band saw recommendations?

R

Ratking20

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May 2, 2017
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i built my grinder, working on attachments
i have a drill press
now i need a metal cutting band saw

i love milwaukee tools, looking at either the m18 cordless or the corded version
some of the corded versions have a clutch and are variable speed? are they better?
im also gonna grab a swag table to go with it?
any help would be great. thanks
 
I've got an old porter cable I use from time to time, but it mostly sits since finding a proper vertical metal saw.
I paid less for the 14" delta (proper metal cutting one with the factory gearbox, not some cobbled together thing) than what a new porta band would go for. Personally I'd recommend waiting for a deal on one of these if you can find the space for it.
 
The newest model portable bandsaw from harbor freight has been good to me. Variable speed like John said definitely. I've heard swag tables are great, but me being the tightwad I am bought some 1/4 mild steel and made a table for it and mount it in my vise. Works really good for me, but I don't make near the amount of blades compared to other makers on here.

Buying good bimetal blades are a must. Lennox bimetal 18tpi are what I run.
 
Lenox diemaster and Starrett pro die blades are about even in my experience. Both are miles above cheap blades
 
I think only the corded milwaukee band saws are variable speed. But shouldnt the speed be slow enough on the cordless. I mean it IS a metal cutting saw?
 
I went with the corded variable speed with the swag table and I love it. Corded because I don't use it every day and wanted to be sure power was there when I needed it. I use the lowest speed on steel and usally the highest when splitting blocks or trimming scales. Not sure about the other brands but the Milwaukee has a little brush that helps keep the teeth clear. Helps with wood.
 
I have several bandsaws : Big one for resawing wood, a hand held Milwaukee port band (LOVE, LOVE that thing do not make it into a contraption though) . . .
For cutting out knives at an inexpensive price I would say get one of these (the cut off saw in this first link. This is a Grizzly; I have a Delta. You may be able to find a Delta used. Has a seriously robust belt drive and three speeds. You lock it into the upright position and put a table on it; comes with a little table. Kind of a sit down and saw kind of thing then.
It cost HALF as much as my nice Milwaukee porta band (yah I know porta band is Portercable where I come from any hand held is called porta band).

http://www.grizzly.com/products/4-x...FYQ&utm_campaign=zPage&utm_source=grizzly.com

This is sort of like my hand held. Twenty years ago with the nice steel box etc it was up around $500 as I recall.
https://www.google.com/shopping/product/2076460811637358195?lsf=seller:8740,store:10885855250306392385&prds=oid:3320366050521652255&q=milwaukee+hand+held+bandsaw&hl=en&ei=aQM2WcbAM8TEjAOC54nIAw&lsft=cm_mmc=Shopping-_-LIAs-_-D25T-_-100014798&lsft=gclid:COLOhveGqNQCFVVtfgod_esFYQ
 
bandsaw ?ok:
for metal, if it is not et,you will spend a lot of money on saws/blades
slow speed is important very important! yes they make bands that run fast but why,I will never know.
important facts:
must have a min of 3 teeth in a cut, therefore it is the tooth pitch that counts here
2/speed is almost never too slow unless u are production fast minded than you max it out
3/wood likes a slow dry saw so it will not burn
4/those bandsaws that use a band that is narrow and plastic "guides" (hobby )types are trouble after a bit of use...im talking soft easy wearing plastic not good old textile compressed ...These are usually the department store types.
however for cutoff applications,I prefer a "chopsaw, make my own easy
hope i helped though i like to stay generic
sawfiler.
 
If you go Portaband & Swag table, might as well use mainspower. Adding a Swag pretty much makes it no longer easily portable. No point in being cordless then.
It makes a great benchtop saw for small work with low footprint.
Said that,
Those China 4x6" saws are generally fairly good, but despite at first look seem all but identical, they vary greatly in detail & quality. For example, I have one sold by Dayton. Its castiron frame is identical to my Buddys HF saw. Probably from the same foundry. But Dayton has ballbearings vs HFs plainbearings, more robust motor, guides, etc...
If you can afford the floorspace & work stuff larger than knives & trinkets, a 4x6 will be overall more useful.
 
My corded Milwaukee on a Swag table with an added Variable Speed Foot Pedal from Harbor Freight has been going strong for 5 years. Bi Metal blades will last the longest, but remember to break in a New Blade with a low and slow feed and you will get much more use from the blade.
 
i got the dewalt deep cut portaband, it does have variable speed. I leave mine at 2 mostly. The swag table is perfect. Very useful tool , the only limitation I find sucks is I cant cut wider sheets down.
I use lennox blades, Im on my second blade after curring out maybe 30 knives and various other things. Corded all the way.
 
Joe, a very fast running metal cutting band saw - 3000' plus - per min. will cut hardened metal very easily as long as you saw in pretty close to a straight line. They are called friction cutting saws and will cut with the teeth gone on the blade.
Frank
 
the reason i do not like batteries in tools is because i have had several cordless drills over the years, and 5 or 7 years later when my battery is dead and will not charge, i found out they do not make that model anymore so all those years of taking care of it to make sure it would last a long time was fruitless :D
 
Just noted the variable dwm 120 dewalt blade speed of 100-350 SFM ... is that slow enuf for wood cutting?
 
Metal is slow speed cutting....Wood is Fast speed cutting turn it up to the highest speed.
 
I don't see any advantage to a cordless saw in a knife making capacity. Not to mention, with a corded saw, you can use a foot pedal. The cordless saws are really only good for construction/job site use, where you're getting into odd places that may or may not have power, or you don't want to trip over a power cord. For something that's going to live in a SWAG table or similar 99% of the time, you definitely want corded. It's also more consistent on the power/torque, and you don't have to work about changing batteries every few blades.
 
at the min i woud have a 4x6 class saw (it sucks to cut wood on them tho) i have a crapsman 14 inch (for wood) that they no longer keep parts around for nor can you pick up bades in store local. i am saw heavy in use for cuttig blade blanks cause i work from 2x3 foot sheets. my roll-in-saw is soo nice for the work i do but not even close to in budget im guessing (even i got mine used) i have killed 2 of the import 4x6 class saws but like i said i cut alot and i push hard avg guy will be just fine with one and good blades
 
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