Band saw

[Ray Williams]

Hi guys, just started on -7A emp kit. Would appreciate some advice on what type of bandsaw is best for the job, and what sort of blade I need to get to cut AL.

Best wishes, Ray

[mike109g6]

Originally Posted by Ray Williams

Hi guys, just started on -7A emp kit. Would appreciate some advice on what type of bandsaw is best for the job, and what sort of blade I need to get to cut AL.

Best wishes, Ray

Any good brand will do, 12" minimum throat, larger if you can afford it. I just got a Jet 18" and love it, got a great deal at my local supplier.http://woodworking.jettools.com/Prod...51B&cat=333152
The 6TPI blade that comes with it is for woodworking and does fine until you cut something that you shouldn't, ask me how I know, then you can replace it with a bi-metal blade that cuts aluminum like a hot knife through butter, and just about anything else.http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?P...MPXNO=21108763. Had a craftsman that I practically built my 9A with, but blades were hard to find, worked fine even at 12".
Hope that this helped.
Mike H 9A/8A

[FrankK90989]

Ray,
Yes a band saw is good to have.
Mine is a Jet 12" and the current blade I am using is a 10 tpi X 1/2"
I bought a few different 100' blade coils from Ebay and tig weld them together
It has been a good saw. Paid about $350usd at the home store.

[flybill7]

I've been able to do everything I've needed to with an inexpensive Ryobi 9" -- can get at Home Depot.

Throw away the blade it comes with and order a good metal-cutting blade from McMaster-Carr. The band saw will save you tons of time and improve the quality of your work on all the angle-cutting you will do in the project.

[N941WR]

Ray,

When you get your bandsaw, slow it down as far as it will go and replace the blade with an 18 TPI (Teeth per inch) by 1/4" blade (if yours can handle that thin of blade.). You can order them on line, there are a bunch of places that sell them, maybe even a few in your part of the world.

Buy about five blades, that should get you through your project. Just remember, steel will dull them very quickly.

This worked very well for me, others might have different opinions.

Oh, and don't forget the hearing protection, it can get VERY loud!

[allbee]

I never went for the band saw, instead I went for the sabre saw, real cool, can do things a band saw would never be able to do.

[BrentHumphreys]

I think TPI is teeth per inch.

[az_gila]

Originally Posted by N941WR

Ray,

When you get your bandsaw, slow it down as far as it will go and replace the blade with an 18 TPI (Teeth per inch) by 1/4" blade (if yours can handle that thin of blade.). You can order them on line, there are a bunch of places that sell them, maybe even a few in your part of the world.

Buy about five blades, that should get you through your project. Just remember, steel will dull them very quickly.

This worked very well for me, others might have different opinions.

Oh, and don't forget the hearing protection, it can get VERY loud!

...a bench mounted Delta or Roybi two wheel band saw...

http://s7.sears.com/is/image/Sears/0...sm=0.9,0.5,0,0

...with no speed control will work fine for aluminum cutting using a wood blade of about 5 - 8 TPI. Since most cuts willl be essentially straight lines, a fairly wide blade will work.

No steel cutting though, unlike N941WR mentions.

If I cut steel, I use a cutting wheel on a Dremel for small stuff, and on a die grinder for bigger stuff.

[Epsound]

I currently have a sabre (saws-all) by Milwaukee. Will this be fine? I have been looking at the $100-200 models at Lowes and Home depot. If I will be ok with my sabre I will not bother any more.

what are the pros and cons between the two?

[allbee]

On the sabre make sure you have I think a 32 tooth blade. On whether you should use one, up to you. If you are not mechanical, you may opt for the band saw, more stable, you can have better control. with the sabre, you need strong fingers, arms. I have all that, even though I'm a little guy about 5'6, about 170. I work on transmissions and have the arms, believe me, and muscles in my fingers. I can take a piece like the longerons and hold them still against the bench, with a line premarked, with the left hand and sabre saw in the right and cut that baby right off. I can do that with the little stuff as well, hold the piece in the left hand and cut it right off. Many times I clamped a piece in the vice and cut a piece with the sabre. I said to myself when I started, if I need the band saw I'll buy one. Well the plane is almost done and I never needed it. Not to say some things would have been a little easier with a band saw. I got cheap and bull headed.