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band saw questions

diamond said:
I'm beginning a RV9 build and looking for a band saw. It seems like alot of the 9" saws look the same. Here is an example of Ryobi and HF saws:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-2-5-Amp-Band-Saw-BS904/100593258#

http://www.harborfreight.com/9-in-bench-top-band-saw-60500.html

Are these the same saw with different names on them?

Also, any good reason to spend the extra bucks and get a 14" saw?
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You don't *need* a bigger bandsaw to build an RV-9. Heck, I'd argue that you don't need a bandsaw at all, although one would be convenient. So my answer is that unless you envision bigger projects in your future, one of the small saws would be a good choice.

Those two saws do look identical. I know I have a HF spindle sander than is identical to the one HD sells. The bandsaws may be the same.
 
Just make sure there are metal cutting blades readily available. I have a medium size and Lowes stock the metal blades.
 
Sid Lambert said:
Just make sure there are metal cutting blades readily available. I have a medium size and Lowes stock the metal blades.
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If you are cutting aluminum sheet a coarse tooth wood cutting blade may be easier and better.

The fine tooth metal cutting bandsaw blades tend to clog up with our materials.
 
I that a band saw was "optional". Maybe you can get by without one, but they are great to have.

I am building a -14 and have used it to cut out the tank stiffeners and the landing light lens. The latter I ruined with a drill bit about 5 minutes after cutting.

I got the cheapest bandsaw from HD and they had metal cutting blades. I have not seen the blade clog up yet. It cuts through the thin Al like warm butter. I will say that cutting the lens with a 9" saw was close to the limit of the saw, but a bigger saw might not have helped. It was a height issue.

cheers
ken
 
It's not essential to have a band saw but it's sure nice and can give accurate, professional looking results. A 1" belt sander is also useful...

I have a 14" (Rockwell clone) bandsaw and used it a LOT in building my -8, not only for parts but for wood bits for jigging pieces, wing supports, cradles etc. There were many times I wished that it had a deeper throat.

I found that a wider blade ~1/2" x 8-10 tpi cut better and more consistently than a 1/4" blade. Do not get a "skip tooth blade" as it will mutilate thin aluminum. I also have an accurate fence which helped a lot, but then I did a fair number of mods...

Some of the smaller saws have limited blade availability, and some of the manufacturers blades are garbage. I get after-market wood cutting blades from an industrial supplier that work really well on aluminum. Good blades are harder to get for some of the smaller saws.
 
Just for info, I cried when my Sears Craftsman VARIABLE SPEED 10" BANDSAW went to tool heaven (after about 12 years). I loved that thing for just about all of my project. A (preferably, a variable speed model) band saw, a small table-top belt sander and a scotchbrite wheel mounted on a grinder works wonders for just about everything.
 
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Either one of those will do you fine for the build. I have the HF model and went through 3 or 4 blades on The -9A build. You'll find a lot of uses for it. The saw is of typical HF quality (low) but gets many jobs done. Although, towards the end of the build I far prefer to just use a hacksaw on most things. More elbow grease but better outcome for me.
 
I found a bandsaw to be invaluable for things not in the kit - brackets, custom parts, etc.

I agree with Ron that I get nice straight lines with a wide blade. I also added a larger work surface.
IMG_8574_thumb.jpg

Here is a short writeup on my current setup.​
 
One thing I picked up on Craig's list that I like a lot is a Shopsmith.

Managed to find one cheap with bandsaw attachment.

The advantage is the compact footprint and the fact it features variable speed.

I've found the disadvantage of having to reconfigure it is a non-factor and its disc sander, table saw (with metal cutting blade), drill press, and aforementioned band saw allow me to do whatever I need without taking up a ton of space.

I got an older model that is built to last as they say.
 
I just cut apart the aileron stiffeners for the RV-14. the 9" band saw was just big enough. I have to make 2 cuts to cut them apart. I had to cut at one edge of the opening on the stiffeners, then cut off the resulting tabs.

I also noticed that the blade does wander around a bit on the long cut on the stiffeners. I cleaned this up by cutting off the edge, then sanding down with a belt sander.

If there are longer parts to cut up, then I would have to use a dremel tool.
 
Stockmanreef said:
I just cut apart the aileron stiffeners for the RV-14. the 9" band saw was just big enough. I have to make 2 cuts to cut them apart. I had to cut at one edge of the opening on the stiffeners, then cut off the resulting tabs.

I also noticed that the blade does wander around a bit on the long cut on the stiffeners. I cleaned this up by cutting off the edge, then sanding down with a belt sander.

If there are longer parts to cut up, then I would have to use a dremel tool.
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I regard my cheap Delta band saw as a rough cut tool, and always follow up with a belt sander and then a vixen file or scotchbrite bench grinder wheel as needed.

The only real change I would do if I had to repeat the tool purchases would be to buy a wider belt sander than the small 1 inch wide Dremel one I have.

All three of the tools, and a bench drill press easily mound on the corners of a 24 inch wide square table, taking up little floor space.
 
Adding to the frey - - I have a 9" house brand from Lowes. I got it NIB for 60% off list ($45) as they wanted to get rid of it for other brands. It has a wood blade (don't know the pitch) and it makes all the aluminum cuts just fine, adjusting for clearance and feed speeds.

ONE CAUTION: The aluminum chips will find their way between the blade and the urethane tire. They get embedded and have to be scraped off. A Rube Golberg vacuum wand was zip tied to catch the chips before going in to the housing and that has reduced the captured chips by (guess) 90%. I am surprised others don't have the same issue.

I used mine for ripping 1/2" wide spacers and you will want a good rip fence to do this. It must fit tight or .025 will slip under the fence.

The companion tool is a 1" belt sander to help dress the edges, followed by a medium and soft scotchbrite wheel. Although very usable, I might second the previous post recommending a wider belt sander as trying to deburr long pieces will tend to catch an edge on the 1 inch. Waves have to be filed out.
 
I've looked at lots of band saws over the past week and quite honestly most of them look like junk. Especially the 9 and 10 inch models. I did find a 14 inch model for a reasonable price that looks like good quality, by never having had a band saw before I'm wondering if there is any significant advantage to having a 14 over a 9 or 10 inch saw. Anyone have a strong argument for getting a 14 inch band saw?
 
diamond said:
I've looked at lots of band saws over the past week and quite honestly most of them look like junk. Especially the 9 and 10 inch models. I did find a 14 inch model for a reasonable price that looks like good quality, by never having had a band saw before I'm wondering if there is any significant advantage to having a 14 over a 9 or 10 inch saw. Anyone have a strong argument for getting a 14 inch band saw?
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A 14" saw is is better and probably higher quality. But you should weigh cost vs. utility. For what you will use it for on an RV build, a 10" saw is good enough. You won't be using it every day, nor will you be making finish-quality cuts.

Personally, I'd get a smaller saw and put the savings towards a tool that you will be using a lot more often.
 
Jumping in the sand box. Bought the Grizzly. There is a review video on my build site:D
 
Nice video Bret, but did I hear you mutter on there that you got that for four hundred and some bucks? Where?
 
BillL said:
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ONE CAUTION: The aluminum chips will find their way between the blade and the urethane tire. They get embedded and have to be scraped off. A Rube Golberg vacuum wand was zip tied to catch the chips before going in to the housing and that has reduced the captured chips by (guess) 90%. I am surprised others don't have the same issue.

....
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My 9 inch Delta also embeds chip on the tire. I have just left them and they seem to have no effect if the belt tension is correct.
 
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