Why are small vertical metal cutting band saws nonexistent??
- Thread starter TerryH
- Start date
I am in the same situation with needing a vertical metal band saw. I first started looking at the portabands with a SWAG table. The problem with them is that they all have 0 throat capacity. Due to the offset design of the blade you only get 4 to 6 inches into a cut before your work runs into the body of the saw. Unless you are trimming out small pieces, they are not much use.
I have not found anything much beyond what others have shown here. There are the 4"x 6" convertible horizontal/vertical models. These range from $250 to $400
Grizzly
HF1
HF2
Rikon
And then there are the dedicated upright Jet models which can cut wood and metal. These run $1500 to $2000 depending on the features
For those with more insight into this....are all the horizontal/vertical models probably made by the same manufacturer in Taiwan to each brands specification? I ask because they look nearly identical. If I decide on this style, is the Rikon brand worth $150 more over the Harbor Freight?
With the Jet 14 inch verticals, they have one model with 7 set metal speeds from 39 to 278 SFPM for metal and 3300 SFPM for wood, and another variable speed model with 90 to 340 SFPM variable for metal and 2600 SFPM for wood. This feature is about an $500 increase in price
If I choose to go this route, is the variable speed really worth anything or is it just another part of the saw that can break? And do you lose something by not being able to go below 90 SFPM? Three of the seven speeds on the standard model are slower than 90 SFPM.
I have not found anything much beyond what others have shown here. There are the 4"x 6" convertible horizontal/vertical models. These range from $250 to $400
Grizzly
HF1
HF2
Rikon
And then there are the dedicated upright Jet models which can cut wood and metal. These run $1500 to $2000 depending on the features
For those with more insight into this....are all the horizontal/vertical models probably made by the same manufacturer in Taiwan to each brands specification? I ask because they look nearly identical. If I decide on this style, is the Rikon brand worth $150 more over the Harbor Freight?
With the Jet 14 inch verticals, they have one model with 7 set metal speeds from 39 to 278 SFPM for metal and 3300 SFPM for wood, and another variable speed model with 90 to 340 SFPM variable for metal and 2600 SFPM for wood. This feature is about an $500 increase in price
If I choose to go this route, is the variable speed really worth anything or is it just another part of the saw that can break? And do you lose something by not being able to go below 90 SFPM? Three of the seven speeds on the standard model are slower than 90 SFPM.
anndel
Well-known member
Bought one from Swag Offroad for my M18 Milwaukee Portaband saw.
And this is my exact dilemma. I have a piece of 1/4" plate cut to make my own table for my portaband but the limited capacity is going to be an issue. No budget for a $2000 dual purpose band saw so here we are. The options seem to be either buy a 4x6 horizontal and convert it to full time vertical or just live with the portaband.
OccupantRJ
Well-known member
I have found that a vertical metal cutting bandsaw can be run at 150-200 feet per minute constant speed and work just fine. I ran my 20" Do-All saw at work daily at that speed range for close to 30 years, cutting steel, tool steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, copper, and plastics and wood.
OccupantRJ
Well-known member
Terry, you could use several of the components of the saw such as wheels, guides, bearings and tensioner to build a saw that the blade runs in a manner to give a throat equal to the diameter of the wheels. I started one years ago but abandoned the project when I suddenly acquired a 20" Delta metal cutting saw. A 3 wheel setup can provide quite a bit more throat depth also. Since you do some wood, a company I know of has a large room with a table with a bandsaw blade running from floor to ceiling, with the rest of the blade running at the walls of the room. I think it has a 12 foot throat, using the room as the frame. Possibilities are endless, pun intended. 
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Sandeep patel
New member
I'd like to have a small vertical metal cutting band saw for sawing shapes, plates, etc.
I have a cold cut saw and a portal and already for general cutting. Interesting to me that there are a bazillion small wood band saws but virtually nothing in the metal cutting speeds.
Assuming that the manufacturers don't think there is a big enough market for such? I'm planning on building a table for my portal and that'll work ok but just found it interesting that there is virtually nothing to be had in the small metal cutting vertical saw market.
I have a cold cut saw and a portal and already for general cutting. Interesting to me that there are a bazillion small wood band saws but virtually nothing in the metal cutting speeds.
Assuming that the manufacturers don't think there is a big enough market for such? I'm planning on building a table for my portal and that'll work ok but just found it interesting that there is virtually nothing to be had in the small metal cutting vertical saw market.
ericlar80
Well-known member
Portaband with a table fits that need already. It’s cheap for the capability, too.
How small are you looking for there are bench top one like I think rigid makes one cryobi makes one. But then again the portaban saws with a table work great too.
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seber
Well-known member
Delta used to sell their 14" as a metal cutting saw. I've converted one to metal cutting by introducing a jackshaft between the motor and the drive pulley. That allowed me to put both fast and slow speed pulleys on the saw. Later I converted it to a vfd with a bigger motor. Both ways worked fine.
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Bretny
Well-known member
How small do you need?
I have a roll-insaw. Its a self feeding vertical. Very handy saw. Cuts square to the table no matter where you stop in the cut.
https://www.rollinsaw.com/vertical-band-saws
I have a roll-insaw. Its a self feeding vertical. Very handy saw. Cuts square to the table no matter where you stop in the cut.
https://www.rollinsaw.com/vertical-band-saws
PCMusicGuy
Well-known member
If it comes with its own cabinet it is too big. If it cannot fit on any normal garage workbench, it is too big.
seber
Well-known member
That would explain why you can't find a metal cutting saw. Those benchtops are pretty limited spacewise. Makes it hard to get the required speed reduction.
Bretny
Well-known member
Guess he wants a micro band saw. A portaband with a table would fit the bill.
PCMusicGuy
Well-known member
This is why a portaband with a Swag table is so popular. There is literally nothing else that can fit on the bend top and do the job.
HenryAZ
MEMBER EMERITUS
Here's another (Milwaukee 6232) mounted to a SWAG table.
No loss on depth of cut, as the table butts against the saw.
No loss on depth of cut, as the table butts against the saw.
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454ragtop
Well-known member
The problem with a portaband and table is you have very little throat depth, and you have to run a fairly wide blade, limiting the radius that can be cut. But, I suppose if you never used anything better, you don't know what you don't know....
dr_clyde
Well-known member
I guess if you want small format, inexpensive tools, you need to be willing to accept and work around the shortcomings that go with.
Nobody will make a super high quality, tiny vertical saw for metal because the market just isn’t there.
Nobody will make a super high quality, tiny vertical saw for metal because the market just isn’t there.
I personally wouldn’t get anything less than 14” for a stationary saw. Portaband for smaller jobs as others have said.
I picked up this 15” Craftsman Professional 3 speed metal cutting bandsaw for $200 used.
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I picked up this 15” Craftsman Professional 3 speed metal cutting bandsaw for $200 used.
Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal
Torque&Recoil
Well-known member
I made a table out of 1/4" aluminum plate (scrap) for my HFT 4x6. For a stand, I'm using a modified HF 4-wheel engine stand. The saw has a modest throat size which limits what you can cut in vertical mode, and I had to replace the oil seal on the gearbox after a couple of years. Other than that, it's a lot of bang for the buck. And it comes with a free cast iron 9mm bullet inside the gearbox, just to make you wonder ...
That would be tough on a barrel. I wonder how many grains of powder you would need to push a cast iron bullet?
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Torque&Recoil
Well-known member
There seems to be a 9mm bullet in the master pattern, so every gearbox that is cast gets a bullet-shaped lump of cast iron as part of the casting. It is hidden behind the brass gear. Others have found it also. The mystery is ... why?