Searching for a small quiet metal saw

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CarlosA

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Anyone have any experiences or suggestions? I currently have a 4x6 bandsaw inside my (apartment) spare room machine shop - i`m looking to reclaim the floor space and get something that would be better suited to the top of a bench for making cuts. I primarily use it for cut off purposes - like a 2" round aluminum rod for turning, etc. Whatever I find needs to be bench size and as quiet as the 4x6 - preferably even quieter with less vibration to please the neighbors. Otherwise maybe I can kick this thing out on the porch and make that work somehow, I just don`t really want it to rust away.

I also have a hand-i-hack saw in storage that didn`t really solve the problem.

I almost think a small vertical metal cutting bandsaw might do the job, but not sure about cutting off larger diameters?

Please tell me what has worked for you, or of anything you might have seen that was impressive. I don`t have much of a budget for this - sky is the limit to solve this annoying problem.
 
There's really not very many choices for smaller than a 4x6 unless you go vertical. Well a chop saw is smaller but that won't work in your case, way too loud & they're messy.

There are benchtop horizontal bandsaws but they're not that much smaller than a 4x6, maybe a bit shorter in length. Example below. An old power hacksaw can be found with a small footprint also. But there not easy to find depending on where you live and are even slower than bandsaws.

If it were me, I'd stick with a horizontal bandsaw for cutting. The advantage is you can leave it to make a big cut where as a vertical bandsaw you will have to sit there & continue feeding the stock yourself.

You can unbolt the stand on a 4x6 & put the saw on top of a bench. My suggestion is if that would work for you I would do that. Will save you money & the stands on most 4x6 saws are what vibrates & makes noise.

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darkzero said:
You can unbolt the stand on a 4x6 & put the saw on top of a bench. My suggestion is if that would work for you I would do that. Will save you money & the stands on most 4x6 saws are what vibrates & makes noise.
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I considered this - if I relocate the motor to be above the gear box, and use a DC motor with variable speed, it would really work well in this configuration - the back side of the motor hanging off prevents it from working in my space as is.
 
All the smaller saws that run on universal motors are going to be noisy, universal motors are notorious for their excessive noise, a quiet saw would most likely have an induction motor.
 
CarlosA said:
I considered this - if I relocate the motor to be above the gear box, and use a DC motor with variable speed, it would really work well in this configuration - the back side of the motor hanging off prevents it from working in my space as is.
Click to expand...

True that, I forgot about that. I had a 4x6 too, then again my 7x12 is the same way. Maybe another option is to build a stand with wheels? That way to can roll it out when you need to use it. If you have the flimsy sheet metal stand, putting castors on that is not a very good idea. I have limited space in my garage, that's what I do with my 7x12.

Otherwise one of those benchtop models sounds good, no motor hanging off the back.
 
 
Another option is to go with a Portaband & the Swag Offroad vertical table mount (or make your own). My lil brother just got one of these setups. Footprint is very small. You can use the Milwaukee, Dewalt, or HF saws. You'll loose the ability to auto feed like with a horizontal saw but at least you can unbolt it & go handheld.

Trick Tools makes a horizontal stand for the portable bandsaws but they're not cheap!

I believe most if not all of those small table top vertical bandsaws are meant for wood, they spin too fast for metal. Not sure if you can mod them to go slower. The portable bandsaws have variable speed & good thing is you can buy replacement blades at most any hardware store.

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milwaukee_cordless_bandsaw_99_milwaukee_cordless_bandsaw__ez_cut_jig_for.jpg

EDIT: brino beat me to it. :)
 
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darkzero said:
Another option is to go with a Portaband & the Swag Offroad vertical table mount (or make your own). My lil brother just got one of these setups. Footprint is very small. You can use the Milwaukee, Dewalt, or HF saws. You'll loose the ability to auto feed like with a horizontal saw but at least you can unbolt it & go handheld.

Trick Tools makes a horizontal stand for the portable bandsaws but they're not cheap!

I believe most if not all of those small table top vertical bandsaws are meant for wood, they spin too fast for metal. Not sure if you can mod them to go slower. The portable bandsaws have variable speed & good thing is you can buy replacement blades at most any hardware store.

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EDIT: brino beat me to it. :)
Click to expand...
How noisy are these? The older ones I've used have been screaming noisy like a circular saw.
 
CarlosA said:
How noisy are these? The older ones I've used have been screaming noisy like a circular saw.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure, I've never used a newer one before. Only time I ever used one was a old one too, like when they came in metal cases. But on that one I remember it rattling more than anything else.

Probably not a good representation but there are lots of videos of them on YT. I'll ask my lil brother how loud his Dewalt is.
 
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