Thread: Current bandsaw recommendations

Originally Posted by Stustoys

Mick,
$200 would almost buy you another saw, one for mitres one for square.

Stuart

True

Dave

Thanks for the info on the blade tension fellas.

I found an excellent potential coolant tank in the skip today. It is 180 x 180 x 380 mm (12 L) and is made of 1.5 mm thick painted steel. It needs a lid of some kind and has threaded studs around the edge so I should be able to make something tidy up.

Now decision time shall I use it for the Hercus or the metal cutting bandsaw?

Bob,
If the Hercus is close enough to the bandsaw it shouldn't be to hard to come up with a way for it to do both. I've wheeled the bandsaw to the mill once or twice. Block one table drain and put the other onto the bandsaw.
Is your tank 180mm square and 380 deep? or 180 x 380 and 180 deep? What sort of pump do you have? If its a normal coolant pump and your tank is 180square it will likely empty to fast. You need a short fat tank not a tall thin one(a tall fat tank would work to), Still its a start, you might just have to wind the flow way down(for the bandsaw at least).
Stuart

Originally Posted by BobL

Thanks for the info on the blade tension fellas.

I found an excellent potential coolant tank in the skip today. It is 180 x 180 x 380 mm (12 L) and is made of 1.5 mm thick painted steel. It needs a lid of some kind and has threaded studs around the edge so I should be able to make something tidy up.

Now decision time shall I use it for the Hercus or the metal cutting bandsaw?

Sounds like a good coolant tank.

I bought the coolant tank for the lathe when H&F's had a special going at the time on a pallet load.
I use HSS mostly and so far I haven't bothered fitting it and don't really see a need to on the lathe. The one thing that worries me is if coolant get left under parts of the saddle or the compound it will rust them up. I have seen plenty of pictures of vices on mills and ways that have corroded away because of it and thats something that is easy to get to. I also don't like the idea of having to pull the lathe down to clean everything once a month in case.

Dave

Originally Posted by Stustoys

Bob,
If the Hercus is close enough to the bandsaw it shouldn't be to hard to come up with a way for it to do both. I've wheeled the bandsaw to the mill once or twice.

I've thought of that but I can see the bandsaw is going to have to be moved outside quite often to break up 4 - 6m lengths of RHS on a regular basis for the next year or so.

Block one table drain and put the other onto the bandsaw.
Is your tank 180mm square and 380 deep? or 180 x 380 and 180 deep?

The latter.

What sort of pump do you have?

Nothing yet - I am going to looks at aquarium pumps in the next day or so.
Any suggestions - what sort of max flow rate do I need.
My guess is 1 L/min?

Originally Posted by Dave J

Sounds like a good coolant tank.
The one thing that worries me is if coolant get left under parts of the saddle or the compound it will rust them up. I have seen plenty of pictures of vices on mills and ways that have corroded away because of it and thats something that is easy to get to. I also don't like the idea of having to pull the lathe down to clean everything once a month in case.

Yep I have seen this at before.

The other thing I'm not that excited about is cleaning out the coolant tank. At work we have quite a nice workshop and I can use the gear lathes and mills as long as I replace materials and contribute to the overall servicing and maintenance. I made this rule up when I was the boss and it helped keep some of the riff raff out of the workshop. To show I was not above one of the worst maintenance jobs in the workshop I used to clean the coolant pump every few months - it was not a pretty job.

When we use a lathe with coolant it has to be wiped down and left semi-flooded with lube in the carriage/various slides/way and on the bed etc. It seems to have been a successful system - one lathe has been in use for more than 45 years and it is still the best of the lathes we have

Originally Posted by Stustoys

Mick,
I think its mostly about how and were you plan to set your bandsaw up. If you want to back it up to a wall and have some sort of infeed table/rolls/rack along the wall, to cut mitres you have to move the whole saw to the angle you want. That would get painful. If the saw is out in the open and you can move the stock around to the angle its not so bad. $200 would almost buy you another saw, one for mitres one for square.

Stuart

Thanks Stuart. I think I've exhausted all my wall space, so it'll be free standing - so will try that. I'll make up a portable infeed stand to suit. True I could almost get another saw with $200 but space is tight. Good point though. I'm off now to go and order one and will look at setup options when I've got it in front of me.

Thanks everyone for their input

Cheers

- Mick

If it's going to be moved around, I would suggest a square angle frame be made up to drop the stand on with 100mm casters under it. This will lift the saw high enough to use the Aldi/Bunnings cheap roller stands they sell. I have 4 and find they are to high, but fine when I am out side as the yard slops. You can pick them up for around $20 each, they have a chrome roller with a plastic height adjuster.

Dave

Originally Posted by Dave J

If it's going to be moved around, I would suggest a square angle frame be made up to drop the stand on with 100mm casters under it. This will lift the saw high enough to use the Aldi/Bunnings cheap roller stands they sell. I have 4 and find they are to high, but fine when I am out side as the yard slops. You can pick them up for around $20 each, they have a chrome roller with a plastic height adjuster.

Dave

Thanks for the ideas Dave.

I have already placed some fixed 125 mm bearing wheels under the motor end of the bandsaw and a handle on the other end - they can be just seen in this picture. This makes it very easy to move to where I need it. As for rollers - I salvaged 4 nice orange/red rubber rollers out of a machine and I will be totally impractical () and work for $5/hour to make a couple of pairs to suit the heights of my machines

Originally Posted by Dave J

The blades can be bought from H&F's for a deal of 11 for $110 and will last a long time and even longer if you add coolant.
Dave

The best improvement I made to mine was buying a bi-metal blade for it, cuts 3-4 times as fast, very clean cut and lasts for ages. Have been using mine now for at least a year.

Best $30 I ever spent on this machine.

I cut a lot of stainless rod, up to 22mm, and it goes through that like butter.

Originally Posted by Big Shed

The best improvement I made to mine was buying a bi-metal blade for it, cuts 3-4 times as fast, very clean cut and lasts for ages. Have been using mine now for at least a year.

Best $30 I ever spent on this machine.

I cut a lot of stainless rod, up to 22mm, and it goes through that like butter.

I forgot to ask about this. I'm assuming I need a bi-metal blade if I'm doing any decent amount of stainless? Cheers - Mick

Originally Posted by Dave J

If it's going to be moved around, I would suggest a square angle frame be made up to drop the stand on with 100mm casters under it. This will lift the saw high enough to use the Aldi/Bunnings cheap roller stands they sell. I have 4 and find they are to high, but fine when I am out side as the yard slops. You can pick them up for around $20 each, they have a chrome roller with a plastic height adjuster.

Dave

OK good tip Dave. I check this out too. I'm a big fan of locking castors !

Cheers

- Mick

I just suggested the cheap roller stands as they are adjustable and can be used for other things on the wood work side as well.

I saw a bandsaw just the other day that had 10-12inch wheels on it for outside use.

Just one safety cation, make sure you hold the top part of the saw when lifting, as it has a tenancy to fly open and flip the saw on it's back. I have read of a few people doing this and have come close myself years a go.

Dave

Originally Posted by WelderMick

OK good tip Dave. I check this out too. I'm a big fan of locking castors !

Cheers

- Mick

The angle frame will strengthen the base and these saws are built for Chinese sized guys in height.
If you want to go all out, this is a nice stand and simple to build.
Stand for bandsaw

Dave