New (to me) metal cutting band saw

[Heatingman 971]

Ive never really liked using an abrasive wheel chop saw for metal stock. Gets the job done, but really makes a mess of things. So whenever possible I would use one of my portable bandsaws I keep in the work truck (pipefitter)
 

Had been trying to get my woodworking bandsaw to function as a metal cutting saw, but couldn’t find a blade that would really work at those speeds.

 

Anyways, stumbled on a market place listing for 75 bucks for a purpose built metal cutting band saw.

 

Was a little rough on the eyeballs, but it cleaned up well, and I decided to try Krylon Fusion paint, as the Rustoleum has really gotten expensive.

 

The paint went on well and dried really fast. Not Sure how durable it is, but should certainly work for its purpose. So far, happy with it.

 

The angle Iron cart it came with was a complete surprise bonus. The casters alone are probably worth 50 bucks.

 

 

[peter lena 8,618]

@Heatingman  we used to have  SIMALAR , PORTA BAND SAWS  IN ALL OUR SHOPS , always making up metal , brackets / fittings , like a third arm , don't  force it let the saw blade find its happy place , safety glasses , etc.  , background horse looks good Pete

[953 nut 55,197]

24 minutes ago, Heatingman said:

Had been trying to get my woodworking bandsaw to function as a metal cutting saw, but couldn’t find a blade that would really work at those speeds

I used a metal cutting blade on one of my upright bandsaws and even had an oil drip set-up on it, the blade overheated unless the material feed rate was VERY SLOOOOW!

[pacer 3,169]

That little saw is either a HF version or a clone. HF has carried it for ..... many? years with very little changes, probably cause its such a great little tool. You scored!!

 

I got mine some 12-15 yrs ago and have done several mods - better motor, wheeled stand, etc and that little thing gets used almost daily!! 

 

As to modifying a wood saw, I found a small gear box that reduced the speed and adapted a variable speed motor (off treadmill) and it too gets a lot of use.

[Heatingman 971]

This one is branded Buffalo. Think HF cloned this type, or whatever this is a clone of. 
 

Ive seen them branded as shop fox, grizzly, HF, cal tool, Wen, etc. HF doesn’t originate anything. They only reverse engineer other stuff thats on the market. 

 

This one is made in Taiwan, but its 20 years old and still holding up fine. Ive seen these Taiwan jobs that are 40 years old, same design.

 

[JoeM 7,873]

handy dandy. 

got one on the cheap too.

has cut a lot of metal. and sometimes use it in the upright position. 

I have both 18T and 24T but use the 18T more just got to be careful on thin stuff. 

ditched the Harbor Fright blades and I spend more on the Olson Hard Back

[wallfish 16,994]

Nice find. A true time saver as you can basically set it and forget it and go do other stuff while she's cutting. Especially nice for bigger thicker material and or many pieces.

There's little adjustments of the rollers to get the blade to cut straight and true but once set up, it's nice to have everything cut square. Run some practice pieces for a long cut, maybe 4-6 inches or so and make adjustments as necessary until that cut line is square the entire length. 

I prefer using a variable-pitch blade and a higher TPI blade for thinner sheet metal stuff

[ri702bill 8,316]

Nice score. I have the HFT version, works great ONCE YOU GET IT TO TRACK PROPERLY in both horizontal and vertical positions. 

I did two mods right when I got it - drilled & tapped the gearbox for a drain - 1/8 NPT short nipple & cap. The "as shipped" lubricant needs to be drained and replaced with 400 weight gear oil, to protect the worm gear. The stability of the shelf you for vertical use was totally inadequate as supplied. Modified to add the necessary rigidity.

I completely agree with @wallfish about the premium variable pitch sawblade - cuts better, straighter and is somewhat self cleaning. FYI - I could NOT get the tracking correct using the as supplied cheapo carbon steel sawblade. Switched to the variable pitch - no issues.....

I purposely did not mount it on a dolly - my celler floor is far from level and I don't need to chase it.

[Heatingman 971]

1 hour ago, ri702bill said:

Nice score. I have the HFT version, works great ONCE YOU GET IT TO TRACK PROPERLY in both horizontal and vertical positions. 

I did two mods right when I got it - drilled & tapped the gearbox for a drain - 1/8 NPT short nipple & cap. The "as shipped" lubricant needs to be drained and replaced with 400 weight gear oil, to protect the worm gear. The stability of the shelf you for vertical use was totally inadequate as supplied. Modified to add the necessary rigidity.

I completely agree with @wallfish about the premium variable pitch sawblade - cuts better, straighter and is somewhat self cleaning. FYI - I could NOT get the tracking correct using the as supplied cheapo carbon steel sawblade. Switched to the variable pitch - no issues.....

I purposely did not mount it on a dolly - my celler floor is far from level and I don't need to chase it.

I’ll have to do that, add the drain tap for the gear box. I’ll look into that once I get the shop back in order. Been rearranging stuff ever since I decided I wanted another work bench. That turned into a total reorganization of the shop.

 

Wasn’t planning on spending a good chunk of the day cleaning and repainting the band saw, but I had to do something while waited between finish coats on the new workbench. 
 

 

[ri702bill 8,316]

Looking at the pictures, I do not see the small table and bracket for the vertical use of the saw - did it come with one?? As I mentioned, it needs some rework to make it "work"

I can provide pictures of both mods if you wish.

Bill

[Heatingman 971]

1 hour ago, ri702bill said:

Nice score. I have the HFT version, works great ONCE YOU GET IT TO TRACK PROPERLY in both horizontal and vertical positions. 

I did two mods right when I got it - drilled & tapped the gearbox for a drain - 1/8 NPT short nipple & cap. The "as shipped" lubricant needs to be drained and replaced with 400 weight gear oil, to protect the worm gear. The stability of the shelf you for vertical use was totally inadequate as supplied. Modified to add the necessary rigidity.

I completely agree with @wallfish about the premium variable pitch sawblade - cuts better, straighter and is somewhat self cleaning. FYI - I could NOT get the tracking correct using the as supplied cheapo carbon steel sawblade. Switched to the variable pitch - no issues.....

I purposely did not mount it on a dolly - my celler floor is far from level and I don't need to chase it.

I’ll have to do that, add the drain tap for the gear box. I’ll look into that once I get the shop back in order. Been rearranging stuff ever since I decided I wanted another work bench. That turned into a total reorganization of the shop.

 

Wasn’t planning on spending a good chunk of the day cleaning and repainting the band saw, but I had to do something while waited between finish coats on the new workbench. 
 

 

[Heatingman 971]

1 hour ago, ri702bill said:

Looking at the pictures, I do not see the small table and bracket for the vertical use of the saw - did it come with one?? As I mentioned, it needs some rework to make it "work"

I can provide pictures of both mods if you wish.

Bill

Sure, 

I’ll have a gander at the mods you made for inspiration 

 

 

[ri702bill 8,316]

OK - Modifications. First is the external drain - easy to do and is out of harm's way. Drain it in the horizontal position.....

Next - the small flimsy table for vertical use. It mounts with the same 2 screws from the horseshoe plate and had one thin gage support strap in the rear. I added a removable piece of 3/16" hot rolled underneath, as the forward left side could not support any weight as purchased. The miter gage is borrowed from another bench tool - not included.

There are numerous YT videos of upgrades for these, most deal with replacing the downforce spring with either an air of hydraulic cylinder.

Bill

 

 

 

Edited September 10, 2023 by ri702bill

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,297]

8 hours ago, ri702bill said:

Nice score. I have the HFT version, works great ONCE YOU GET IT TO TRACK PROPERLY in both horizontal and vertical positions. 

I did two mods right when I got it - drilled & tapped the gearbox for a drain - 1/8 NPT short nipple & cap. The "as shipped" lubricant needs to be drained and replaced with 400 weight gear oil, to protect the worm gear. The stability of the shelf you for vertical use was totally inadequate as supplied. Modified to add the necessary rigidity.

I completely agree with @wallfish about the premium variable pitch sawblade - cuts better, straighter and is somewhat self cleaning. FYI - I could NOT get the tracking correct using the as supplied cheapo carbon steel sawblade. Switched to the variable pitch - no issues.....

I purposely did not mount it on a dolly - my celler floor is far from level and I don't need to chase it.

400 weight gear oil ? Where do you get that? 

[ri702bill 8,316]

1 hour ago, elcamino/wheelhorse said:

400 weight gear oil ? Where do you get that? 

Amazon has it - plays well with brass & bronze parts - some gear oils do not...