Buying A 14" Bandsaw

[guapote]

Hey guys i have had enough of the old scroll saw, Im looking at purchasing this

http://www.carbatec.com.au/carba-tec-14-bandsaw-two-speed-bas-350b_c21215

It also says non ferrous materials so does that mean i could cut my own aluminum bibs on it?

Last time i bought a bandsaw it was one of those small ryobi pieces of crap which has now found a second life as a disk sander.

Do you think its going to be too big for small minnows and divers?

Cheers Jaicob.

[Vodkaman]

Nothing wrong with the machine that you have selected. But what material you cut with it, comes down to what blade you use in the machine. You are not limited to the blade that was delivered with the machine.

I use a very cheap bench top machine, probably similar to the Ryobi that you described. It is not brilliant, but gets the job done. I have thought about upgrading, but I got 50 blades made for it about a year ago. I use mine for cutting small blocks of wood, mostly very light density, the occasional piece of plywood, polycarbonate for bibs, the occasional aluminium bar (20 pieces today) and very occasionally a piece of brass and 1/4" steel rod.

For all the materials other than the wood products, the standard blade (coarse toothed wood blade) is the wrong choice. I find a fine toothed 'hacksaw' type blade is much kinder. I do not enjoy switching blades, so I leave the fine blade in for cutting the wood, unless I have a lot of cutting to do at once. I have had a few blades snap, but this was generally when cutting the steel rod and I got over confident with the capabilities of the machine.

It is extremely important to correctly adjust the blade tension and all the guides correctly. Skimp on this process and blades will snap, along with your temper. It is also important to 'listen' to the machine when cutting. If it starts making 'thud thud' noises, then the adjustment has slipped or you are pushing too hard and the welded joing is hitting the guides. This is a sure sign that the blade is going to snap soon. Power down, open up the case and examine the blade joint for cracking and check all the adjustments.

Sorry I have wandered into a general discussion on bandsaw operation and as a previous owner of a bandsaw, you are already aware of this information, but I thought it might help others. Was not meant to patronise you. Also, I am not an expert in this field, so if anyone feels that my information is incorrect, please say so, I will not be upset, I too want to learn.

I would like to see a pic of your sander adaptation, sounds interesting.

Dave

[RayburnGuy]

Aluminum is a non-ferrous metal, as well as being one of the softer metals, so you shouldn't have any problems. It depends more on the type of blade being used than the saw itself.

[mark poulson]

The bigger the wheels, the longer the blade, the longer it will stay sharp.

Like Dave and Ben said, the blade you choose determines what you can cut.

Aluminum is non-ferrous, but be careful, anyway. When you cut metal, the chips are hot, and can ignite the sawdust from when you cut wood. And it can happen a while after you do the cutting, so be sure you don't have any sawdust buildups before you cut the aluminum, and check it by taking the guard off the lower wheel when you're done.

And don't assume that a dust collector will prevent that problem. It may just transfer it farther away from the machine.

If you use a dust collector, which is a good idea when you cut wood, make sure it's disconnected from the machine when you're cutting your aluminum, and you will avoid any potential disasters.

Burning the garage or shop down is hard to explain to the wife, let alone the insurance co.

[Vodkaman]

When you cut metal, the chips are hot, and can ignite the sawdust from when you cut wood.

WOW! never considered the fire risk, with all that light wood dust sitting in my machine. Thanks Mark.

Dave

[guapote]

Yeh I think ill just stay away from alu bibs and stay with lexan.

I figured i would need to use a diffrent blade for metal but now thinking about it more it seems like alot more of a hassle having to switch blades then get it to track straight again.

The disk sander attachment is pretty basic, all i did was Cut the bottom off a bucket and drill a hole through the center and attach it with the wheels center screw on the front of the bottom wheel so the spokes didnt rip out my fingers, and i just put a sanding disk on the front of that. and voila.

Also really considering purchasing this mini lathe aswell.

http://www.carbatec.com.au/woodfast-mini-lathe_c20064

[Vodkaman]

I would like to know what blades other members use for cutting the lexan. I never fancied the coarse toothed wood blade for this material and went straight to the fine toothed metal cutting blade.

Hope you do not consider this a hijack of your thread. I think it is all relevant information.

Sorry, cannot help you with the lathe.

Dave

[mark poulson]

I would like to know what blades other members use for cutting the lexan. I never fancied the coarse toothed wood blade for this material and went straight to the fine toothed metal cutting blade.

Hope you do not consider this a hijack of your thread. I think it is all relevant information.

Sorry, cannot help you with the lathe.

Dave

Dave,

The key, for me, in machining Lexan is slow feed speed. Keep it moving, but don't force it.

Fine tooth wood blades cut it just fine. I've never looked into a special plastics only blade.

Circular saws have a triple chip blade that's made specifically for plastics, but I don't know about plastics only bandsaw blades.

I cut plastic so seldom that, when I do, I just use whatever wood blade is on the bandsaw, and know I'm going to have to sand it to final shape anyway.

Too fast a feed speed will melt the plastic instead of cutting it.

But each type of plastic is a little different, so you will probably have to play around until you get the feel of whatever you're cutting.

I can tell by how much resistance I feel whether I'm starting to force it too fast.

Edited August 21, 2010 by mark poulson