advice on bandsaw! huzzah!

[hydin]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=33751

for cutting plexiglass and plexiglass rod. i think itd do pretty well considering the fact its water cooled. plus if it can cut glass and gemstones, it can cut acrylic pretty well too. (i reason)

so, good and talented people who own bandsaws on here... is this one good, bad, fugly, etc?

thanks
chris

 

[synasp]

I don't see a fence on it... The fence on the one I got is total crap, which makes the entire bandsaw useless to me. :unsure

 

[hydin]

hmm....

see, i dont know what a fence is. or what its used for.

can you elaborate a bit?

chris

 

[thedap]

a fence is an adjustable railing that allows you to cut stuff to a certain width and do it uniformly. (like you see on tablesaws)

on really cheap band saws, the blade guides are so useless that a fence won't do a whole lot for you.

 

[Serafino]

I don't like the cantilevered blade guide, seems to be asking for vibration.

There are a LOT of small inexpensive saws out there. You don't need the water gizmo at all.

I've been thinking of getting a small one for my little closet/workshop, have been looking around. It's all pretty much junk on this level but I'd look pretty hard at the Grizzly 3-wheel and the Crapsman 9" from Sears.

Actually, reading reviews at Epinions, the Ryobi has promise...

 

[synasp]

Originally posted by thedap@Feb 9 2006, 01:46 AM
on really cheap band saws, the blade guides are so useless that a fence won't do a whole lot for you.

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Absolutely true, unfortunately. The fence sucks, but even if you reenforce it, you have to move the piece you're cutting veeeeerry slowly so as to not move the blade itself. If you set the blade tension too high... well, I never wanted to find out.

Also, the height clearance on the cheaper ones suck.

Does anyone know what price level a good bandsaw is? I'm trying to cut straight cuts like a router, but I want to cut it all the way through... Would a scroll saw be better?

 

[micdavis]

In 34 years of building stuff, I have never used a fence with a band saw.

 

[synasp]

how do you get straight lines? :confused

What I'm trying to do is... well, picture a 2x4. Draw a line along the bottom (to the left). Draw another line on the top (in the middle). What I want to do is cut along both these top and bottom lines, to get a straight cut.

What tool is best for this?

 

[micdavis]

I dunno...I guess I just cut straight lines.

 

[synasp]

:lol Yes, but I'm trying to make a new, flat plane/face... What I've been doing is roughly cutting it, then using a Plane to scrape it smooth. :unsure

 

[foxbatkllr]

Originally posted by micdavis@Feb 10 2006, 09:31 PM
I dunno...I guess I just cut straight lines.

[snapback]1181474[/snapback]​

You mean like the frame for Han in Carbonite?

 

[Serafino]

Originally posted by synasp@Feb 10 2006, 09:07 PM
Does anyone know what price level a good bandsaw is? I'm trying to cut straight cuts like a router, but I want to cut it all the way through... Would a scroll saw be better?

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I have tuned a really crappy old 'Packard' early Taiwan-made 14" saw to do smooth resaw cuts which required very little cleanup. But a lot of people complain that making the cheap saws work right is either impossible or too time-consuming.

So you have to figure out how much time you have to fuss with it vs. how much you can spend. Then check out back issues of Fine Woodworking for reviews.

 

[hydin]

the only reason im thinking of the jeweler saw is that its water cooled, meaning my plexi will stay at least semi cool and wont melt back together, and also that its got a variable speed.

im hoping to get lucky with it. i plan to try tommorow and see if i can bring a small piece of acrylic with me to harbor freight and see what cuts it the best. if they can set something up in the back to let me give it a whirl, awesome.

just gotta print out the web page, they price match

i hate that store though, every time i walk in there i think "DEAR GOD I NEED TO OWN THIS... THING... THATS ON SALE, CAUSE DAMMIT ITS AWESOME AND I NEED TO BE ABLE TO ...... YOU KNOW.... BENCH GRIND THINGS IN LIFE."

its like the store can bypass any and all common sense i have between brain/wallet and just go right for "ooohhhoooo tools. heres my card let me go get my truck....."

maybe its like how chocolate affects women, or how shiny things affect my girlfriend.....

anywho, i appreciate the advice on the thread so far. im also looking at picking up a lathe, but at a later date. maybe something in the next month or two.

chris

 

[micdavis]

Originally posted by foxbatkllr+Feb 10 2006, 09:36 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(foxbatkllr @ Feb 10 2006, 09:36 PM)</div>

<!--QuoteBegin-micdavis

@Feb 10 2006, 09:31 PM
I dunno...I guess I just cut straight lines.

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You mean like the frame for Han in Carbonite?

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[/b]

Now, now that was a squaring problem not a cutting problem.

I was the only one that even noticed anyway.

 

[hydin]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=47003

would this work better? the reason i ask is it seems like it cut pretty well, and its on sale at my local store for 49.99.

it would be pretty hard to cut the longer facets with it, but it may work out.

just lobbing ideas out there. picked up a new bandsaw today to try out.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=40981

thanks
chris

 

[TK9120]

Band saws usaully suffer from "blade drift". You have to go slow and move the piece to stay on the line. A cheap fence can be made just by using a board with a straight edge clamped to the table.

A table saw would be the better choice for making straight cuts. If you don't have one the bandsaw with a fence will work.

 

[hydin]

i gotta make a fence for this thing, but honestly after trying it out last night, that 12" bandsaw in the link above is awesome.

cuts round stock into interesting shapes, very rough cut (has a frosty look), but flame polishing brings out sections in clear.

its pretty awesome.

i have the speed set to roughly 1/3rd to 1/4th the speed, and its working out great so far. cant recommend it enough

chris