Need a saw... cheap and compact?

R

RobMofSD

Joined
Nov 3, 2022
Messages
65
Hey all,

I am looking for advice on a saw. I currently have basic hand saws, but my only power saw is circular (Craftsman C3). Now I would like a saw that can cut some blanks (not a lot) and, more importantly, handle material. I don't have bench space for a regular bandsaw (plus, I remember burning wood on those, could be wrong). What are your thoughts on cheap and compact? Limited use?

Portaband and a table?
Small Bandsaw?
Scrollsaw?
Jigsaw?

There are too many options. I love the idea of an angle grinder but those just aren't as accurate (and I don't know if you can even use one on wood or G10). So, information overload.

Speed is not an issue.

Please give some guidance.
 
This:

Portaband and a table?

Best bang for the buck for your description. I use mine all the time and it has replaced my full size bandsaw.
 
Well, looking at the Milwaukee I walked by that little 9 inch Ryobi. Oddly Home Depot doesn't carry saws, but I ended buying the clone (or relabel, I sear they are identical) from Harbor Freight and ordered a 62 inch blade rated for stainless steel... darn thing is about the size of a portaband and swag table. I was shocked at how small it was. My last band saw was a massive setup, but that was decades ago. This kind of looked like a toy. Hope it doesn't perform like one, but with a good blade I have high hoped.

$135 ÷ tax plus $22 for a blade. Fell into cheap category for me. Cheaper than planned.

Hope it works... but returnable.
 
Those will cut steel ... sort of. Go slow and only cut fairly thin stock. Run the tension as tight as seems practical.
They are nothing like a porta Band in power and clean straight cutting.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Those will cut steel ... sort of. Go slow and only cut fairly thin stock. Run the tension as tight as seems practical.
They are nothing like a porta Band in power and clean straight cutting.
Click to expand...
So your saying I will miss my old bandsaw terribly lol. Portaband is not out of the realm for a swap. At least I am not working on a deadline anymore.

Hopefully a good blade will help... but it was cheap and compact and I can try it out on my 1095 and AEB-L during that time... and swap out blades and try it on handles.
 
Big advocate of the portaband and the Swag. Cut out thousands of blades and use it on everything from handle materials, pins, bolster material, ya name it.

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This just went from this:

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To this:

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It'll get cut into scales this afternoon.
 
RobMofSD said:
So your saying I will miss my old bandsaw terribly lol. Portaband is not out of the realm for a swap. At least I am not working on a deadline anymore.

Hopefully a good blade will help... but it was cheap and compact and I can try it out on my 1095 and AEB-L during that time... and swap out blades and try it on handles.
Click to expand...
I think you're gonna end up wishing you hand gone with a porta-band. That, or even a horizontal/vertical bandsaw. I'm not sure where you're located, but I see used metal cutting bandsaws in the $150 to $250 range pretty often on facebook marketplace. Many of them come with a table for vertical use, but if not, one is easy enough to make.
Those 9" table top bandsaws just typically don't have the balls for cutting anything but thin metal (like brass or aluminum), and usually run a bit too fast for cutting blade steels for very long.
 
Drew Riley said:
I think you're gonna end up wishing you hand gone with a porta-band. That, or even a horizontal/vertical bandsaw. I'm not sure where you're located, but I see used metal cutting bandsaws in the $150 to $250 range pretty often on facebook marketplace. Many of them come with a table for vertical use, but if not, one is easy enough to make.
Those 9" table top bandsaws just typically don't have the balls for cutting anything but thin metal (like brass or aluminum), and usually run a bit too fast for cutting blade steels for very long.
Click to expand...

Coming back to this one. Something that is kind fo surprising to me is that I have not been seeing much in the way of great prices on bandsaws here in San Diego. And, while I was going to hold out and grab the Milwaukee, I ended up going cheap for now with the Bauer since I could grab it for $80 and the stand to try for another $80. Yes, I had some discounts. I did find a used Bauer, but it was ten dollars more.

Now, if I decide I need to set[ it up in a year or two, I will upgrade the porta-band.

It is weird to me that tools seem to be holding their value these days. In the past, they seemed to drop like a rock. I wonder if it is the location or the economy.
 
Definitely location. Here in NC used tools are relatively cheap compared to new. Like 15-20% is what I saw at the flea market. Pawn shops, not sure.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
You will be glad that you got a portaband.

I'm not sure about the HF stand. I heard it was a waste of money and not very rigid. Let us know how it fits and works.
Click to expand...

Today, I rough profiling a pair of knives on 1095 steel on the new bandsaw setup. Real rough as of yet. Now, I need to move on to grinding them. However, I'm not sure if I want to stick with the same brand for the blades since I wasn't completely satisfied with their performance.

On a positive note, the Hercules Universal Portable Band Saw Benchtop Stand, which was purchased yesterday (and set up and used today) is a recently released product. I wonder if there was an older version that was crap? I'm pleased to report that the stand is very sturdy, and I didn't notice any flex while using it. It also includes accessories for use with Dewalt, Milwaukee, and Bauer, as well as a new Hercules bandsaw that hasn't been released yet. I wonder if this means we can expect a new line of battery-powered Hercules gear in the near future. I didn't bolt mine down (and used in table configuration after testing the horizontal setup as well). My bet is bolting it down would make this 100% rock solid. Note this is NOT an 8 hours of work comment, just a "this is how its worked today".

I did miss the bandsaw I had years ago... but that took up a lot of space and was over 30 years old... but CUT.

However, this should be good to go going forward.

Any really good blade recommendations?

Thanks!

Rob.
 
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As a note there is one issue with the table. When using a Bauer, you are going to want to find and swap 2 screws that come on the Bauer. Hitting Home Depot today to do so. They just stick up and make the table not smooth. I thought I mentioned that above but that was a miss by me.
 
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