I'm looking to purchase a band saw to use in my home garage mainly because I'm sick of the sparks and mess the average chop saw makes. I like to work sometimes late at night and the noise of the chop saw just ain't working. Most of the material I cut is 16 guage tube or sch 10 pipe.I would also like to get into cutting my own collectors.

I found this saw surfing the net:
http://www.bosstoolsupply.com/index....D&ProdID=14604
which looks it should satisfy my needs.Not to big,folds up when not in use and I like the fact that it works vertical and horizontal.I don't have my mind set on which brand because I know there is a bunch of manufactuers producing these 4 1/2 band saw.I'm just looking for people's opinions and experiences with these type of band saws.Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks for your time.

 

That's your typical chinese 4x6 bandsaw; very popular, because they're small, very cheap, and you can get them from a dozen different places (Harbor Freight, Grizzly, etc). If you keep your eyes open for those 20%-off-anything coupons at HF, you can usually snag one of their red ones (somewhat upgraded over the typical green ones that everyone has) for a very nice price. There's a whole Yahoo group dedicated to discussing modifications to them.

Homier sells an interesting alternative 4x6, if you like the footprint of the smaller bandsaws but want a few upgrades out of the box, like a hydraulic downfeed. It used to be significantly cheaper; looks like they realized they could get away with charging more for it.

For all of these, though, I'd strongly recommend picking up some good bimetal blades; the blades that come with them are usually junk. Adding a hydraulic downfeed (not necessary on the Homier) is a very big "nice to have". A few people have reported problems with the motors, depending on the vintage, and the motor mounts tend to be very poorly constructed (but easily improved upon for cheap). As I said, they're very cheap, but because so many people own them, there's a lot of information on improving them.

 

Thanks for the feedback bud!

 

Awesomely helpful post Ed, thanks! ! !

I see one other benefit to that Homier saw you posted up is you can cut at up to 60 degrees because the cutting head swivels or something?

Thanks!

 

i would keep your eyes open on craigslist. i have seen two brand new JET bandsaws in the past month, one for 100 and the other for 175.

 

sorry to thread jack but it might help the op. i have a delta 10" vertical bandsaw that is generally used for wood. i was told that this saw isnt good for metal because it cuts to fast. well we had some similar style jet saws at school that were used for metal that were modified by changing the pullies to slow them down and it worked great. now my idea to use the saw i have was to get a dimmer swich and other component from home depot and reduce the current to the saw to slow it down. ive used this method in the past on drills and grinders but never on a saw. has anyone done this or know if this will work or why it wouldnt.

oh and i have bi metal blades for metal obviously.

 

That's a GREAT thread jack. I was just looking at a used 14" upright saw available locally, and thinking I'd really like to have that for cutting metal if it's possible. . . I'm hoping some information is available here.

 

you guys are talking about this type of saw right gotwide and tjabo?

 

That's pretty much what I was talking about, yes.

 

alright, thank you. which do you find the most useful, this type or a vertical/horizontal bandsaw?

i was thinking about buying the type like pictured above due to the large platform work area, but then i ended up making a larger platform that bolts up onto my vertical/horz bandsaw.

 

I have one all they do is p--s you off blade falls off more than it's on . there are some very good saws like that Vert saw 800-1500 range .

 

yeah me too

is 800-1500 rpm the speed you want for cutting metal? if not, does anybody know what speed is best for mild, ss, and alum. if this dimmer works i have a laser rpm gauge that i can use to find the speed of the blade and then just mark it on the dimmer box for each matterial.


i think the vert saw is better for small and intricate pieces but if you need to cut long pieces you need the horizontal saw

 

Right. Basically, instead of rotating the workpiece in a cheezy poorly-degreed clamp setup (like most chinese 4x6 bandsaws, including mine), the Homier actually rotates the saw itself around the workpiece. Whether you consider that a bug or a feature is subjective, but I like it quite a bit better.

It's a shame; a few months ago, that was a $300 bandsaw, but they've decided to bump the price to the point where I think I'll just make do with the HF saw I have now, and build a new base for it instead.

(If you look closely, every single 4x6 bandsaw you see in the US is built around that same chinese head; the stands, downfeeds, motors, and sometimes the base (like the Homier) are usually the only differentiating factors, and it doesn't matter if it's a Jet, Grizzly, Delta, Harbor Freight, or "Joe's Tool Shack" saw, they're all importing the same item and rebranding it.)

 

thats exactly what i did, i built a nice little 1'x1' flat surface on my bandsaw, havnt been stuck between a rock and hard place yet. i dont think the brand of the saw matters as much as if your using the correct blade for what your cutting. not trying to start an arguement or anything at all.

 

Not that it's my thread or anything, but I sure appreciate all of the information you guys are laying down!

I see in my Harbor Freight flyer that the red saw is on sale right now for $199.99.

I think I might go pick one up. . . . .

 

great info guys!keep it coming.

 

Has anyone had luck cutting collectors with these 4 by 6 bandsaws?

 

https://honda-tech.com/forums/welding-fabrication-53/post-pictures-your-collector-jigs-2475713/

check this thread out.

 

yeah I seen that thread. It has some great info but mainly jigs/ set-up's used with chop-saws. Thanks

 

its the same idea no matter which machine you use.

 

make sure those vertical saws have enough hp (torque) to cut steel. Ideal cut speed is irrelevant without the torque to keep the blade spinning.

 

the problem i was having with my vert saw, so far wasn't torque, it would spin the blade fine it would just spin so fast that it would round off the teeth after cutting through about 1/2". now hopefully when i try to slow it down with the dimmer it will still have enough torque.

i know speed is a part of the equation cuz most multipurpose saws, drills, routers, rotary tools, etc. have variable speeds to cut different material hardnesses and they change speed with a variable resistor (aka dimmer).

 

I have a HF 4x6 it works great I added a coolant system too it. Works great I can cut with it all day. Worth the $200. Here's some pics of my setup.

 

That's awesome!

 

Nice work! A friend of mine modified his 4x6 for coolant as well, along with adding a hydraulic downfeed and building a nice stand for it (link):