HF 4x6 bandsaw working out well

B

Bill Kahn

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I have learned that sometimes I just need to buy the good stuff. Like carbide endmills.

Other times the cheap stuff seems to do just fine for me.

My cheap HF 4x6 bandsaw just did an impressive cut. With a good blade (imachinist M42 Bi-Metal), and with no special adjustment of the saw, it cut off a uniform .02" from a 2x6" piece of titanium. That stuff is way hard to cut--a normal HSS blade does not even scrape it. Took two hours with extra pressure.

There was ample opportunity to veer. It just stayed straight on course.

I probably am just having a lucky run with it--there are many adjustments folks write about for the saw. I have about 50 hours of cutting on it over the past year plus. Have not adjusted a thing yet.

(I didn't need the .02--I needed the block it came off of to be .08 smaller. With the .045 cut width I only had .015 more to do on the mill. With a max rate of .001 per layer and needing 5 passes per layer, it was faster to just set and forget the saw. (And those 15 layers took forever--the face mill cannot do Ti.))

-Bill

IMG_3908.JPG
 
Bill... I've been using that same HF saw almost every day for the last 6 years or so. Gotta love it. Quick suggestion if you haven't already heard about this... change the oil in the gearbox. The factory oil is barely one step above lard. People who don't change the oil experience gear-box failures.
BTW, as I recall, there's an Internet Forum dedicated to that bandsaw (go figure).

Also, most types of commercial TI work-hardens very quickly. If you use a cool-mist (or similar) coolant, you'll mitigate that problem.

Regards

Ray C.
 
A +1 on changing the gear box oil. I was recommended to clean out and replace with STP. The gear box has been happily working for more than +35 years now!...Dave
 
When you change the oil, take a look at the seals. Mine has been sitting in hte back of my shop for a few years now, since I picked up a Carolina band saw. A few months ago, I noticed the floor under the HF saw, is a big oil/grease spot. Apparently the 100+ degree heat, and the grease did not get along with each other.
 
I also have the HF 4x6 bandsaw. I have done a few simple mods to it, most regarding the vise. To facilitate cutting short stock I extended the jaws closer to the blade with two .25" thick steel plates, and put an adjustable jack rod on the far end so the vise grips shorter stuff better. It uses a pinch-clamp approach to fix the rod in place. I also drilled and tapped two holes on the bottom of the movable jaw, for two brass bolts that help keep the jaw from opening up when it is cranked down on stock. I faced the ends of the bolts to maximize their contact area.

I also made a chute out of sheet metal to direct swarf into a waste container. It doesn't catch all of the swarf but it's a lot better than no waste chute at all.

Mark
 
Gearbox Oil recommendations for the HF Band saw?
 
Any gear oil will b fine gman. The problem is they don't clear out all the grit before filling them at the factory.
 
Mobil SHC 634 is recommended. There is a bronze gear in the box and some gear oils will eat it.

Roy
 
0.02" Ti 6Al4V? (0.5 mm)
You can CUT that with heavy tin snips.
With care I can cut 0.8 mm (0.031") 6Al4V, with very heavy tin snips.

Cheers
Roger
PS: yes, I overhauled the bandsaw gearbox and replaced the oil too, when I bought it.
 
i have the cummins brand of the same saw but its about 15 years old. I have given up trying to get it to cut straight. I am now looking for another saw. Glad yours is working out.
 
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