Howdy all, I'm just a hobbyist who likes to use a variety of materials for small projects and lately I've had the need to cut sheet and plate metal. Unfortunately, my budget is limited to under $200, so the only options I have are Rockwell's Bladerunner or the Portable Bandsaw from Harbor Freight. Both obviously have downsides that I could possibly work around and are similar in price, but I'm not very experienced with either tool.
With that said, here's the issues I have with each product:
BLADERUNNER (RK7323)
- This model has a table top which is mostly plastic and I'm not sure how long it would hold up. The old model (RK7321) had stainless steel plates which covered the entire top (except the miter gage slots). Sadly, the old model is being phased out and runs about $177.00 on Amazon.
- There is no speed control for the blade. The older model had it, so I'm not sure why they discontinued that feature.
- Watching the videos indicate that there's quite a bit of vibration. After all, it's basically an upside down jigsaw. The overarm dampens most of it, but is it enough? The one thing I do know when working with metal is that you don't want it bouncing around all over the place.
- And lastly, would this thing be able to cut 1/4" or thicker plate?
HF PORTABLE BANDSAW (47840)
- It's a handheld tool, so I'd have to build a stand for it. No big deal, but I don't weld, so it would have to be made of wood or something I could bolt together. Not to mention the extra cost involved to build it.
- The blade is angled, which means you only have a 4-1/2" throat clearance. This could become a problem if I needed to cut stock that was wider in both directions.
- No dust collection. I'd either have to rig something up, leave the cover off (which would be pretty messy) or take the cover off each time the blade needed to be cleared.
So which one would you choose if you were in my position? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
With that said, here's the issues I have with each product:
BLADERUNNER (RK7323)
- This model has a table top which is mostly plastic and I'm not sure how long it would hold up. The old model (RK7321) had stainless steel plates which covered the entire top (except the miter gage slots). Sadly, the old model is being phased out and runs about $177.00 on Amazon.
- There is no speed control for the blade. The older model had it, so I'm not sure why they discontinued that feature.
- Watching the videos indicate that there's quite a bit of vibration. After all, it's basically an upside down jigsaw. The overarm dampens most of it, but is it enough? The one thing I do know when working with metal is that you don't want it bouncing around all over the place.
- And lastly, would this thing be able to cut 1/4" or thicker plate?
HF PORTABLE BANDSAW (47840)
- It's a handheld tool, so I'd have to build a stand for it. No big deal, but I don't weld, so it would have to be made of wood or something I could bolt together. Not to mention the extra cost involved to build it.
- The blade is angled, which means you only have a 4-1/2" throat clearance. This could become a problem if I needed to cut stock that was wider in both directions.
- No dust collection. I'd either have to rig something up, leave the cover off (which would be pretty messy) or take the cover off each time the blade needed to be cleared.
So which one would you choose if you were in my position? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks