Thread: Metalworking bandsaws

Yes they can there are But's tho

You need blade made to suit a metal blade is to fine. I have one for my 4x6 its 4tpi used once I now have a wood BS also.

You shouldn't cut wood if you have a fluid cutting system set up.

Limited in how and what you can cut size wise.

You can cut in vertical mode if need be if your machine does so

Accuracy well not great unless you set it up to be as good as it gets in vertical mode.

Wheelin is referring to a small horizontal BS that has a max width of cut that is about 150 mm and max depth of cut that is ~100mm. There are much bigger and also permanently upright versions available but now you are talking about $3k see https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/B010A. Some of the small horizontal metal cutting BS can be made vertical but you will be restricted to a max width cut (throat width) of about 150 mm. These BS will cut wood but as they run at much lower speed than woodworking BS so they are very slow to cut wood.

Woodworking BS are usually upright and run at higher speeds and have a much wider throat - a standard starting size throat is around 350 mm.

I cut aluminium with the wood cutting blade on my 475 mm throat wood cutting BS without any problems, Rub some candle wax on the blade and along the line of the cut and away you go but you should not use this to cut steel as it will be too fast. To cut steel I have a dedicated small horizontal metal cutting BS which I picked up for $150. I use a coolant/lube system (which is messy) and prevents wood being used on it but the coolant/lube makes the blades last much longer than would otherwise be the case.

Woodfast used to made a 350 mm throat metal cutting upright bandsaw with a two speed motor and a multi speed pulley system called a Metalfast that would also allow it to cut wood but its not a good idea to mix steel cutting with wood cutting. We have one of the Metalfast at our mens shed and its a little beauty.

Carbatec used to sell a budget level upright metal cutting BS that could also cut wood but I have not seen it on their site for some time.

so...

...picking up a cheap metal bandsaw and trying to use it to cut timber is sounding like more hassle than it's worth.
It just seems like secondhand metal bandsaws are easier to come by than woodworking bandsaws.

Thanks Bob I had forgotten about the upright MBS he hadn't said.

I do know though they can be converted to a high speed I knew a fellow who did similar on and old H&F metal upright BS if I recall it was a pulley change as motor was same as WBS of similar size. This was some 25 yrs ago.

The wood on a metal cutting bandsaw is totally fine. You can even just use a metal cutting blade. Make sure after cutting, clean down everything. Saw dusts are messy and could mix with the oil/lubricant.