which of these three band saws

[plug ugly]

I searched a lot, and no one specifically compared these three cheaper band saws to one another. so can you tool experts please comment on them

Grizzly (http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?itemnumber=G1010)

Harbor (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=37151)

northern (http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=6970&productId=20885&R=20885)

They are all pretty close in cost except for sale prices and shipping of course. Is the grizzly worth the extra coin? Harbor is nice and close, and norther is no where near nor does it give any specs.

[PTSchram]

They are nearly six of one...

The Grizzly does seem to have more bracing on the base-something that is critical if you ever intend to really use those casters to move it.

[rusted]

Honestly, the Grizzly is no longer worth the coin. The extra bracing on the stand, I don't believe is worth it. It used to be the Grizzlys had the old cast steel blade guides, apparently no longer. Honestly I haven't run into a problem with the stamped steel guides, and I cut all kinds of stupid shit with my bandsaw.

Just get the cheapest one and do the upgrades that are easily available via a search. I still use the stand that came with it and will until it collapses. It's nice because the stand is so flimsy it conforms to the floor.

If you want to mess around with the 'upgrades', go ahead, but I haven't needed any upgrades yet.

[brimy311]

Those smaller band saws take FOREVER to cut!!!

Look for one with at least a 3/4" blade.

[rusted]

And oh yeah, have fun cutting whatever you want at 2am, I hate a GD chopsaw! :mad: One of the nastiests tools ever made IMO, I can't believe people pay $160 for a 'good' chopsaw when one of these things is the same price. They're just slow, I guess if you are WHIPPING out the tube work a chopsaw is good, but other than that, what a shitty tool those things are. You're much smarter working with this IMO.

[plug ugly]

thanks, i just got done looking over (quickly, cuase there is a lot of shit to read) all the upgrade pages that have been posted in other threads here.

I can strengthen up the base, so I guess I will go with the HF since they are 20 minuts down the road and no shipping, unless someone can talk me out of it.

I agree about chopsaws. My neighbors hate me when I fire up the cheap HF saw I have.

[PTSchram]

Buy a coupla extra blades. You'll break some before you know it. I've read where the tightest you can get the blade isn't tight enough.

[kwrangln]

Buy a coupla extra blades. You'll break some before you know it. I've read where the tightest you can get the blade isn't tight enough.


I've only ever broken 1 bandsaw blade in the last 10 years, and that was when the material pinched it while using a portaband. There is a spec for how tight to adjust the blade, more than that and your putting too much stress on it. The only reason I can see for overtightening it is the blade slipping on the drive wheels in which case your downfeed is way too fast. Excess downfeed is the quickest way to dull a blade. If your using a gravity saw, install an old shock absorber to slow its decent (thanks for the idea Zach). If your breaking blades, your screwing up and need to actually open up your manual.

[jnutter]

What is grizzly thinking? $258 + $58 shipping? You could get 2 HF saws for that if you caugh them on sale.

This comes up a lot on the machine shop boards. Everybody seems to think that are all made in the same factory and the castings are made from the same patterns, and having seen a few different brands in person - I can't argue.

I got the HFt on sale at the local store for $149 + tax. It came with the cast blade guides. It's a decent unit, but the base sucks. I need to build a better base. I've heard people suggest drainging the gear box and cleaning it out in case there was any casting sand left in it... I'll get to that one of these days.

Here's a FAQ on the cheap band saws FAQ on cheap 4x6 band saws (http://www.tinyisland.com/4x6bsFAQ.html)

Apparently there's a yahoo group for everything, becuase I just found a yahoo group for these saws (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/4x6bandsaw/?yguid=86062060)

I ran across a page of mods that someone had done to one of these once, but I can't find it now. I'll post if I find it.

[youngladdy]

thanks, i just got done looking over (quickly, cuase there is a lot of shit to read) all the upgrade pages that have been posted in other threads here.

I can strengthen up the base, so I guess I will go with the HF since they are 20 minuts down the road and no shipping, unless someone can talk me out of it.

I agree about chopsaws. My neighbors hate me when I fire up the cheap HF saw I have.

What did you search for? bandsaw upgrades??

[PAToyota]

If they are not all the same model, they are pretty damn close. I forget what brand mine is, would have to go out to the shop and look, but it is not one of those three yet identical to them.

I'd say get the HF one but then go get a good blade for it. I solved my base problem by cutting a piece of 3/4" plywood to size and using the holes at the bottoms of the legs to screw it in place -- forms a shelf just off the floor. That and upgraded the wheels on it because I tend to move mine around quite a bit. That alone made it more stable and if I am cutting something long and heavy I can throw a sandbag on the "shelf" to weight the machine down a bit more.

Have looked through all the "upgrade" information and there are a lot of neat ideas for these saws. Just never got around to making any of the upgrades. Maybe one of these days.

[frankenfab]

Here is a picture of my saw. I got it from HF. I have replaced the blade with a 14 tpi bi-metal and adjusted it. I have not done any modifications to it yet.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=146277&stc=1

Here is a piece of 1" x 1/8" angle iron cut square. It is shown against a machinist's precision square, not a carpenter's square. The picture doesn't begin to show the precision of the cut. It is perfect to the naked eye. Note the piece I cut off, laying on the back corner of the square. It is less than 1/32 of an inch thick.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=146278&stc=1

Links:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/4x6bandsaw/
http://www.mini-lathe.com/Bandsaw/Bandsaw.htm
http://www.tinyisland.com/4x6bsFAQ.html
http://www.homemetalshopclub.org/projects/sawstand/sawstand.html
http://www.hut.fi/~kukkonen/bandsaw/bandsaw.html
http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/showthread.php?threadid=734&highlight=bandsaw





.

[plug ugly]

cool, HF has it on sale for 169 right now, so I guess i will do that. thanks for the info. and those are all the mod links I was talking about.

[jesusno2]

man i wish i knew what you guy,s were doing cause i own a hf one and it is the biggest pile of crap i,ve tried everthing to get it to cut straight and it won,t it will slice crooked no matter what anyone ever modify those worthless guides to keep the blade from twisting as it cuts

[rusted]

man i wish i knew what you guy,s were doing cause i own a hf one and it is the biggest pile of crap i,ve tried everthing to get it to cut straight and it won,t it will slice crooked no matter what anyone ever modify those worthless guides to keep the blade from twisting as it cuts

If you're twisting blades as you cut, there can only be two reasons outside of an actual defect: You've either got too much down-pressure or your guides aren't adjusted right. If your rollers are set correctly and your guides tightened down, I don't see how you can be twisting the blade. :confused:

Did you follow the procedure to set the rollers (just barely touching the blade and rolling half the time with no load), and are you sliding the adjustable guide in close to your work so you don't have 9" of free blade sitting there? I bet you're not. ;)

[jopes]

I got the HF one. it works sooo much better than the chop saws. Just be sure you stick with the metal blades and not the multi-use blades they cannot cut the steel very well.

[jesusno2]

whell my saw has 3 roller guides and i,ve drilled and re tapped holes so i can slide the guides right on the metal and it still cuts down at a angle like a radius when ya tighten up the guides it twist,s the damn blade out of whack it,s like where they slide in on the saw housing itself is all sloppy

[rusted]

whell my saw has 3 roller guides and i,ve drilled and re tapped holes so i can slide the guides right on the metal and it still cuts down at a angle like a radius when ya tighten up the guides it twist,s the damn blade out of whack it,s like where they slide in on the saw housing itself is all sloppy

Get some pics of it, and start a new thread. We'll get it figured out, someone can fix it.

[krb]

At one machine shop I use to work at they a Jet horizontal saw that looked just like the others.The saw cut anything from Al. to tool steel with the proper blade and as long as you did not push it.These saws are not bad for the price for light duty cutting.Get yourself extra blades and wax sticks or hook up a flood coolant system!

[PAToyota]

Jesusno2, check out this page here:
http://www.4crawler.com/Machining/index.shtml

Roger describes a problem he encountered with his saw cutting at an angle. Perhaps this is similar to your issue? If so, he includes some suggestions on a fix.

[jesusno2]

that,s a good possibility. hell mine could have same the same prop i,ll have to go look at that now thanks, man

[PTSchram]

Buy a coupla extra blades. You'll break some before you know it. I've read where the tightest you can get the blade isn't tight enough.

OK, perhaps I should have said "You'll strip teeth off the cheap blades before you know it".

[CJeep77]

I recently bought the HF saw, and you MUST adjust the rollers and guides prior to use or it will not cut right, and probably ruin the blade. The way mine was shipped, the rollers would have knocked the kerf right out of the blade immediatly. The base is weak as everyone has stated, but I am happy with it (so far).

[utahjeepr]

Have you guys looked for used? I picked up a Ramco 100 last year for $300. It took a couple months of scanning the want ads and auction lists for what I wanted but in the end it was worth the wait.