Portable bandsaws worth it or not

[Dhal22]

These portable saw although they are pretty impressive in the ability’s they all have there place the right tool for the right job I do HVCA and some Fab welding work and I’ve cut thru railroad track with my big like nothing but it’s hard to beat a horizontal band saw or a vertical bandsaw depending on what your trying to do

It's funny how some brands do very well with one tool but maybe not another. As a plumber everything for me is Ridgid. Except jack hammers and hammer drills (Bosch), or porta band (deep cut Milwaukee), etc. I have corded Milwaukee's 25 years old, excellent bandsaws, just better than anyone else.

 

[Bi11Hudson]

Any time one can acquire a tool, they should do so. Even if it's some esoteric contraption for "one time" use. Borrowed anything is the start down a slippery slope. There are practical limitations such as funds, availibility, lead time on job. And more theoretical considerations such as suitability. Theoretical because there is always the fallback to a hacksaw or drill. I'm waxing philosophical here because such a question is very personal and difficult to answer remotely.

I have a Milwaukee line powered "Porta-Band" saw that was acquired for professional use. My splicing trailer had an onboard 5KW generator so battery powered tools held little advantage. The band saw still gets used where appropriate. There are other tools to choose from as the situation demands. From the hacksaws to cutoff wheels on a side grinder to a composition blade on a skil saw. Et cetera ad infinitum ad nauseim.

One big advantage to battery powered tools is that they can be converted to run on just about any power source. I have several older "cheapie" battery power tools that had marginal batteries from the git-go but the mechanical design was reasonably sound. I rigged a replacement plug that ran off my tractor battery for use in the deep bush. My interests at the time revolved around a small tractor. It could have easily been a quadra-trac, or a pick-up, an airplane, whatever. More modern tools of 18 volts are a little more difficult to arrange, but still doable. All that is necessary is a dead battery pack and a few feet of "zip" cord, and a couple alligator clips. Worst case, in the shop, is a battery charger. Old style without all those sensing gizmos, just a 13.2 volt DC power supply.

As I've aged (and broken down), many of those jerry rigged tools have been re-integrated into semi-permanent contraptions or passed along (given away) to someone younger with the need. Very little gets thrown away, there's always something that can be "made" from it, done with it.

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[homebrewed]

What blades do you recommend for the 4x6? Talked my wife into getting one this weekend.

I replaced the original not-so-great blade with a bi-metal bandsaw blade. I bought one HF offers and it actually has held up pretty good. It would be nice to also have a coarser-toothed blade for some jobs, the one I have is on the slow side when it comes to cutting large chunks of metal.

 

[Brento]

Thats why i ended up picking up like 3 extra blades. I will get the Starrett combination bimetals but just not now. I have plans perséy? for a hydraulic feed down. It is more of watching 2 videos to get an idea but it seems pretty simple. Needle valve, some aluminum blocks, tubing, some threaded rod, and some drill rod and can make one. Oh and a plumber pipe from a store for a sink and i can make one. Just need a my SB running now.

 

[homebrewed]

Adding hydraulic downfeed probably is my next major bandsaw mod. I have already extended the chuck jaws and included a jackscrew to enable cutting shorter stock, and a chute to feed swarf into a waste container.

It sounds like you are considering this design for your downfeed mod? It's one I have looked at.

 

[Weldingrod1]

Good bimetal blades are soooo worth the money!!! Night and day difference on material that has any gumption! Cutting 90 ksi coiled tubing, ordinary hardware store blades are "multiple per cut" vs a Starrett bimetal that is still going strong years later...

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[Aaron_W]

I see a lot of negative comments about the blade that comes on the saw. I bought bi-metal blades for mine, but thought I'd run the original blade until it needed replacing. Still running the original blade after 2 or 3 years of use, and I do use the saw, have cut lots of steel tubing and a variety of solid steel and aluminum stock with it.

 

[Aaron_W]

Adding hydraulic downfeed probably is my next major bandsaw mod. I have already extended the chuck jaws and included a jackscrew to enable cutting shorter stock, and a chute to feed swarf into a waste container.

It sounds like you are considering this design for your downfeed mod? It's one I have looked at.

My Kalamazoo 6x10 came with a hydraulic down feed, works much better that the spring arrangement on the HF saws. I should look into adding one to the 4x6 so I don't have to hold up the end until the cut is established.

 

[Brento]

Adding hydraulic downfeed probably is my next major bandsaw mod. I have already extended the chuck jaws and included a jackscrew to enable cutting shorter stock, and a chute to feed swarf into a waste container.

It sounds like you are considering this design for your downfeed mod? It's one I have looked at.

No my design is from someone on youtube. The youtube creator is Halligan.

 

[Eddyde]

Thats why i ended up picking up like 3 extra blades. I will get the Starrett combination bimetals but just not now. I have plans perséy? for a hydraulic feed down. It is more of watching 2 videos to get an idea but it seems pretty simple. Needle valve, some aluminum blocks, tubing, some threaded rod, and some drill rod and can make one. Oh and a plumber pipe from a store for a sink and i can make one. Just need a my SB running now.

I saw design that used a screen door closer, looked like a pretty simple mod.