Vertical Metal Cutting Bandsaw Recommendation

bretthl

bretthl

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Folks I'm in the market for a 15ish vertical metal cutting bandsaw. My budget is sub 4KUSD. 110 or 220 V single phase. Anyone with a strong recommendation would be appreciated. I have a Wellsaw horizontal saw that I really like but have a need for a vertical machine for roughing and sheet cuts. I don't know much about what is available and am not encouraged by what I have seen so far on the web.
 
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Man I am nervous about this purchase. Unfortunately I live in a place devoid of used machine tools so will have to buy new. Help! Most new machines come from Tiawan and they all look the same. DoAll and Wellsaw offerings are all tool big and out of my league. Dake makes a 14 inch but man is it pricy for such a small table and no mention of tracking adjustment. looks stout though.

I don't even need a blades welder, just a simple quality machine.

Has anyone bought an asian vertical that can say something nice about it?

I'm considering Enco. Never owned an Enco machine but know the brand has been around a long time. But when I search it on the web there is no home page. Has the name just been purchased and the company no longer exist!

Grizzly has a good selection but with bullets.com closing how much longer until the owner closes Grizzly too. Take your money and run.
.
 
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bretthl said:
Man I am nervous about this purchase. Unfortunately I live in a place devoid of used machine tools so will have to buy new. Help! Most new machines come from Tiawan and they all look the same. DoAll and Wellsaw offerings are all tool big and out of my league. Dake makes a 14 inch but man is it pricy for such a small table and no mention of tracking adjustment. looks stout though.

I don't even need a blades welder, just a simple quality machine.

Has anyone bought an asian vertical that can say something nice about it?

I'm considering Enco. Never owned an Enco machine but know the brand has been around a long time. But when I search it on the web there is no home page. Has the name just been purchased and the company no longer exist!

Grizzly has a good selection but with bullets.com closing how much longer until the owner closes Grizzly too. Take your money and run.
.
Click to expand...

Enco was absorbed by their parent company MSC. I wouldn’t worry about Grizzly going away anytime soon.
 
I believe Enco machines were the usual Chinese products with Enco's name on them. I have no experience with them,
but it's not hard to imagine that like most Chinese imports, the quality varies depending on which specific factory built the machine and what level of quality the importer was willing to pay for.

Grizzly is a pretty well established company, so probably not going anywhere soon. I've spent time in their Bellingham showroom, and my impression on was their stuff was pretty typical of Chinese imports. (That is to say, variable
quality wise) . They do seem to have
a decent reputation for customer service.

I think that older Chinese machines were mostly Taiwanese, but that most new saws are from mainland China.

The only Chinese saw I have any experience with was a 14" Rigid wood saw that I bought for a specific project. I wasn't impressed, and sold it when I no longer needed it. As hard as it is for you, your best bet might be to find something like the older 14" Rockwell wood/metal saws. Might have to do some driving to get one I imagine.
 
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https://denver.craigslist.org/tls/d/jet-band-saw-jwbs-140s/6710558579.html

That one would work fine, there are others on Craigslist in your area. I picked up my Chinese clone at an auction for $25. It actually ran when I got it home. Built a new upper blade guide for it, and installed a 30:1 right angle gearbox and 2 speed motor I had on the shelf. The blades cost more than I have into the saw.

A jack shaft and a couple pulleys would slow it down in place of a gearbox for metal cutting. Mine runs from 30-350 FPM depending on where the belts and motor speed are set. I cut everything from tool steel to wood.
 
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If you are only interested in a new saw, Precision Matthews has a horizontal/ vertical. People seem to like their lathes and mills, so that might be an option.
 
Nogoingback said:
It sounds like you made a nice job of your saw, but not everyone has a spare gearbox and a motor "on the shelf". :)
Click to expand...

I have a lot of stuff ''on the shelf'' :grin: Most of it didn't cost me anything.

That's why I mentioned a reduction jackshaft. Metal cutting vertical band saws in that size range are somewhat scarce, but the Delta style wood band saws are everywhere, and easy to convert to metal cutting use. :)
 
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bretthl said:
Folks I'm in the market for a 15ish vertical metal cutting bandsaw. My budget is sub 4KUSD.
Click to expand...
That's a healthy budget for a bandsaw, everyone dreams of owning an Ellis bandsaw but I'm not sure if $K USD will be enough though:
I just read your post again and realized you are looking for a vertical bandsaw, I think the jackshaft route is your best bet ,as others suggested. I'm planning on converting my wood cutting bandsaw either using a reduction jackshaft or a treadmill motor.
 
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Nogoingback said:
As hard as it is for you, your best bet might be to find something like the older 14" Rockwell wood/metal saws. Might have to do some driving to get one I imagine.
Click to expand...

I second that. I ran across a 14" Rockwell wood/metal saw and bought it. Had to do a little work on it, but it has turned out to be a very nice machine. Doesn't have nearly the capacity of some of the larger machines, but not nearly the cost either. Had to travel about 150 miles to get it, but I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.

Regards,
Terry
 
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