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Do I need a band saw?

AntiGravity

AntiGravity

Well Known Member
Dilemma. I'm pretty much done on the wings. They're all closed up and I'm working on the flaps. I see I have to fabricate some parts which requires the cutting of some angle and some AS3-125 sheet. The right tool for the job is unquestionably a band saw, but I don't have one.

I'm saving hard for the fuselage kit and all the various bits I want to ship in with it (remember I'm in NZ so freight consolidation is important). I reckon I'm going to need to chunk down some $17k (NZ) and then pay $5k-$6k shipping / customs / GST (tax) on top of that. I have around $11k at the moment and expect to have the balance by Christmas so hopefully I can order everything for shipment by late Jan early Feb.

Here's the thing: do I spend about $700 now on a decent bandsaw or what? How much will I need a bandsaw during the rest of the project (slow build). I don't mind spending the dollars at all if I'm really going to need it, but by the same token I don't want any more delay than I already have.

Your advice appreciated! Cheers,
 
Do I need a bandsaw

Jeff

I completed an RV6 which was a drill your own kit so I had to fabricate more than the more recent kits require but I still believe a person will still have use for a bandsaw. It does not have to be a big unit nor does it have to be expensive. I have two, a large and also a very small bench top bandsaw, and they both work fine. I actually cut most all aluminum with them, from .025" sheet to .250 angle and seldom use a tinsnips. The bandsaw followed by a 14" belt sander makes quick work of most fittings.

Dick DeCramer
RV6 N500DD
155 hrs
Northfield, MN
 
I'd want a good one!

Hi Dick,

I had a small and cheap bench top unit and to be frank (though Jeff is still ok) it couldn't cut a straight line through butter! The blade always wanted to veer off in both the horizontal and vertical planes regardless of what I did with the guides. Hence I have decided that if I need one, then I'll get myself a good free-standing unit. After chatting with the saw guys several months ago about my requirements (as in mostly aluminium sheet and angle with the occasional piece of steel) they recommended the $700 one.

Like I said, I don't mind spending the money but I need to make sure it is justified. Of course, the RV-8 has just gone fully pre-punched on the fuselage with supposedly a fewer overall part count and more parts pre-fabricated than before so I'm guessing it might be hard to determine how much a bandsaw is required now. Besides, I just love tools :) I don't want to delay the project any more if it isn't necessary; as it is I'm going to be sat on my backside for a good 2-3 months (I'll probably do some more IT exams; keep my certifications up to date! At least work will like that...)

Cheers,
 
Hacksaw

Jeff - I am building my second RV and havnt bought one yet! A good hacksaw and sharp blades works quite well, together with a good vixen file. It is character forming.

To cut the UHM blocks I do stop by to a friend who has a band saw, and I have to admit to having used his for 4 or 5 other bits.

It works fine in the UK, if not the fast moving USA :)
 
Harder hanging upside down

Yeah, I dare say if I was back home in England I could handle it no problem, but since I moved down here and spend my life hanging upside down by my feet (how come I don't fall off?) everything is that much harder :D
 
I never bought one

On a few occassions I thought "this would be easy if I had a band saw" but I never found it difficult to do without it. I did use a lot of hacksaw and other hand saws for roughing out some parts then filing to the final form. My approach to tools was use what I had and buy what I found That I needed. Work space limitations and the abhorance of wasting money had to be dealt with in my tool purchase decissions. The band saw was so close to making the grade but I always found a way around the need. I still think about one at times in my new larger garage but now I really can't justify it. Think of it as opportunity lost.

Bob Axsom
 
Used one?

Do you guys have Pawn shops over there? People who need money for a short term leave tools, etc. as collateral and redeem the goods later at a hefty interest rate and some do not. You can buy these tools at a big discount usually. I bought mine from the ads in the paper.

Great tool and you can use it for a bunch of woodworking projects around Christmas too. Like making bandsawn boxes as gifts. :)
 
Used one

C'mon Pierre, after all the hints I dropped about a plasma big-screen, you better not show up with a bandsawn box!
 
AntiGravity said:
............do I spend about $700 now on a decent bandsaw or what? How much will I need a bandsaw during the rest of the project............
Click to expand...
Jeff,
The key here is to purchase a good heavy floor standing bandsaw with a substantial throat....not some cheapie light weight bench model designed and sized for crafts projects.
Our RV projects really don't require the services of a bandsaw but it sure does make many tasks far easier to accomplish. Like many tools we accumulate over the years...once you have one you'll ask yourself..."How did I ever get by without one?"
Eventually, you may want to store the flaps, ailerons, rudder, elevator, etc. and making custom contoured holding fixtures out of plywood or my personal choice....drop ceiling panels....is a snap to fabricate using a bandsaw. My 6A kit came with a cross section profile of the wing assembly drawn into the bottom of a shipping crate. This was eventually cut out and used to make a tool to help assure control surface alignment later. The bandsaw really helped on that particular task.
Besides airplane construction, my bandsaw is frequently used in any number of projects around the house and hangar....(shh..I've even used it to saw through frozen meat.)
Again...strictly speaking you don't really need a bandsaw but well past building an airplane, my guess is its owner will never abandon its uncommon usefulness and unexpected versatility.
 
I have an expensive band saw for woodwork, and a cheap Delta bandsaw for the RV. The cheap benchtop saw has been excellent for the 10 years I've had it. I use a 1/4" 6TPI wood blade, which makes for easy and fast cuts. These saws run $99-$129 these days.

My plane is a 6A which required more fabication & use of a bandsaw, than today's kit's do, I suppose.
 
Splinters?

Rick6a said:
Jeff,
shh..I've even used it to saw through frozen meat.)
Click to expand...

Where the splinters in the tongue from eating the steak came from! :D

A butcher once told me that frozen meat would dull the blade. I don't believe it but I've sawed (sawn) a lot of aluminum building the 6A.
 
I,m most of the way through an RV4. My kit is old and I have had to fabricate many parts. I only have a single hacksaw and an assortment of files from Ace Hardware. No nut plate jigs either!!! I use the drill press a whole lot but a person could probably get away without that too. My 2 cents.
 
AntiGravity said:
I had a small and cheap bench top unit and to be frank (though Jeff is still ok) it couldn't cut a straight line through butter!
Click to expand...

I have a little 9" desktop and had the same problem, it wouldn't cut straight through the thicker aluminum. I bought a new blade optimized for cutting aluminum -- Bimetal tooth style, Variable Tooth Set -- from McMaster-Carr and it cuts nice and straight now. $20. McMaster-Carr has a great online catalog on their site. Plus, I ordered it one day, and it showed up the next. I'm not kidding.

I bought the new blade late in the project. I would have saved many hours if I had had the band saw and good blade from the start. Before you spend the big bucks, try a new blade.

... Bill
 
I was fortunate to inherit my shop, and it came with a floor-standing bandsaw. You need to use a 10-14 TPI blade for aluminum and light steel. You also need to move the material thru very slowly. It is still a lot quicker than snips or a hacksaw.

I trimmed the rudder stiffeners last night. I used snips to cut them apart, then the bandsaw to rough-cut the angle. I spent about 10 minutes for 16 cuts.
 
bandsaw

A Band saw definitely comes in handy, however I used a hand skill saw with a fine toothed blade and that worked Ok - not as good as a band saw.
 
Get One. You won't regret it.

I use my cheap Harbor Freight 3-wheeler bandsaw for so much stuff, both on the RV-7 and around the house. I don't know if I would have benefitted from a big floor-standing saw, but I'd say get one with the deepest throat you can find. I don't know how I got along without it. In retrospect, I probably should have shelled out for a better bandsaw than the mongo radial-arm drill press (which has also proven useful for various things) but it depends on your needs.
 
I bought the harbor freight cheapie and while it's better than nothing, I go through blades like crazy. There's some real design flaws with it (yeah, I know, hard to believe some cheap Chinese **** would have design flaws).

so last week, another blade broke and while I just brought my dad's old professional Made in the USA Delta unit home this sumer, I hadn't bought a blade for it.

This weekend I had to make the elevator stop (take a look at that on the drawing) and it was back to the old hacksaw and file system. Came out great...I felt like I molded it with my own hands.

I don't really want to do that too often but from a LITERAL perspective, do you NEED a bandsaw. No.
 
Need? Probably not.
Nice to have? Absolutely.

You could probably build a house with a hammer and chisel/axe, but I've noticed that few people do.

Money spent on quality tools is seldom regretted.
 
Band Saw

I have had a Harbor Freight adjustable band saw for both RV8s I have worked on. The unit cost me less than $200 and has held up great.
Al Grajek
Lexington, Ky
 
Thanks for all your input

Thanks guys for all your input; based on everything I've read, I think I'll take the following path: the angles are easy, its that flap bracket thing made of out AS3-125 that will be harder to cut straight. I'll mark it out and give it a whirl using the trusy hacksaw/vixen method, keeping well away from final size at first cut! If I have any bother then I'll run out and organize myself a dcent bandsaw. Now, where I'm going to put it, that's a whole nuther problem!! :)
Thanks.
 
Do RVs wreak bandsaws?

L.Adamson said:
I have an expensive band saw for woodwork, and a cheap Delta bandsaw for the RV. The cheap benchtop saw has been excellent for the 10 years I've had it. I use a 1/4" 6TPI wood blade, which makes for easy and fast cuts. These saws run $99-$129 these days.
Click to expand...

This brings up a question that I have:

Is it a good idea to not use an expensive woodworking bandsaw on an RV project? Does cutting aluminum do damage to the saw itself? I know the blade will get dull, obviously.

I'm looking at getting a bandsaw now that would be useable on my not-yet-started project. If the RV will ruin the saw, then I'll get a cheap one now and maybe a nicer one down the road. If it'll be ok, then I might spring for a nicer one now.
 
Alex said:
This brings up a question that I have:

Is it a good idea to not use an expensive woodworking bandsaw on an RV project? Does cutting aluminum do damage to the saw itself? I know the blade will get dull, obviously.

I'm looking at getting a bandsaw now that would be useable on my not-yet-started project. If the RV will ruin the saw, then I'll get a cheap one now and maybe a nicer one down the road. If it'll be ok, then I might spring for a nicer one now.
Click to expand...

IMO, I'd never waste the money on an expensive band saw to cut aluminum for an RV. Lot's of aluminum dust, plus the fact that my woodworking bandsaw is setup with wider blades than I prefer for cutting aluminum, especially with curves.

And although some are recommending metal blades with a higher tooth count, the 1/4" * 6tpi wood blade has been perfect for all these years. They'll last quite a while, and usually break from getting warped, before getting dull.

I got the recommendation for this type of blade, many years ago, on an RV list such as this.

As to really ruining a saw, I can't say. I just don't like mixing aluminum dust with sawdust from wood cutting.
 
Gary Bricker

I have a 12" Sears floor model and two+ builders use it. A few places the 12" throat is not sufficent but 99% of the time it is good. We would not want to do without it. I have bought about 6 blades since it gets so much use. Sears band saws have a odd size blade so I get them from a special shop. $10. These blades are 14 teeth per inch and cut thru al. like butter. I love it.
 
Wood cutting bandsaws are fine for cutting aluminum. Don't try to cut steel. They run much too fast. Gary has a good blade for aluminum at 14 tpi. Finer tooth blades will gum up with aluminum. Another trick to keep the al from gumming up the blade is to use a lubricant. I like to use tho old "stick" type door ease. Spray lubricants such as "Pam" also work but don't last as long.
 
I've been using a common floor model Chinese bandsaw for years, on wood, steel, aluminum, plastic, and fiberglass.

First thing to do is slow down the blade speed, which requires only that you fabricate a mount for a big-n-little intermediate pully.

Second, get good blades. I've tried a variety. The best are Lennox Diemaster 2 bimetal 14-18T variable, easily purchased online. The 14-18 tooth is a compromise, a little too fine for chunk aluminum (like 2" round stock or 3/4" plate) and just fine enough for thinwall 4130.

The only thing you can't cut is hardened steel; drill rod, quenched 4130, etc. Drag out the abrasive chop saw for that stuff.

Dan Horton
 
get the bandsaw

I have a cheap craftsman bandsaw and buy blades from a local saw shop to fit it because craftsman doesn't sell 18tpi blades for this saw. I use 18tpi blades and get the widest blade I can (3/8"), which helps cut straight thru thin material. The higher tooth count also helps you make smooth cuts in thinner material, lower tooth count blades cut faster but can grab the work if you're not careful. I've never used any lubricant on a bandsaw blade. Vacuum the saw at the end of each work day, it'll last longer. This was a cheap purchase and one I used often. It'll make your life easier and you'll use it a lot...get it.
 
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