@fall22123 - It's faster than this video shows -- this was my first cut, so I had it set on the slowest speed and slowest feed. I cut 4" diameter stock all the time and it's pretty quick, especially if you run a little coolant/lubricant on the cut.
I've had one of these for quite a while now, I couldn't find 64.5 inch blades so I got a BiMetal 66 inch blade and ground enough clearance around the top pulley to use it. I've made hundreds of cuts with it and am still on the same blade :)
@jacktheripped - That's not a bad idea. I've had decent success finding bi-metal 65-1/2" blades, but they really haven't lasted as long as I would expect. I cut a fair amount of heavy stock -- like 4" cylinders, but it's all aluminum and I often use coolant.
we forgot to ask how heavy is the model you got there? Looks like it may have needed at least two guys to move it hah Thanks again for the video we were thinking of getting one too. Joseph T fly2000jtb
@fly2000jtb my school has this bandsaw. its very light actually. i can wheel it were ever i need it no problem. probubly take about a 25 lb pull to lift it up on its wheels. really is maneuverable
@fly2000jtb - Sorry, I didn't see this comment. It's pretty heavy, about 150 pounds in its packaging from HF. But, I weigh just over 100 lbs. and was able to assemble it by myself. And, as rcfreak2493 notes, once assembled it's easy to roll it around.
@SWD2263 - You know, I've bought all sorts of power tools, hand tools and miscellaneous tools from Harbor Freight and found them all to be good to great. Maybe my experience is uncommon, though.
Looks like the blade is in backward. I know from experience.
Don't laugh - it's possible to have the teeth facing the wrong way. No, it's not that there are left and right-hand blades... you just turn the blade loop inside-out to switch from left to right-hand.
I have the same harbor freight saw and it finishes a cut like that in about a minute.
@amaedesign - The blade is in there fine, I just had it on the lowest speed and the slowest feed. I now have it at the highest speed and heaviest feed for everything I cut and it is much faster. I'm using the saw a lot these days. And although I've been storing it *outside* for two years, it still works great.
Its a nice tool and I see the cut is smooth and the metal did not heat up. If speed is more important though, an abrasive chop saw cut maybe 1/16" outside the line followed by an angle grinder would suffice.
my harbor freight bandsaw blades last a year........you've got to keep them oiled.....squirt a splash of oil every minute at the cut.........and the blade life'll increase 7fold
i have this same saw, broke the blade right off the bat. couldn't find any 64" blades so i got a 65 1/2" BiMetallic blade, took my Harbor Freight grinder and ground out the inside of the top where the adjuster is for more clearance and have been using the same blade ever since.
You can easily speed it up, I'm usually on the middle pulley setting. and that spring tension thing is a joke, un-need for the most part. Mine's adjusted slack when open and not much tension when cutting. good luck
Chop saws leave a bigger mess, heat or burn the metal, and also make a wider cut and wastes material. I hate chop saws and so I bought this HF bandsaw today for 100 clams. Only used twice by a guy who was moving and had to leave it behind. He even threw in an extra set of non-chinese blades.
What blade did you replace it with, are you planning on doing any of the mods that's floating on the net ? I've looked at this saw and for the money it looks good enough for making a few cuts on the weekend.
see, I got a horizontal metal cutting bandsaw, small size, older, I cannot get the damn thing to cut straight thru something, it starts cutting thru fine then the fuckin blade curves, any idea whats up?
Could be any number of things; most likely a combination. The roller guides need to be set properly, which I still haven't really figured out, for a straight cut. Also, if you can adjust the roller guide housing, move them as close to the material as possible, so the minimum amount of blade is exposed. Lastly, the entire "arm" that drops down needs to be free of "wiggle". If it can be pushed from side to side, you won't get a straight cut, at least with steel. Hope this helps.
I have this same saw, mine is green. I had the same off cutting problem, I changed to a 24 tpi blade and it made all the difference from the 18 tpi. I wish there was a 32 for the size cause the cuts at 24 are super clean/smooth. There is no drift in the cut but does take about 10% longer to cut than the 18 did.
Cuts pretty slow. It would take forever to cut through a thick piece of bar stock.
fall22123 4 months ago
@fall22123 - It's faster than this video shows -- this was my first cut, so I had it set on the slowest speed and slowest feed. I cut 4" diameter stock all the time and it's pretty quick, especially if you run a little coolant/lubricant on the cut.
jfbrink 4 months ago
hate these saws. soooo slow and all of em cut crooked. invest in an old wellsaw and you will be amazed
depsterboy 9 months ago
I've had one of these for quite a while now, I couldn't find 64.5 inch blades so I got a BiMetal 66 inch blade and ground enough clearance around the top pulley to use it. I've made hundreds of cuts with it and am still on the same blade :)
jacktheripped 1 year ago
@jacktheripped - That's not a bad idea. I've had decent success finding bi-metal 65-1/2" blades, but they really haven't lasted as long as I would expect. I cut a fair amount of heavy stock -- like 4" cylinders, but it's all aluminum and I often use coolant.
jfbrink 1 year ago
we forgot to ask how heavy is the model you got there? Looks like it may have needed at least two guys to move it hah Thanks again for the video we were thinking of getting one too. Joseph T fly2000jtb
fly2000jtb 1 year ago
@fly2000jtb my school has this bandsaw. its very light actually. i can wheel it were ever i need it no problem. probubly take about a 25 lb pull to lift it up on its wheels. really is maneuverable
rcfreak2493 1 year ago
@fly2000jtb - Sorry, I didn't see this comment. It's pretty heavy, about 150 pounds in its packaging from HF. But, I weigh just over 100 lbs. and was able to assemble it by myself. And, as rcfreak2493 notes, once assembled it's easy to roll it around.
jfbrink 1 year ago
we would not go to fast either, if this is the first time it was used we mean!! Not a bad saw from the video Thanks for airing it Joseph T fly2000
fly2000jtb 1 year ago
I bought one of these but never got it to run correctly. Very disappointed, but that is what I get for buying Harbor freight
SWD2263 1 year ago
@SWD2263 - You know, I've bought all sorts of power tools, hand tools and miscellaneous tools from Harbor Freight and found them all to be good to great. Maybe my experience is uncommon, though.
jfbrink 1 year ago 4
Looks like the blade is in backward. I know from experience.
Don't laugh - it's possible to have the teeth facing the wrong way. No, it's not that there are left and right-hand blades... you just turn the blade loop inside-out to switch from left to right-hand.
I have the same harbor freight saw and it finishes a cut like that in about a minute.
amaedesign 1 year ago
@amaedesign - The blade is in there fine, I just had it on the lowest speed and the slowest feed. I now have it at the highest speed and heaviest feed for everything I cut and it is much faster. I'm using the saw a lot these days. And although I've been storing it *outside* for two years, it still works great.
jfbrink 1 year ago
Its a nice tool and I see the cut is smooth and the metal did not heat up. If speed is more important though, an abrasive chop saw cut maybe 1/16" outside the line followed by an angle grinder would suffice.
j822bosh 1 year ago
Is it just me or is the blade going tortuously slow? If that's just cold/hot rolled, i'm pretty sure you could go a LOT faster...
Andyman3k 1 year ago
@Andyman3k - Yeah, I admit above, I was running it way too slowly here. I had never used it before, so I was super conservative.
jfbrink 1 year ago
my harbor freight bandsaw blades last a year........you've got to keep them oiled.....squirt a splash of oil every minute at the cut.........and the blade life'll increase 7fold
woi2ld 2 years ago
i have this same saw, broke the blade right off the bat. couldn't find any 64" blades so i got a 65 1/2" BiMetallic blade, took my Harbor Freight grinder and ground out the inside of the top where the adjuster is for more clearance and have been using the same blade ever since.
You can easily speed it up, I'm usually on the middle pulley setting. and that spring tension thing is a joke, un-need for the most part. Mine's adjusted slack when open and not much tension when cutting. good luck
jacktheripped 2 years ago
when cutting steel that is bent like that it's best to cut with the bend up toward the blade you will cut your steel so much quicker!
jasonbell1981 2 years ago 2
Next time you cut angle have open side down and corner or point side up. I think you have a chance of a burr yanking it out. Just a thought.
SummitDynamics 2 years ago
honestly the band saw did great the blade is the problem,need one with high carbon steel. go to GRAINGER TO GET THE BLADES,the machine is good
SPARTANENGINEER1701 2 years ago 2
@SPARTANENGINEER1701
can you link me to the blade you are talking about?
vietgmac10 1 year ago
Cut looks good, but it sure looks like it takes a long time compared to using a chop saw.
jcorsaro 3 years ago
@jcorsaro
Chop saws leave a bigger mess, heat or burn the metal, and also make a wider cut and wastes material. I hate chop saws and so I bought this HF bandsaw today for 100 clams. Only used twice by a guy who was moving and had to leave it behind. He even threw in an extra set of non-chinese blades.
cannonball666 1 year ago
why does he keep revving it????
plasticflyer 3 years ago
has anyone tried the portable bandsaw from harbor freight? I would like to see a video of that. watch my harbor freight welder video
freddytk421 3 years ago
I guess the bandsaw is ok if you don't use cheap a blade?
Take Care,
John
jstrunck 3 years ago
Interesting. A cutoff saw would have been faster, I suppose.
JustMakingComments 3 years ago
What blade did you replace it with, are you planning on doing any of the mods that's floating on the net ? I've looked at this saw and for the money it looks good enough for making a few cuts on the weekend.
Junky001 3 years ago
Is that the stock blade ?
Junky001 3 years ago
Yes, that's the stock blade on the lowest speed, cutting through 1/4" steel. The stock blade lasted for maybe 10 or so cuts before snapping.
jfbrink 3 years ago
see, I got a horizontal metal cutting bandsaw, small size, older, I cannot get the damn thing to cut straight thru something, it starts cutting thru fine then the fuckin blade curves, any idea whats up?
atomicsaladbowl 4 years ago
Could be any number of things; most likely a combination. The roller guides need to be set properly, which I still haven't really figured out, for a straight cut. Also, if you can adjust the roller guide housing, move them as close to the material as possible, so the minimum amount of blade is exposed. Lastly, the entire "arm" that drops down needs to be free of "wiggle". If it can be pushed from side to side, you won't get a straight cut, at least with steel. Hope this helps.
jfbrink 3 years ago
I have this same saw, mine is green. I had the same off cutting problem, I changed to a 24 tpi blade and it made all the difference from the 18 tpi. I wish there was a 32 for the size cause the cuts at 24 are super clean/smooth. There is no drift in the cut but does take about 10% longer to cut than the 18 did.
kipanderson 3 years ago