Band Saw

PRED

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
DoAll 16" min. 3/4" blade

Variable speed can cut metal or wood (specific band needed for each)
 
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whammo57

Kim Walker
Silver Member
at least a 14 inch............ Grizzly has a very nice one and is prices lower than all the others.............. look at the G0555

Kim
 

Busbee Cue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
A 10 inch is good for some jobs with a fine blade.

The 10" is a very handy tool to have in the shop for sure, probably use it more often than the 14" and sometimes I wish I had something bigger than the 14".

One thing for sure is you can never have to many tools.
 

JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
14" or more for woods.
Remember handles are 17" long ( most ) .

Have a 9" band saw with BI-METAL blade. Use that for plastics, aluminum, brass, G-10 and phenolics . NEVER use the good blade for woods on metals and phenolics . A mounted Porta band saw would work too.

Have a chop saw and miter saw as well. You will eventually need them. And you can get them for a song on Craigslist .
 

cueman

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I have a 16 inch Grizzly and can cut 15 inches on it with the 5 inch tall custom fence I put on it. It is the minimum size I would want, unless I needed a light duty small one for a specific process that uses smaller and therefore cheaper blades.
 

Ssonerai

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What's the ideal size Band saw for cuemaking?

What do you plan to do with it?

I'm not primarily a cue maker, my saws are 30" & 36". (30" is user past 40 years, 36" is project). My metal cutting BS is only 14". Since i do make cues, it is hard for me to think of anything cue related that requires deeper than a 6" cut? Any good machine with truly round wheels, solid construction & table, that can be easily, reliably squared, with good guides, 12" or larger wheels should work. So one of the better 14", or preferably 16". 20" if you can swing it, & don't pass up a 24" if the condition and price are right. :)

I really like the inertia and smoothness of bandsaws once they get past 16" & up.

As saws increase in size, so do the tables. That can be a welcome advantage if you tend to add a lot of fixturing or sleds for your work. Say for FS construction. Or need to bust up logs, e.g. (blackwood, snakewood, etc)

smt
 

JerseyBill

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What's the ideal size Band saw for cuemaking?
I want to cut Steel and wood. And every operation that I can't do on a table saw. Need general helpful information in which saw and size of saw and blades and brands of both or at least where to buy them.
thanks everyone.
 

JerseyBill

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have a 16 inch Grizzly and can cut 15 inches on it with the 5 inch tall custom fence I put on it. It is the minimum size I would want, unless I needed a light duty small one for a specific process that uses smaller and therefore cheaper blades.
What are the dimensions (lengths) of your forearms and handles etc.?

thanks in advance for being a very helpful member of these forums without you and a few more like you
It wouldn't fly. You're always there with a good piece of information.
 

JerseyBill

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
14" or more for woods.
Remember handles are 17" long ( most ) .

Have a 9" band saw with BI-METAL blade. Use that for plastics, aluminum, brass, G-10 and phenolics . NEVER use the good blade for woods on metals and phenolics . A mounted Porta band saw would work too.

Have a chop saw and miter saw as well. You will eventually need them. And you can get them for a song on Craigslist .
Joey, Thanks for all the help you've given me through the years.
I'm changing everything I've done before because I'm trying to just be a hobbyist and make ten or so cues a year.
 

Ssonerai

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Do you shop auctions, or plan to buy retail?

I want to cut Steel and wood. And every operation that I can't do on a table saw.

I hope it is not insulting as to what you already know: keep in mind that wood cutting saws tend to run somewhere over 3,000 ft/min band speed. Bigger/"commercial" tend to run around 4,500 fpm.

Unfortunately, steel is cut with band speeds slightly under 100 ft/min. Stainless, maybe even less. Depending whether you are using carbon steel bands, or HSS. Hence, to cut steel on a bandsaw tends to require a gearbox and several speed ranges.

I sometimes saw aluminum on my woodworking bandsaws, but as others noted, never with a good blade - it will dull it for fine wood cutting. For that matter, I sometimes saw aluminum up on one of the table saws. Again, not with a good blade that will be used with wood. All due safe practices observed, of course.

Where this is going: if you are stuck on one saw to do it all, get a good one proven to be convenient to change over, and proven to be a good performer in both roles. The classic machine would be a 16" DoALL, or a Grob (still made in USA!) Some Grobs do have weird guides, which may or may not be an advantage. They can also be changed.

At a lower price point, Rockwell Delta's 14" wood-metal cutting saw is highly respected. So is their 20" version. Powermatic made analogs of both, and may be even slightly better but a little less common.

It might be cheaper and more convenient in use, to get a 14" metal cutting saw, and a 16" or larger wood cutting saw. It is a real nuisance to clean the cutting fluid off a machine after sawing steel, change the blade, change the guides or at least the guide setting, re- set the speeds, and then saw wood. Let alone if you have to go back & forth a few times a day.

To get the best performance out of a bandsaw especially in wood cutting mode does involve a deeper understanding of machine factors and "tuning" or set up, than say a table saw.

smt
 
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conetip

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Those Do ALL bandsaws are awesome. Our one at work has the blade welding station on it. I have not seen that on modern saws. The line is long to buy it when the factory wants to be rid of it.
 

JerseyBill

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Those Do ALL bandsaws are awesome. Our one at work has the blade welding station on it. I have not seen that on modern saws. The line is long to buy it when the factory wants to be rid of it.
sounds like a do all is the way to go? where would you find one? Only used available or are they in production that you know of?
I already have a small band saw that won't do the job. In addition I have a portable metal band saw which is hard to handle it's so heavy. And I own a chop-saw for metal mostly.
 

conetip

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
sounds like a do all is the way to go? where would you find one? Only used available or are they in production that you know of?
I already have a small band saw that won't do the job. In addition I have a portable metal band saw which is hard to handle it's so heavy. And I own a chop-saw for metal mostly.
Do All is still in business making saws. I really like the variable speed aspect. On my one at home here, I have added the reduction box. Next will be a 3phase motor with VFD. Then I can cut different materials and harder metals than Aluminum or mild steel.
 

conetip

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Forgot to say, mine at home is a generic saw like the grizzly 14 inch. I have the riser block for the extra height . I do sometimes wich that I had the larger model with the wider throat for scroll work and orher things not cue related. Buying again I would get quick release tension and bearing guides as well. It doesn't matter what you get, they all need adjusting and tuning.
 

JerseyBill

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Do All is still in business making saws. I really like the variable speed aspect. On my one at home here, I have added the reduction box. Next will be a 3phase motor with VFD. Then I can cut different materials and harder metals than Aluminum or mild steel.
Well its funny I went to craigs list after this forum and lo and behold was a DO ALL band saw for sale. wow lucky me....NO it was too much money. almost four thousand if I recall. Anyway it was cost prohibitive. I'll keep looking or buy a new Grizzly for around 1200.
 

JerseyBill

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What do you plan to do with it?

I'm not primarily a cue maker, my saws are 30" & 36". (30" is user past 40 years, 36" is project). My metal cutting BS is only 14". Since i do make cues, it is hard for me to think of anything cue related that requires deeper than a 6" cut? Any good machine with truly round wheels, solid construction & table, that can be easily, reliably squared, with good guides, 12" or larger wheels should work. So one of the better 14", or preferably 16". 20" if you can swing it, & don't pass up a 24" if the condition and price are right. :)

I really like the inertia and smoothness of bandsaws once they get past 16" & up.

As saws increase in size, so do the tables. That can be a welcome advantage if you tend to add a lot of fixturing or sleds for your work. Say for FS construction. Or need to bust up logs, e.g. (blackwood, snakewood, etc)

smt
How about one of the better band saws say a 14". Which brand / model I like Cueman's but not certain.
 

JerseyBill

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
14" or more for woods.
Remember handles are 17" long ( most ) .

Have a 9" band saw with BI-METAL blade. Use that for plastics, aluminum, brass, G-10 and phenolics . NEVER use the good blade for woods on metals and phenolics . A mounted Porta band saw would work too.

Have a chop saw and miter saw as well. You will eventually need them. And you can get them for a song on Craigslist .
can I put a bi-metal blade on any benchtop lathe?
 
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