Kama Bandsaws

[Paumanok]

Anybody ever used one, or know someone that has?

See them here: http://www.kooltools.com/kama_bandsaws.html

click on the 996 model to see some pics of the claimed accuracy.

also here: http://www.vansantent.com/Vendor_pages/Kama.htm

Besides mild steel, and aluminum - I would also use it to cut a good amount of SS tubing - and in the long run, bandsaw blades are like ~$25 each vs. Dry-cut chop saw blades at ~$140 each. I've been told by someone that has one, more than 500 cuts can be attained from a single blade.

Also these saws a variable speed - like 60-300 fpm. And I think the slower speed is desirable when cutting stainless. Accurate miter cuts are a big reason why I'm considering one of these. Another difference, for miter cuts, the cutting head on the Kama is what rotates, while the work piece always sits clamped in the vice. That intrigues me, 'cause I've heard that some of the vises on the chop saws, aren't that great.

Also, I'm considering one of the portable mitering units, not the Flagship 996. So, anybody know anything about these?

 

[alex71]

I've heard that they work as advertised, and you pay for that accuracy.

 

[Paumanok]

alex,
I agree they're not cheap. But I'm looking for repeatable accuracy. Do you have any idea how well a 14" carbide tipped dry cut chop saw performs in SS? How long do those 14" blades actually last? Any recomendations for an alternative?

 

[alex71]

I don't have any first hand experience with them.

 

[Mickey_D]

If you are cutting a lot of stainless tubing and need accuracy, you want a low speed cold saw. They use a tool steel blade with coolant that is cheaply resharpened and provide extremely accurate cuts. I have a 275mm Eisele for ferrous materials and a 350mm Kaltenbach for non-ferrous and can get repeatable cuts to plus or minus .001" all day long. Keep an eye out for something like a good used Scotchman, Haberle, or Doringer and you can't go wrong.

 

[Paumanok]

Mickeyd,
Thanks for the feedback. I know about cold saws, but the nicer ones are $$$. Any idea how the lower end cold saws perform? Like this:

http://www.vansantent.com/willy_cold_saw.htm


Can anyone comment on cutting times? Like lets say straight cut in 2" round SS tubing 16ga. Which type of saw will complete the cut the fastest between a horizontal bandsaw, cold saw, and a 1500rpm 14" Dry Cut chop saw?

I'm assuming the bandsaw will take the longest, and the Dry Cut and cold saw would take about the same with the cold saw giving higher accuracy?

 

[Mickey_D]

There are a lot of nice used real ones on Ebay that I would go for before the little Jet. I have an old cheap Taiwanese 275mm one that I got in a trade and it weighs about 400 pounds which is really at the bottom end of the scale. These really do need to be heavy and rigid because if they are not they will chatter like a mother. Speed wise they are way faster than a bandsaw because they make real chips. On your part if it took more than about 20 seconds I would be surprised.

 

[Mickey_D]

What stainless are you cutting. If it is 316 there is no way a carbide high speed blade is going to last. Even 303 is not very nice to do.

 

[Paumanok]

What stainless are you cutting. If it is 316 there is no way a carbide high speed blade is going to last. Even 303 is not very nice to do.

It would be 304. Yeah, cutting/drilling SS nicely without the proper tools is a pain in the ***

 

[Mickey_D]

304 work hardens almost as bad as 316. You need lots of coolant and don't back off on a cut. A carbide high speed saw (often called a dry cut saw) is not the best tool for that. If you do decide on a bandsaw, you need to get one that has constant feed vs. gravity or even bouncy hydraulic feed. If the head bounces and it tries to take too deep of a cut it will strip the teeth off ot the blade, if it goes too slow it will let it work harden and you will burn up the blade. A cold saw is really the way to go. Get a good use cold saw, find a good blade vendor that will help educate you on what blade to get for each application, and then get a decent used bandsaw for the oddball stuff that does not work on the cold saw.

 

[Paumanok]

I've essentially come to the same conclusion on the cold saw, but I'm not sure about the coolant side of it. Any experience TIG welding stainless after its been cut with coolant? Is the coolant easily cleaned off? I would think that would cause problems with the welding especially for sanitary SS welds. hmmm...

 

[Mickey_D]

If you dry cut you will dramatically shorten your blade life. Get a good water soluble coolant and take the time to learn about coolant care and cleanup is very easy. I run a product called Liquid Ice and I am pretty happy with it.

If your work is is medical or is going to come in contact with food, you need to do a LOT of research about what you have to do to clean and package as well as documenting what you did. I know of a couple of medical pipefitting shops here that outsource cleaning to dedicated shops.