Metal cutting Band Saws?

[Ace]

Comparing my HF metal saw to my dads Sears Wood cutting bandsaw I'd say a big disadvantage would be the squareness of cut...

Most of the time cutting metal your cutting about 1" thick... with wood the material is on average thicker so the angle is more important.

Also the blades are deeper, so doing curvey cutts are harder

It is slower like you say, I cut wood with mine but it's never for anything important.

[gobble_doc]

yer the one thing i cant stress enough is to use alluminium wax when cutting alluminium it can really fawk the blade quickly with no wax im not sure why it does this what ive been told is the alluminium just bonds its self to the blade and clogs it up

[mazdaparts]

I just bought a metal bandsaw off ebay. Same one you can get from HF. Its variable speed, and has a 12" throat depth. I can also use it for woodworking. Link here.

[Robb]

I broke out my 9" Ryobi last weekend to go some chopping on my TXT frame and make up some susp links (Fishmaxx, you can get the Ryobi blades ((I think 56 1/2")) at Lowes). Picked up a new 18tpi blade and went to work.

Sliced through the aluminum frame like butter. It was nice to use a rip fence so that you can make the identical cuts on both pieces.

Then made the first eight links. Blade went through both the aluminum rod and steel threaded rod with complete ease. Then made of the second eight, aluminum rod went great...........steel rod, not so great. Blade was already dull! A good amount of force was needed to push the rod through, got REAL hot on the way, and messed up the threads on the rods.

Thanks Ace for the tip on the wax lube. I'll try some out next time!

[BENDER]

Originally Posted by Robb

I broke out my 9" Ryobi last weekend to go some chopping on my TXT frame and make up some susp links (Fishmaxx, you can get the Ryobi blades ((I think 56 1/2")) at Lowes). Picked up a new 18tpi blade and went to work.

Sliced through the aluminum frame like butter. It was nice to use a rip fence so that you can make the identical cuts on both pieces.

Then made the first eight links. Blade went through both the aluminum rod and steel threaded rod with complete ease. Then made of the second eight, aluminum rod went great...........steel rod, not so great. Blade was already dull! A good amount of force was needed to push the rod through, got REAL hot on the way, and messed up the threads on the rods.

Thanks Ace for the tip on the wax lube. I'll try some out next time!

Wax will definetely help!! If you can, slow the blade speed down when cutting steel. In general, use higher rpm with aluminum and slower rpm with steel. Your saw blades will last longer.

[blazed]

i like the ellis mier band saw
modle # 1600
blade size 10'0" x1" x .035

it helps me a lot in class. but thats my .02$

[chaotic_life]

There should be some sort of tracking adjustment to keep the blade centered on the wheels. also it helps to set the guide blocks after setting the tension/tracking-that way it doesn't stress the blade as much. You can get blades of different depths too, back in the studio we had 3TPI blades that were only like 1/4" deep from the tip of the teeth to the back of the blade. You have to get the right blade for your application.

[Mazlem]

So you can inter-change metal and wood blades? I was thinking of THIS saw because of the range in speeds an the stand.

[BENDER]

As long as the blade length is right for the saw, in this case 14", you should be able to go back and forth from metal to wood blades.

[BultacoJim]

Originally Posted by Mazlem

So you can inter-change metal and wood blades? I was thinking of THIS saw because of the range in speeds an the stand.

This is really a band saw more suited for cutting wood than metal.

If you want to purchase a Band saw that could be used for both metal and wood, then you need something like this saw:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...24742?v=glance

The important specs are:

[SFPM is: Surface Feet Per Minute]
• Cutting Speeds Wood (SFPM) 3300
• Cutting Speeds Metal (SFPM) 39, 57, 78, 107, 142, 196, 278

If you want my suggestion, :-P
I use separate band saws for metal and wood. I don’t like the idea of contaminating my wood projects with metal filings, oil, cutting wax, etc.
I also don’t like cleaning sawdust off my metal cutting band saw and hassle of changing blades with deeper gullets for sawing wood. But, that’s my opinion.

Charts:
http://www.niagaracutter.com/techinf...eed/chart1.gif
http://www.endmill.com/pages/training/spdfeed.htm

For most steel cutting applications, the range when using high speed steel cutting tools varies from 30 to 200 surface feet per minute, By comparison, carbide cutting tools when machining steel are generally used in the range of 300 to 500 surface feet per minute. Wood cutting is done at sppeeds of 2000+ SFPM.

Any way, here’s a quick guide for Blade Speeds for band saws:
(Notice that cutting aluminum at high speeds is Ok)



Speed (SF/M) range


Material being cut.................................Blade Speed in (SFPM)

Structural steel........................................165
Low carbon steel.....................................160-165
Medium carbon steel................................115
High carbon steel.....................................90-100

Cr-moly steel...........................................10 5-135
Ni-Cr-moly steel.......................................90-115
Chromium steel.......................................80-140
Cr-vanadium steel...................................105-115
Tool steel............................................. ....40-80
Stainless steel.........................................40-70
Free machining steel................................80-100

Cast iron.............................................. ....55-90
Copper alloy (CU-Zm)...............................55

Bronze............................................ .........90
Al-bronze............................................ .....40
Monel............................................. ..........40-45
Titanium alloy...........................................25-40

Aluminum (soft).......................................3000
Aluminum (T-6+)......................................3000
Carbon............................................ ........3000
Slate............................................. ...........80-160

PTFE sheet, rod, rounds..........................3000
Hard rubber............................................ .3000
Plywood........................................... ........3000
Other woods............................................3 000

[Mazlem]

Thanks BultacoJim that's a nice list. I plan on cutting mostly aluminum some plastic, but having the right speed for steel would be nice. THIS one looks like it'd just about provide the speeds you listed. It'll go from 1-2645FPM; that'd let me cut what I want and is cheap enough to get a second if I want one for wood.

[chaotic_life]

Though the speed goes down far enough, it most likely won't have the torque at the lower speeds for cutting much steel. Its better than nothing, but for cutting steel and other hard materials, a bandsaw with a geared speed range is more desireable. unfortunately, they are much more expensive.

[Mazlem]

I bought the second saw I linked along with an 18t blade. What speed should I use for cutting plastic wheels? Also how about tire foams; think it'd work for that?

[Unimoger]

Well I bought this one today, from what I have read on RCC, everyone is pretty happy with this one, we'll see.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=37151

[Ace]

Uni,

If you find your blade keeps popping off try tightening the tension harder.

I babied mine but then I read it's about impossible to overtighten the blade tension just tightening the knob by hand. Since then I tighten almost as tight as I can get it, while the saw is running.

It still slips off but very infrequently now. Don't be afraid ta hoss down on the tension!

[badger]

Originally Posted by Unimoger

Well I bought this one today, from what I have read on RCC, everyone is pretty happy with this one, we'll see.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=37151

NO NO NO, everyone said that one was crap! Send it to me, I'll take that POS off your hands.

[AdamF]

Originally Posted by Ace

Uni,

If you find your blade keeps popping off try tightening the tension harder.

I tightened mine as hard as I possibly could, but it still pops off.

[badger]

Originally Posted by Ace

I get starret blades from www.use-enco.com Well worth the extra dough IMO.

Hey Ace, I have lost a few teeth on my stock blade and want to order a better one. On that web site there are a few options to choose from.

Brand Starrett

Blade Length (Feet) 5Ft.4-1/2In.

Blade Width .5000", 1/2, 12.70mm

Teeth per Inch 18 or 24

Type Flex-Black or Hard-Back

Material Carbon Steel or High Carbon Steel

My question is which options in red should I choose to cut links and mostly .064 sheet aluminum?

Thanks.

[Unimoger]

[QUOTE=badger]Hey Ace, I have lost a few teeth on my stock blade and want to order a better one. On that web site there are a few options to choose from.


Badger, let me know what you go with, I have the same issue with mine.

[Trike Kid]

I'd suggest looking around and trying to find an old one when someone's clearing a shop out or something. The one in our shop is a 60's Delta, the electrics were a little messed up when we got it, but that was easily fixed, it acctually uses a house style setup, and a light switch for on/off. But it works and cuts beautifuly.