Portaband-Corded or Cordless

[duneslider]

Looking at getting a portaband for occasional cutting of metal stuff.

The guys at work all have dewalt or milwaukee corded saws and I have used them and they are great. I have a lot of tools but have been slowly moving as many as possible to battery powered. I am a makita guy when it comes to battery stuff.

Any reason to not go with a battery powered portable bandsaw?

Since I probably won't be using this more than a few times a year, are the harbor freight Bauer or the Wen portabands okay or a complete piece of junk compared to the big names? I don't own a lot of chinese brand tools but will consider them for things I really won't use much.

 

[jshillin]

I have the M18 Portaband and it has worked fine. It might sit on the shelf for a while, but when I need it I usually give it a good workout. No complaints at all about it.

 

[foghorn1966]

Corded, if you are going to put it on a Swag like table then you can tie the trigger switch down & use a foot switch to turn it on & off.

 

[ItsNemo]

Corded, if you are going to put it on a Swag like table then you can tie the trigger switch down & use a foot switch to turn it on & off.

Yup, this. I went corded on my Dewalt, built my own table, zip tie the trigger, and have this little GE plug/switch thingy (rather than a foot pedal).

 

[NUTTSGT]

Corded, if you are going to put it on a Swag like table then you can tie the trigger switch down & use a foot switch to turn it on & off.

Yup, this. I went corded on my Dewalt, built my own table, zip tie the trigger, and have this little GE plug/switch thingy (rather than a foot pedal).

This would be my exact reason to buy one, to mount in a SWAG table. Not high usage so I keep looking at CL to find a decent used one. Corded.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

I'm in the same boat. I think I'd mostly be using it at home with something like a Swag Offroad portaband stand for cutting metal, so corded would be best there. But on the occasion I need to take it with me on a job I'd be kicking myself for not buying a cordless.

 

[duneslider]

So, it sounds like if I already have a bench top bandsaw then a cordless may be my best bet as I don't intend to put this on a swag portaband stand, though they are pretty good and a good idea.

 

[southalabama]

I went with the Dewalt corded for my shop. Even though I’m heavily into batteries my reasoning was that I would likely be in the shop and when doing steel work it would be heavy use. I don’t do a lot of steel work but when I do I’d rather not fight having charged batteries.

Since I was weak on metal tools I ended up buying a Dewalt abrasive chop saw when someone ran a great sale.

Then I was offered a like new Grizzly 3/4 hp metal bandsaw for less than half price and I took the deal. Had I known the grizzly would come along i would have bought the portable band saw.

 

[matt_i]

Isn't there a difference in the frame-size/depth of cut? Seemed like the M18 was smaller than the corded cousin.

If you're doing electrical work and nipping off threaded rods and conduits the smaller frame wouldn't seem to be a limitation to me.

 

[PhantomEB]

My shop is heavily equipped with air tools and I am slowly moving to the Cordless tools of the Ridgid variety..... two things I can’t stress more than enough to myself to have a cord on it is my skil saw and soon to come portaband. Milwaukee hands down for me on a swag table.

 

[sparky 1971]

I have two M12's,an M18 compact and the corded Milwaukee band saws. Milwaukee does make a full sized M18 that has the same cut capacity as the corded, but I don't have that version and probably never will. Cordless is great for hauling around a job site and they do a great job of cutting. My M18 compact goes through 5.0 batteries like it's going out of style though. I bought some 9.0's and it seems to have settled down now. Corded always has power, even if it isn't as portable. That being said, I survived many years without a cordless band saw. If I were to only have one, and it would be limited to occasional use in the garage, I would have corded, especially if I didn't have anything in the same battery platform.

I do have a friend with a Makita porta band, but it's too small for the only saw. Kind of in between my M12 and M18 compact.

I have another friend with the Bauer for Harbor Freight and he loves it, but as far as I know, it's only made about four cuts in 2" conduit.

 

[Kscardsfan]

I know a lot of people who have bought the Bauer corded band saw and like them a lot. They seem to get good reviews. My preferences run towards Milwaukee tools, so if I can find the right price I’ll probably end up with one and table for my shop.

 

[Rinspeed]

I vote corded myself especially since you mention occasional use.

 

[dnschmidt]

Simple answer. If you're using it in a SWAG or self-made table corded. If not Cordless. Cordless and SWAG are a pain in the *** as these tools to not have a locking trigger and you need to tie wrap down the trigger on a cordless model. This super *****.

 

[ducksface]

The Bauer is a nice saw. I tripled coupons on some silly coupon day and was 72 bucks out the door.
Depth of cut is the difference, for now, on some corded vs corded saws.
I have the bauer because at 72 bucks I wasn't fiddle dicking with the Milwaukee bolted to the swag.
I have an ancient Milwaukee on the swag table with a router speed controller switch.
I have a older Stout battery bandsaw(so I've been at the battery saw thing for longer than most folks.)

All work, all do their thing.
The Stout slips out of its table saw mount in about a second and is battery, so kinds the meh of all worlds... And stupid expensive.

Lots of people have made versions of the swag, has anyone made a quick release one?

If I had to have one?
The Bauer corded.
If I could have any other than the ones I have?
Deepest throat available, corded.

There are few jobs a cordless bandsaw will do that a cordless Sawzall won't. Truthfully I can't think of any.

 

[speed bump]

I have a Dewalt cordless and I like it. The only downside is when I throw my saw in the vise with a plate I have to wrap the trigger.

If you plan on using it for mainly fab work in the garage then go corded.

Mine sees the most use where I need something off a long stick in the rack or to hack up pipe outside. For this cordless is great, grab the portaband and go.

Eventually I may buy a Bauer and build a table but for now I prefer the cordless saw.