Mist Cooler for Porta-Band Stand

[akjeff]

While I would love to have a DoAll or Grob band saw, I don't. What I've got, is a Milwaukee porta-band in a SWAG Offroad saw stand; it's one of the most useful tools in the shop. Very happy to have it. With a blade just shy of 45", they get worked pretty hard, as there's not a lot of down time in between cuts. In hopes of extending the blade life when cutting steel( and preventing aluminum from clogging the teeth ) I installed a Nogamist unit on it. Just tapped a hole in the upper blade guard and screwed a small block of steel for the magnet base. Made a couple of cuts in 1/2"x 6" 6061 using Kool Mist 77, and it definitely felt like it cut easier. Hopefully it'll extend blade life. Side benefit is the air blast keeping the cut line blown free of cuttings.

 

[woodchucker]

You'll need to report back over time.
I'm curious about the bearings with coolant, and whether they will be ok.
I'm also curious if the swarf starts traveling back around to the top and dumps it... (when its dry it just goes down).
I use it for rough cutting, but there are reasons I would like to use it, I don't finish cut with it very often.. so I'm not looking for finish as much as just cutting with less heat.

 

[akjeff]

You'll need to report back over time.
I'm curious about the bearings with coolant, and whether they will be ok.
I'm also curious if the swarf starts traveling back around to the top and dumps it... (when its dry it just goes down).
I use it for rough cutting, but there are reasons I would like to use it, I don't finish cut with it very often.. so I'm not looking for finish as much as just cutting with less heat.

Will do. Curious about the same issues, and only one way to find out!. I'll do an update after I put it to use for a month or two. If anything bad happens before then, will report that as well.