLE>

anyone?

also i just ordered mine and a combo 4"x36" belt/6"disc sander. the belt goes something like 2000fpm and the disc is like 3200 rpm

is this optimal for metal work, or would slower speeds be better.

on the subject of sanding though, what material abrasive works best on the belts? like alum-oxide etc, for aluminum and steel sanding

back to sawblades, mcmaster has a very large selection of bimetals, could someone tell me if they are any good?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rewsnaeht &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">any good websites to get the blades from? i search on yahoo and find really find anything. I tried ordering one form grizzly but the website messes up.</TD></TR></TABLE>

http://www.mcmaster.com

And get a GOOD blade, meaning $20-30.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 90blackcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So how is that harbor freight band saw ? </TD></TR></TABLE>
It works great and built the car in my sig, including a 321 stainless header. One bi-metal blade cut all the header tubing and more just fine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hybridvteceg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">to those with the hf bandsaw, does it have auto cutoff like others?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yes, but all that means is that when the saw drops through the material it just cut, it hits the Off switch. Nothing fancy.

 

kb58 can you check the post of mine before your first one?