Tell me about bandsaws please

[seanf]

So I am lucky enough to have some Christmas present money burning a hole in my pocket and have been looking at small bandsaws. Recently I have been cutting small pieces of wood and metal with a mixed material blade on my mitre saw, which doesn’t feel the safest even though I take great care. Am I right in thinking a bandsaw would be good for this? Would it be a faff to change from a wood to metal blade just to make a couple of cuts? Is there anything in particular I should consider before I look to buy? I've never owned a bandsaw before so would really appreciate any tips

Thank you

Sean

 

[Jameshow]

BIG BIG BIG!!

10" min 12" ok 14" Great!

 

[Molynoox]

Yes it's a faff to change a bandsaw blade, it probably depends on the model you have though. On mine it means removing the fence, opening up the hatches, detensioning, removing blade, inserting new one, setting that one up. I'm sure some people are really quick at it but it's not a quick job.

 

[Spectric]

Recently I have been cutting small pieces of wood and metal with a mixed material blade on my mitre saw, which doesn’t feel the safest

I find the bandsaw to be a much safer machine than the mitre saw and much much safer than a table saw. If you want to cut both metal and wood you will need a two speed machine but personally I like to keep wood and metal cutting apart, don't like the idea of metal chips on my woodworking tools.

 

[Fitzroy]

What metal you are cutting will make a difference. I cut brass and aluminium on my wood band saw without changing the blade, I only drop the speed. I’d not try the same with steel though.

 

[recipio]

Yes, it would be a faff if that is what you are asking. It is possible to get custom made metal cutting blades for a bandsaw but they are not cheap. A two speed bandsaw is pretty essential. You might be better off getting a dedicated bandsaw for metal cutting and later a bandsaw for wood when you get the feel of things. Miter cutting on the bandsaw is pointless as they are just not accurate enough.

 

[seanf]

Thank you all for your replies. I have been cutting aluminium, so interesting to hear I could maybe do that without a blade change. I generally don’t do much with metal, but have been installing a house worth of curtain rails and bits and pieces that have needed adjustment and it is handy to have a tool that would do this too. Mostly I will use the saw, if I purchase, for wood

Sean

 

[Molynoox]

Do you have a jigsaw? Use that for metal with a metal blade maybe.

 

[seanf]

I do have a jigsaw so could use that, I was just hoping it would be easy to swap the blade and use the bandsaw fence to get a nice cut. Wishful thinking and there are always many ways to achieve the same thing!

Any general tips on bandsaw ownership, other than @Jameshow's go enormous?

Sean

 

[Orraloon]

One of these will cut aluminum quite accurately.

Mitre Saws - Saws - Hand Tools | Axminster Tools International

Save the bandsaw for wood. In theory a 2 speed bandsaw will do both but the metal swarf gets everywhere. Embeds itself in the tyres too.
Regards
John

 

[TomTheToolMan]

Buy a metal cutting blade for a grinder and keep your bandsaw for wood.

 

[clogs]

an M42 will have no problem with either but the tooth count will......
a fine blade will cut the metal but bog down in wood esp if it gets to an inch ++ thick.....
as above keep the new saw for wood.....most use...?

 

[Molynoox]

My top tip on bandsaws is don't accidentally saw into embedded nails. The last two blades I have ruined by doing exactly that, it's frustrating, especially if you have JUST put a new blade on and within 10mm of first cut you hit a nail. Not that I've ever done that of course

Martin

 

[Jameshow]

Do you want a new one or are you willing to get a second hand one?

New ones less that £1000 are likely to be simalar Chinese affairs not much to differentiate tbh.

Abve that you start getting decent stuff like Laguna, fielder, centrino etc.

Second hand means you can get older decent stuff cheaper like startright etc for approx £500 upwards.

Check bearings on the wheels and guides too. Making sure it runs straight.

 

[fleyh]

Hello @seanf
Nice Christmas present you got

Bandsaw
Bandsaw which can be used for cutting both metal (e.g. mild still) and wood is going to be unnecessarily expensive because speed required for metal is very different from speed for wood.
Even if your hardest metal is aluminium - I would still consider a separate tool than a woodworking bandsaw because you do not want to mix metal shavings with wood. All sort of interesting things may occur.

As others said:
- blade change is not something you will be looking forward to, and you really need different blades for metal and wood. You often need different blades even for different tasks related to cutting wood
- Bandsaw is a great tool, so if you can get it, then definitely buy the best/biggest you can afford. Size wise - consider if you need to cut really wide stock (e.g. guitar making) or tall stock (e.g. milling your own lumber/re-sawing, cutting veneer). Knowing which dimension is more important to you will help ruling out certain models and reduce cost.

If you only ever work with small stock (e.g. model making) perhaps consider a scrollsaw (for wood) instead of bandsaw.

Cutting small pieces
If you are concerned about safety when cutting small pieces on a mitre saw - take a look at the examples I listed below. They should give you some ideas how you to solve your particular task(s).

Each video is short but shows different approach so I recommend watching them all:

1.
2.
3.
4.

 

[dickm]

How thick is the ali you are cutting? Have you considered a scrollsaw? On my Hegner, blade changing is pretty quick and it will cope with up to 4mm ali without too much fuss; swap blades and it will do something similar with 12mm softwood..

 

[seanf]

Wow, so many helpful and detailed responses - thank you so much all

The key theme seems to be focus on one use rather than thinking of it as a multi-material saw and I can accept that. I don’t know how much metal cutting I will do after I have finished current projects, but it was in my mind as something useful if I do purchase. The curtain tracks I have been cutting are about 20mm at the widest point. Some of these are fitting into dorma windows, so I was cutting slightly long and then sneaking up on the finished size by taking a blade width of cut off using my mitre saw. As I say though, this is unlikely to be something I need regularly and I can think about a bandsaw as a woodworking tool instead. I don't have a specific purpose in mind, but like the idea of, in theory, being able to make safer small cuts and of something quieter than my noisy beast Evolution mitre saw. The fact that my mitre saw has a multi-material blade probably encourages me to use it on more more cuts than I should simply because it is there and ready to go. I will look at the videos posted by @fleyh though, as maybe a different approach would be enough for now

For buying a bandsaw, I would prefer to buy new as time is my biggest limit and having something arrive ready for use (with some setting up) and with a warranty appeals. I have a single garage to work from which is making me think of starting on the smaller bandsaw side and then upgrading should I find the need. We have been in the house 6 months and my poor workspace is still an absolute tip, as I just haven’t had time to organise it yet and I am desperate to do that but inside jobs take priority right now

Sean

 

[Jameshow]

https://www.yandles.co.uk/charnwood-w730-14-bandsaw-1100w-230v/p3554
Charnwood seems the cheapest of the generic budget saws??

 

[scubadoo]

Didi you mention budget? I recently bought a Laguna 14BX on sale as my first bandsaw. I spent years debating what saw to get. I had no experience of bandsaws so wasn't confident to go second hand. The Laguna was the most power and biggest capacity i could get that runs on a 13 amp plug. So far, i love it and blade changes are fairly quick. It's quiet, vibration free and cuts very nicely with no drift. I'm only cutting wood. The Record Power Sabres are popular it seems as well.

I hate cutting small things on the mitre saw and much prefer using the bandsaw.

On the odd occasion I've cut metal, I've used an aluminium cutting blade in my mitre saw or an Evolution metal chop saw for both steel and Ali.