wood bandsaw for metal cutting

[Oldhack]

Apart from a blade change what is required to use a wood type Bandsaw for metal cutting.

[DJ’s Timber]

If you have a 2spd saw set it to the slower speed other than that and changing the blade that's about it

[bitingmidge]

What sort of metal?

Not that I'd ever do it of course, but I have found that aluminium blunts the 3/8 3tpi blade something fierce, and you get all sorts of metal bits in the bandsaw tyres.

Maybe not the best thing to do in the long term.

Oh and if I had ever done it I would have run a bit of MDF through part way to protect the table and to create a zero clearance situation for the blade.

It works, but I'm not convinced it's the best way to treat a nice bit of machinery.

Cheers,

P

[BobL]

What sort of metal?

Not that I'd ever do it of course, but I have found that aluminium blunts the 3/8 3tpi blade something fierce, and you get all sorts of metal bits in the bandsaw tyres.

Midge, Candle wax is a good lube for ally cutting. I use it on circular saws and router bits. If you are not after accurate cuts, one way to apply this is to light a candle and dribble the melted wax onto the ally along the line of the cut.The teeth draw the wax in as they cut and it keeps the teeth clean. It's really impressive cutting a 12 mm thick slab of ally with a TS with a rip blade on it. Shards of shiny stuff every where. It's also surprisingly un-noisy.

Another way is to rub the wax across the teeth and blade, However, I don't know how a BS will like having wax all over the drive wheel?

[Oldhack]

I was looking a either making a hacksaw or bandsaw as a general cutting machine when cutting shott length of material for the mill or lathe.
In the process of deciding which one to build it got me thinking as to the difference between a metal and a wood use bandsaw.

[BobL]

I was looking a either making a hacksaw or bandsaw as a general cutting machine when cutting shott length of material for the mill or lathe.
In the process of deciding which one to build it got me thinking as to the difference between a metal and a wood use bandsaw.

You've probably heard me go on and on about this but I reckon a slower speed metal cuttoff wheel has a number of advantages the main one being it will cut much harder metal that either a hack saw or BS will be able to. See this.

[Oldhack]

have hear you mention the ezycut a few times Bob, are they still available ?
how hard would it be to make something similiar ??

[BobL]

The easiest way to "make" a metal cutting wheel would be to put a thin metal cutting blade on a motor like a grinder. There are a couple of problems with this,
- firstly the whole wheel is exposed and it would be safer if only the cutting area was exposed.
- having a support table to place your work on would be better again.
- a full sawguard, a fence and mitre slide would be handy,
- having the motor well away from the blade could allow you to use water cooling etc.
- having some control over depth/height adjustment.
The whole trend is leading towards a TS arrangement. I reckon that unless you need to cross cutting large thick bits of steel, when a cut-off saw is better, a TS arrangement has many advanatges. You can for example make long cuts, like rip sheets of metal, which a cut off saw can't do.

Yep one could buy/make an arbor and use an electric motor from elsewhere, and make up a samll TS pretty easily, but it's probably going to be less expensive just to buy a small (used?) TS. It does not need to be very big TS because you probably won't need to use very big wheels on it. Certainly the biggest I've seen the 1mm thick cut-off wheels are 125 mm in diameter. This gives a cut-off Even a cheapie (used) would probably work well if you don't work it too hard. Remember if you want to use water cooling it should have the motor well away from the cutting wheel - some cheap small TS have the motor attached directly to the arbor.

[Black Ned]

I remember years ago of being told that steel strapping used to band metal and other items for packing made a very effective bandsaw blade thar would cut metal by friction. The band was brazed into a loop to suit a wood cutting bandsaw. the metal was pushed up to the blade and the friction melted away the material in its path.
I believe that the heat actually improved the hardness of the blade and was very effective. Maybe someone could experiment and advise the outcome.

[Grahame Collins]

Hi Old Hack,
If all you require was the function of a cut off or dock saw would a saw made by Makita suffice?
I saw one on demo at the Makita seller here in town.

I was impressed as it chomped up a bit of 60 diameter r bar quicker than a friction saw could

Its is a LC1230 and by the looks would have to be in.
didn't ask the price though,but with a cast base and ,the solid build to match ,it would not be cheap.

[Grahame Collins]

I forgot to ask
Do you have a bandsaw already you want to modify?
If so then i believe can help.

Grahame

[DJ’s Timber]

Hi Old Hack,
If all you require was the function of a cut off or dock saw would a saw made by Makita suffice?
I saw one on demo at the Makita seller here in town.

I was impressed as it chomped up a bit of 60 diameter r bar quicker than a friction saw could

Its is a LC1230 and by the looks would have to be in.
didn't ask the price though,but with a cast base and ,the solid build to match ,it would not be cheap.

Looks to be the ducks nuts but at $1200+ you would want to be using it a fair bit

[Oldhack]

Do you have a bandsaw already you want to modify?

No, but if been looking at a few secondhand ones, still havent decided where I prefer the bandsaw or hacksaw as a project.

the drop saws look good, but are expensive, as mentioned earlier I'd like to have a go at making something myself, just because I can, and would like it to be able to cut 100mm solids.

[Metal Head]

Hi,

When cutting thin sheet metal e.g. gal, with a wider pitch on the blade (used for metal cutting). Rather than wait for it to eventually break because you are feeding it in too quickly, you can always reverse the blade so it cuts on the back of the teeth - a trick of the trade I was shown many years ago.

MH

[rodm]

Oldhack
If you are going to buy a second hand bandsaw to convert then have you thought about buying a horizontal metal cutting bandsaw.
H&F have them cheap as chips for $299 and they will cut 100 by 100. The head lifts to vertical and you can use them like a woodworking bandsaw. Blades are $12 and last ages if you are careful and you can add coolant using a small pond pump. They are not a toy and will cut perfectly square ends if you set them up properly. They run on steel rims so there is no problem with swarf sticking to the tyres.
I have the BS-5 and wonder why I didn't get it years ago.