BAND SAW??????

[umahunter]

If your shop space is small or you do miters very often look into a swivel head bandsaw

 

[kd4gij]

For a small hobby shop the HF 4x6 can't be beat for the price. It does need a few mods and tuned up though. Nothing hard lots of info and vidio's out there for it. Encluding the yahoo group.

 

[Fabrickator]

Nice job but what exactly does making the dynamic jaw "stationary" do? I have not seen this mod yet. Does the dynamic jaw still rotate freely when it is tightened down on the HF 4x6?

On my old Enco 4x6 the dynamic jaw does not swivel once it's tightened down, it stays put but it's still able to slide back & forth with the leadscrew. I didn't modify my actual jaws either but what I did was relocate the fixed jaw so I could cut shorter items closer to the blade. Just drilled 2 holes & tapped one. I too never really cut much at an angle but when I needed to I could just switch it back to stock. It also gave me a 1/2" more capacity.


Enco / RF-128 4x6 Bandsaw Mods

Before:



After:




I thought about doing it to my 7x12 but it already has another set of holes which to my guess increases width capacity. I just use a 4" vise when I need to cut something short.

DZ- Making the swivel clamp stationary just keeps it from drifting sideways while clamping it. For me, it eliminates a source of frustration which is also experienced by many people that have these type saws and there are several sites & forum topics dedicated to horz band saw mods.

Some, people use it for cutting short stock and some use a vise. Some built an extension table. Personally, if it doesn't fit in this saw, I cut it on my vert band saw and sometimes use a vise if necessary.

I was going to post a few pics but the file loader doesn't seem to be working today.

 

[zmotorsports]

I have always used an abrasive cutoff saw (chop saw) but they are loud and messy. I also don't like having to move the motorcycles outside or covering them when cutting material. I purchased a Wilton 14" vertical bandsaw about ten years ago that I use the crap out of for plate work but due to space restrictions never looked much into the horizontal bandsaws until about a year ago. I couldn't bring myself to purchasing the HF 4x6 even though it actually gets great reviews.

I stumbled across a JET 7x12 (1994 model year) made in Taiwan about three months ago and fixed it up. I use bi-metal blades from ENCO on it and it has worked great. I should have purchased one years ago. I think they are a great addition to a machine shop.

 

[toolman_ar]

My vote is for a draw cut saw. The one I have is the Marvel N0. 2, but they make a smaller version.

I have seen the one that Old Iron has and it is just about the correct size.

toolman_ar

 

[george wilson]

I traded something for a Dayton 4x6" bandsaw back about 1974. It only says Dayton on it. I can't be sure it isn't an import,or if the imports are copies of this one. Although I have a Roll In saw now,and a contour cutting saw as well,I still use the little Dayton more than the other saws for cutting stock off.

We once had to saw a 10 foot 5" dia. bar of bronze into usable lengths. at work. It was very heavy,so I took the stand off of the 4x6" saw,making it necessary to only lift the bronze bar a few inches off the floor to get it into the saw. Required a rotation to saw the pieces,but worked quite well.