portaband question

timos-

timos-

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
2,161
so...I got a portaband today, came in the mail. I guess I misunderstood the design and did not realize how the blade twists in the cutting area. How are you guys using these? I was planning on cutting down 3" and 6" wide bars of steel and cutting out chef blanks , looks like best I can do is cut 5" deep, hmmm, I am not seeing how these things are all that useful. How are you guys using these beyond just trimming off a few corners. Is there some modification I am missing?
 
Thats right with Portaband. Cutting off barstock & small trimmings. It can ripcut but only a few inch at best.
If you put a table on it, make it a more stationary machine, its capable for detailed work, but its still tiny as far as bandsaws go...
 
You just need to think around the problem. You can make long straight cuts, but you'll have to do so with the skinny side of the cut on the inside (left).

Also, it helps if you put some "feet" on the saw so it will stand up while you use it. I used two L-shaped brackets screwed into the bottom of the handle.

- Greg
 
Just be a little creative and think through the cuts. Which I guess is exactly was tryppyr just said.

It's what I've used for everything, including 5" wide stock. Definitely +1 on mounting it. With just a little ingenuity, you can mount it on a base and add a small table.
 
thanks guys, the swag table should be here friday or so. I guess i was just hoping it was the answer to my problems after I had a abrasive disc from the angle grinder break in my face the other day (somehow avoided injury). I need to make 12" long cuts in the steel i have so will have to rip across the width and cut in from each end ...so atleast only will have to finish 2-3" with the angle grinder
 
Not sure what shape you're trying to cut or how big but I don't see why you couldn't make the portaband work without resorting to the angle grinder. Of... I don't know all the details, so I don't mean to imply you're not trying.
 
For trimming wide stock down, I just cut as far in from one side as I can, then flip the piece 180 and do it again. Sometimes you have to carefully lift the back of the piece up to get a slightly longer diagonal cut, but it works if you're mindful of what the blade wants to do.

I've seen a mod where someone turned their bearing guides to get a deeper throat, but I'm not sure how that would work with a SWAG table if at all, as I haven't done it, and don't have a SWAG table.

That said, I have an OLD porter-cable that has a relatively narrow throat depth, and it cuts about 95% of what I need it too... you just have to get creative sometimes. For the really wide/long cuts, I have a horizontal wellsaw with a table that has much more room, and even IT has its limits. I figure if I ever need to cut anything wider than that, I'll use a jigsaw, or just buy a plasma cutter. :D
 
timos- said:
thanks guys, the swag table should be here friday or so. I guess i was just hoping it was the answer to my problems after I had a abrasive disc from the angle grinder break in my face the other day (somehow avoided injury). I need to make 12" long cuts in the steel i have so will have to rip across the width and cut in from each end ...so atleast only will have to finish 2-3" with the angle grinder
Click to expand...

hey Buddy!
Years ago I moved to having my Blanks WATER JET CUT! I buy the steels I want from Aldo, have it shipped to my Water Jet man in the middle of the country, Then have those blanks shipped to Paul Bos HT at Buck in Idaho and then to me in Cally! It really saves me TIME, & Money. Doing profiles with a bandsaw & grinding was such mind numbing work! I don't miss it at all! Especially cutting out 10 of the same!:rolleyes: Get your patterns squared away and go for it!

I think Aldo's son now does Water Jet Work? I haven't use him? I still have a Dewalt Portable with a Swag Table for one of's and other needs.

Stay safe & have fun!
 
I don't know why they make the blade twist like that instead of keeping it in a straight circle. Not only would it put less stress on the blade but you'd have more variability.
 
JG Custom Metal Works said:
I don't know why they make the blade twist like that instead of keeping it in a straight circle. Not only would it put less stress on the blade but you'd have more variability.
Click to expand...

Porta-bands were originally designed for cutting long lengths of pipe, tube, and other similar stock, say, 4.5" diameter or less. If it was just in a straight circle, the saw would get in its own way if you tried to cut off a section of pipe any longer than it's throat depth.

That said, here's a link to a guy that modified his guides to work just about that way:
http://dcknives.blogspot.com/p/porta-band-725-conversion.html

Not sure if it really gains anything or not.
 
Hey Tim, I've got a portable-band and have been using it to cut profiles including large chef knives. I've found that I sometimes have to flip the billet over to complete a cut or two but overall it's worked. Even with it's limitations I like it much better than an angle grinder :thumbup:
 
knife to a gunfight said:
Porta-bands were originally designed for cutting long lengths of pipe, tube, and other similar stock, say, 4.5" diameter or less. If it was just in a straight circle, the saw would get in its own way if you tried to cut off a section of pipe any longer than it's throat depth.

That said, here's a link to a guy that modified his guides to work just about that way:
http://dcknives.blogspot.com/p/porta-band-725-conversion.html

Not sure if it really gains anything or not.
Click to expand...

Ahhh that makes perfect sense then. Thanks for the link too.
 
When I mentioned putting feet on the portaband, this is what I was talking about.

DSCN9711s.JPG


Note that you could bolt the feet to the worktable as well, but I never found that necessary.
DSCN9712s.JPG


DSCN9713s.JPG
 
I modified mine so there are no twists on the blade, you gain a lot of space on the left side and since the blade does not bend, a lot of extra life on it, made two versions, one failed (squarish table) the long table was a success and I use it almost every day, check the photo album: https://imgur.com/a/4073m

The gist of it is to reposition the blade 45deg twisters, top and bottom guides, so the blade is always straight. Its worth mentioning that I didn't make a single extra hole or modification to the original design, just used the pre existant threaded holes and made adapters, so if in the future I want to leave it original again, it can be done.


Pablo
 
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