Miter Band Saws

[downtowncb]

So I'm thinking about picking up a miter band saw. Using a grinder to cut everything is getting real old. I know it would yield cleaner, straighter cuts and less of a mess without carbide dust everywhere. Does anyone have any hands on experience with one? Worth it? I'm thinking about the Dayton 4" portable miter band saw.

[paulkeith]

i like my chop saw, but also bought one of the harbor freight band saws to give it a shot....this guy:



If the one you're considering works anything like this one, expect slower but vastly more accurate and clean cuts that aren't 4000F when you're done and are much easier on your ears. I use the chop saw for stuff like straight cuts on tube, but anything involving angles or miters i use the band saw. If its a thicker material, i get it started clean and then walk away and keep working. it shuts itself off once its through the material, i just listen for it to make sure it doesn't bind up in the metal....so this kind of mitigates the fact that it is somewhat slower.

The differentiator with band saws is the blade....get a good one (and proper TPI for your material thickness) and watch it fly through stuff.

[Jeeptech01]

What does one of those run? I have been using a chop saw as well but like the idea of the band saw instead.

ed: do any of those reconfigure to be an upright band saw as well vs the mitre config?

[paulkeith]

The one I have I got on sale for $199. As always with harbor freight, watch ads in all the motor rags and also sign up for their coupon newsletter...you'll eventually get a good price on it. There are also the 20% off a single item coupons in the rags and newsletters as well.

It reconfigures to an upright band saw. The table to do it is included. The one time I tried it upright it didn't work so great, but I also had a junk blade on there.

[downtowncb]

Great, thanks! I'm always leary of Harbor Freight power tools... but at $200, it's less than half the price of the one I was looking at ($500).

[Jeeptech01]

Good info. Tks.

[paulkeith]

Yeah, as with all harbor freight stuff, just know it isn't the $500 bandsaw for $200.....its a $200 bandsaw for $200. but, i've gone through a lot of steel with it and am pretty happy for my $199. Like i said, get a good blade on it and make sure it doesn't bind up in the material and fry your motor. Worst thing that happened to mine was when my dad dropped the thing out of a van unloading it. Trashed the box around the belt between the motor and drive wheel. The saw top half and bottom half weigh a TON and the legs are typical flimsy harbor freight shit. It is stable when it's not being moved but you need to be super careful moving the thing around because of how top heavy it is. My dad didn't have it locked shut, so as soon as he picked it up to get the wheels on the ground, the top half opened and over the whole thing went.

The other thing I'd mention is that the clamp design means the material you're cutting needs to be at least 4 or so inches or longer. Anything shorter than that and it won't clamp up properly, but I'm pretty sure this is inherent to this type of design and would probably be the same on nicer ones.