HF "Bauer" Portaband (Took a Chance)

[kkroger]

Was in a bind this morning with need for a portaband and my Milwaukee was 50 miles away. Sooo took a chance on the HF... I had an Mk Morse blade on hand... so on that went first I will say it looked fairly well made case seemed familiar... variable speed dial was useless... anything less than full blast bogged down and stalled. Managed to make 8 total 1" cuts in 3/16 wall 1 1/4" square tube before it gave up... Headed back to HF in the AM... Sad Testament to quality. it may LOOK like Milwaukee but My Milwaukee has been going full bore for years and years...

 

[kkroger]

One other thing, it was STARTLINGLY LOUD!!!! My Milwaukee is silent by comparison!

 

[rslaback]

Was in a bind this morning with need for a portaband and my Milwaukee was 50 miles away. Sooo took a chance on the HF... I had an Mk Morse blade on hand... so on that went first I will say it looked fairly well made case seemed familiar... variable speed dial was useless... anything less than full blast bogged down and stalled. Managed to make 8 total 1" cuts in 3/16 wall 1 1/4" square tube before it gave up... Headed back to HF in the AM... Sad Testament to quality. it may LOOK like Milwaukee but My Milwaukee has been going full bore for years and years...

So you removed less than 3 square inches of material in total. I highly doubt that is the normal performance you can expect from that saw.

 

[jubilee]

I consider my HF Bauer hand held saws the best bang for the buck of any tools I’ve bought in the last 10 years or so. I have two wall mounted (removable of course) and they have been absolutely indestructible, trouble free, and used hard. A little noisy but for under $100 I got used to it.

 

[zendriver]

Since you purchased it being "in a bind" needing it for one job, would you have kept the $140 Chinese made saw, if it performed adequately?

Just curious.


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[finn]

If Sears sold that pos, this thread would be seven pages long by now.

 

[KBATN]

I had the Chicago electric version. That thing was a pos and Loud also.. I had to wear ear plugs using it.. I sold that pos for $30 and bought the Dewalt on sale for $189. Night and day difference

 

[kkroger]

IF it had performed better I would have gladly kept it for a second saw. No worries. But 3 partial crosscuts of 1 1/4" 3/16 wall Mild Steel Square Tube, the speed dial is worthless anything less than full blast just bogged down and stalled, not binding or pinching the blade at all just riding now I did have to make some pie cuts tiny ones to fix an alignment issue but other than that it was not horrible. Noisy as hell, underpowered, the "table" was only adjustable by tool unlike the Milwaukee but that was certainly workable. the thing was lighter than my Milwaukee, probably thinner castings and less copper in the windings (hence the underpowered motor) but it did the job I NEEDED to do, but just.... had it held up I would probably have kept it. Like I say a spare saw.... heck the Milwaukee is made in China, it is just better made...

 

[Honda guy]

Was in a bind this morning with need for a portaband and my Milwaukee was 50 miles away. Sooo took a chance on the HF... I had an Mk Morse blade on hand... so on that went first I will say it looked fairly well made case seemed familiar... variable speed dial was useless... anything less than full blast bogged down and stalled. Managed to make 8 total 1" cuts in 3/16 wall 1 1/4" square tube before it gave up... Headed back to HF in the AM... Sad Testament to quality. it may LOOK like Milwaukee but My Milwaukee has been going full bore for years and years...

Just to be clear, are you saying that it completely stopped working?

 

[kkroger]

Just to be clear, are you saying that it completely stopped working?

Yes, it was running, stopped set it down, picked it back up pulled the trigger it made a grunt then quit. checked power, plugs, cords, it just gave up.

 

[Jeepermike]

There is a speed dial on these? Lol. Mine has done pretty good for a few months. I will say it takes about 20 seconds to get up to speed. Not sure if it has anything to do with the speed dial or just a crappy saw.

 

[paranoid56]

i did the same thing when my 4month old Milwaukee gave up ran out and picked up a HF one. super loud compared to the other, but in my swag table setup, its been going for years now. been thought maybe 40 blades so far with no issues. I do notice that the frame flexes more then the Milwaukee setup. for the price its hard to beat.

 

[kkroger]

i did the same thing when my 4month old Milwaukee gave up ran out and picked up a HF one. super loud compared to the other, but in my swag table setup, its been going for years now. been thought maybe 40 blades so far with no issues. I do notice that the frame flexes more then the Milwaukee setup. for the price its hard to beat.

The Bauer brand is the new one... just came out this year, a bit different from their old one.