Who Uses Coolant for Their Horizontal Bandsaw or Power Hacksaw?

Eyerelief said:
I'm sure that is a huge part of my problem as my coolant has some age to it. That and the fact that I can look at a piece of bare steel and it will start to rust. The tool maker that mentored me said I have "the golden touch" meaning that everything I touch starts to oxidize quickly. Come to think of it, he never let me use his tools
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A guy who worked for me called the tendency to rust things "p--s fingers".
 
We used a lot of coolant in my shop. Almost all the lathes had flood, the vertical mills had mist or flood, CNCs had flood, the saws had flood, the surface grinders.... you get the idea. It's different when the machines are used frequently and have oil skimmers running 24/7. It's also different when you have an apprentice to maintain and change the coolant. With all that, you still come home smelling of rancid coolant, which doesn't wash off easily. I won't have coolant in my home shop, even if it may have some advantages. I'd rather smell like cutting oil.
 
A few months ago I bought one of the large 7x12 Harbor Freight band saws. It has a coolant tank and pump and they recommend water based coolant. I've heard a lot of people complain about rancid coolant, so I filled the tank with light cutting oil. So far it hasn't given me any problems. I run a Lennox bi-metal blade on the saw.
 
MrWhoopee said:
We used a lot of coolant in my shop. Almost all the lathes had flood, the vertical mills had mist or flood, CNCs had flood, the saws had flood, the surface grinders.... you get the idea. It's different when the machines are used frequently and have oil skimmers running 24/7. It's also different when you have an apprentice to maintain and change the coolant. With all that, you still come home smelling of rancid coolant, which doesn't wash off easily. I won't have coolant in my home shop, even if it may have some advantages. I'd rather smell like cutting oil.
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Exactly. I hate the smell funky coolant. It’s hard to explain to guys who haven’t worked around it how it permeates your skin.

I’d only consider coolant in a hobby shop saw for titanium or other exotic material.


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I've never used coolant even though my lathe has the hardware. But I'm just finishing up the coldsaw that I've torn apart and wondering about putting coolant in the tank. In the little I used it before the teardown, it cut mild steel w/o issues dry. Aluminum needed WD40 or similar to keep from welding in the teeth. Any advice? This is just hobby use. The cold saw cuts so much smoother and faster than the band saw it will be my go to for anything that it can fit.
 
My 9 x 12 horizontal is equipped with a coolant system. I use Lennox Saw Master, which doesn't smell as bad as whatever I used before. I use the coolant for everything except cast iron. Every now and then, when the pump flow tapers off, I add a gallon or two of water. The Lennox doesn't seem to suffer from this treatment. I have a bin of saw chips that I've been dumping in for the last 6 years, almost always wet. The whole bin of steel has remained rust-free.
 
I have a Grizzly G0613 horizontal, which I bought as an upgrade after many years of the basic HF model, especially liking the swivel head as I’m often cutting odd angles. I use the Trim SC520(?) water soluble general purpose coolant. I find that the saw feels/sounds better with coolant for heavy cuts, so I’m comfortable cutting faster. Ironically it is the only machine in my shop that I consistently use coolant. My mill is set up for flood but haven’t used it. Mostly that comes down to cleanup. The saw I’m happy to just use a chip brush to clean the worst of the chips off the table whereas the mill or lathe I prefer (but don’t always succeed) to keep cleaner than that.

My saw doesn’t see frequent use. I have not had problems with the coolant going bad, maybe in part because the tank is fairly open, a large mesh area? I do keep the coolant a bit on the concentrated side as that deters rust. I run a dehumidifier in my shop so I find that the tank evaporates and I have to add water more frequently than Trim.
 
rabler said:
My saw doesn’t see frequent use. I have not had problems with the coolant going bad, maybe in part because the tank is fairly open, a large mesh area?
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In my experience, rancidity is usually associated with tramp oil accumulating on the surface of the coolant, hence the skimmers. Aerating the coolant (just like an aquarium) can also help. Both of these point to anaerobic bacterial action. Lack of lubricating oil on a saw may be the reason you don't have the problem.
 
So I have a DoAll 916 horizontal band saw that came set up with flood coolant and I use trim sol in mine and it seems to cut much better then cutting dry and I’m just a hobby guy and all my stuff is set up in my barn shop so it doesn’t get used a bunch but I haven’t had any problems with the coolant going bad .I do try and run the pump once a week for 10-15 mins just to keep it mixed and when it gets low I just mix up a small batch and add to it
 
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