Band saw suggestions....

[5150bronco]

looking to buy a band saw to cut metal tube or sheet metal....

any suggestions on models or brands?

[Dennis P]

My only suggestion is to make sure that it has a common blade size that you can buy easily.Alot of smaller saws ,you can only find wood blades ect for and are hard to get.

[Duuuuuuuude]

I got my Skill bandsaw from Lowes for about $100. It uses common sized blades. Also has a laser guide, work light, and fence.

[5150bronco]

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

I got my Skill bandsaw from Lowes for about $100. It uses common sized blades. Also has a laser guide, work light, and fence.

nice! is it an upright? or vertical that has a table? what is the model #?

[OfnaJoe]

I think he's talking about this one. It comes with a wood cutting blade but they do have a metal cutting blade for about $12. I'm looking at it too!
http://www.lowes.com/pd_22199-46922-...lade$y=11$x=12

[run2jeepn]

I found a nice Craftman one on Craigs List for $60. Thing looked brand new. Thats also where I found a matching scroll saw as well for $40. Might check into that first.

[papasnachez]

I would look at classifieds first. When lucky you will find a used HD version of what you want for the price of a new light duty unit.

I do have the skil in that link above from lowes. Bought it for that $114 in store. Also picked up two metal blades. The stock wood blade is working great for delrin. The features are pretty nice.

[Bmr4life]

Does the skill saw cut sheet metal well?

["N8"]

Im surprised noone has pointed out earlier that there is a difference between wood and metal bandsaws and that most of the cheapo band saws you purchase at lowes and home depo will most definatly not be metal cutting saws.

My suggestion would be to go onto craigslist and find a fab shop going out of buisness that has a small metal band saw up for grabs. Almost all of the old ones are good.

[TANK]

the skill saw from lowes is "ok" i've been using mine sense x-mas and it was a complete pain in the ass the get set up and cut straight... If I could go back and buy another saw i would get one with bearing blade guides for sure. It's worth the $100 but would be worth $50 more to get a better saw...

[Bmr4life]

Which saw would you get for $150?

["N8"]

Originally Posted by Bmr4life

Which saw would you get for $150?

I wouldn't.

I would buy this saw: http://southcoast.craigslist.org/tls/1582183622.html

and I would drool over this saw: http://worcester.craigslist.org/tls/1568420726.html

or something to that effect.

[Bmr4life]

Originally Posted by "N8"

I wouldn't.

I would buy this saw: http://southcoast.craigslist.org/tls/1582183622.html

and I would drool over this saw: http://worcester.craigslist.org/tls/1568420726.html

or something to that effect.

How do you know the $300 saw is a good one?

[savagefromthesprings]

i bought the Skil Scroll saw from Lowes yesterday (same price as the band saw). I love how much more intricate you can get with the cutting. The blades are much thinner and you can cut tight turns with it. All I use it for is Delrin and Balsa wood. If I were cutting alot of metal, then I would also get the band saw. But, I do give a thumbs up to the scroll saw. Also bought the dremel workstation to use as a mini drill press. It is freakin awesome for RC stuff. I already owned the Dremel, so the workstation was only 40 more bucks.

[Bmr4life]

Originally Posted by savagefromthesprings

i bought the Skil Scroll saw from Lowes yesterday (same price as the band saw). I love how much more intricate you can get with the cutting. The blades are much thinner and you can cut tight turns with it. All I use it for is Delrin and Balsa wood. If I were cutting alot of metal, then I would also get the band saw. But, I do give a thumbs up to the scroll saw. Also bought the dremel workstation to use as a mini drill press. It is freakin awesome for RC stuff. I already owned the Dremel, so the workstation was only 40 more bucks.

Tell me more about the Dremel work station. I'm thinking about getting one of those also.

["N8"]

Originally Posted by Bmr4life

How do you know the $300 saw is a good one?

I know the continental is good because my friend who owns a foundry has pretty much that exact same saw in his shop. The difference is that the blade speed is super slow in comparison to something made to cut wood or other materials.

variable speed stuff is nice, but only once you get into professional machines and they are more expensive. I would never expect a craftsman or ryobi band saw to cut any real metal.

also a good thing to know is that band saws do not oil well, the lubrication makes the blade slip. So if your doing metal cutting with a band saw having a block of wax to run your blade through before your work is a good solution to saving your tooling.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Originally Posted by 5150bronco

nice! is it an upright? or vertical that has a table? what is the model #?

Originally Posted by OfnaJoe

I think he's talking about this one. It comes with a wood cutting blade but they do have a metal cutting blade for about $12. I'm looking at it too!
http://www.lowes.com/pd_22199-46922-...lade$y=11$x=12

Thats the one!

I've been using the piss out of it lately. Wood (ply and 2x4's), metal (sheet, rods, and tubes), plastic (sheet and rod), lexan, works great for all of those. I also bought a fine tooth metal blade and a thinner coarse tooth blade for cutting round corners. I'm perfectly happy with it.

Originally Posted by Bmr4life

Tell me more about the Dremel work station. I'm thinking about getting one of those also.

Total waste of $40. You can't drill metal or plastic with a Dremel, it spins much to fast and has no real torque when it goes slow. It also flexes alot when you apply much force to it. I bought one and its now under the bench doing nothing more than holding a few bits and collecting dust.

Save up another $70 and get a real drill press.

The ONE good use I found for it was holding the dremel while siping tires. Its nice to have both hands available.

[5150bronco]

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

Thats the one!

I've been using the piss out of it lately. Wood (ply and 2x4's), metal (sheet, rods, and tubes), plastic (sheet and rod), lexan, works great for all of those. I also bought a fine tooth metal blade and a thinner coarse tooth blade for cutting round corners. I'm perfectly happy with it.



Total waste of $40. You can't drill metal or plastic with a Dremel, it spins much to fast and has no real torque when it goes slow. It also flexes alot when you apply much force to it. I bought one and its now under the bench doing nothing more than holding a few bits and collecting dust.

Save up another $70 and get a real drill press.

The ONE good use I found for it was holding the dremel while siping tires. Its nice to have both hands available.

I have been looking at this ryobi at depot. http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053

what blade you use for the cutting corners in metal?

that is the main reason why I want a band saw....


DO YOURSELF A FAVOR.....buy a drill press like suggested....the best thing.

[5150bronco]

Originally Posted by "N8"

Im surprised noone has pointed out earlier that there is a difference between wood and metal bandsaws and that most of the cheapo band saws you purchase at lowes and home depo will most definatly not be metal cutting saws.

My suggestion would be to go onto craigslist and find a fab shop going out of buisness that has a small metal band saw up for grabs. Almost all of the old ones are good.

very good point. for one is that some that do cut wood will only cut non-ferrous metal......, but not ferrous....which is steel.....

[Duuuuuuuude]

Originally Posted by 5150bronco

I have been looking at this ryobi at depot. http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053

what blade you use for the cutting corners in metal?

that is the main reason why I want a band saw....


DO YOURSELF A FAVOR.....buy a drill press like suggested....the best thing.

I looked at the Ryobi too...but I have a terrible aversion to HD. I only go in there when I absolutely positively have no other choice. For some reason I feel my IQ drop 30 points just walking through the door.

Really to cut corners in metal with a band saw you have to do it in chunks. You can get away with cutting a fairly large radius, but nothing close to tight. Metal or plastic is a bit more forgiving, but you still have to do in in peices for the most part.