My humble band saw

[Aukai]

For the fabrication work I do on my car this little guy will have to do. I don't cut a lot of stock(yet), and have been agonizing over all the different saws, and sizes. DoAll and the like would be nice, and I would love one, but let me practice with this first. Swag off road table, with foot switch, miter fence is on order, mine is too narrow. Milwaukee 11 amp, variable speed, deep throat(5") portaband with 10-14 cobalt blade. Only 1 test cut, but it works.

 

[Ken from ontario]

I have the same saw, it is a good saw for small jobs, the trick in using it is to get to know it's limits, in my case I found out I should not push too hard on it and let the blade do the cutting, and also not to cut materials that are too thick.
I broke 3 blades when I tried to cut a 2" blocks of Aluminum in halves(each 6" long) ,it didn't matter how slow or gentle I was I still ended up overheating the blade and small cracks appeared which lead to breakage.
I stopped cutting thicker materials and avoid cutting for too long (5-7 minute is too long to cut on this saw).the length of time in my experience also leads to blades overheating and ultimately to blade breakage.
This saw is great for cutting angle iron, pipe, tubing, sheet metal, etc. a little wax(stick lubricant ) on the outside of blade is alright but I never let it touch the rubber tires on the wheels.
The Milwaukee is a good start but a metal hobby shop still needs a decent vertical and a good horizontal bandsaw.

 

[Aukai]

Thank you Ken, good insight.