woodworking bandsaw that can also handle 25 mm Alu

[runcyclexcski]

Hi all,

I am looking for an upright bandsaw that can be wheeled around (i.e. not require a forklift to bring in) to cut wood, but also to cut solid Alu blocks up to 25 mm thick, cuts up to 75 mm deep. E.g. there is a 3HP Charnwood 18" on amazon that says 'woodworking', but wouldn't 3HP handle 25 mm Alu? I surely can hacksaw 25 mm Alu... slowly. As a human, I output 0.2 HP max, and a 75 mm deep cut would take me 30 min and 3x30 cm blades, perhaps. The bandsaw would make it less daunting. (At my previous jobs as a researcher in the US, I used to have 24hr access to a workshop that had a 10 HP bandsaw. I would routinely cut 25 mm thick, 300 mm wide Al squares on it, and it was like bread through butter. But EHS rules are much more strict in the UK > no bandsaw. 10HP is too big of a kit for the garage, hence the interest in the 2-3 HP).

 

[CHJ]

Cutting speed is the driving factor more than actual HP. I regularly cut 100mm aluminium and steel billets with a horizontal bandsaw that has a 550watt motor. Not the fastest but it does the job, has a range of cutting speed of 20-30-50 mtrs. min.

The suitability of the bandsaw construction depends on its ability to clear the swarf and any coolants such as paraffin.
A woodworking bandsaw may not have suitably sealed safety switches, bearing housings etc. to cater for liquids and metal swarf.

 

[Sideways]

There's a small, benchtop axy trade bandsaw with variable speed that says it's good for occasional metal duty, use the right blade and dial down the speed. I don't recall any capacity claims. It looks like a nicely made tool but over £1000 new.

 

[Racers]

I have cut 40 mm deep aluminium heat sinks with my Startrite 352.

Pete

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Cutting speed is the driving factor more than actual HP. I regularly cut 100mm aluminium and steel billets with a horizontal bandsaw that has a 550watt motor..

Four inch steel with 550 watts? :shock: Wow!

 

[CHJ]

Cutting speed is the driving factor more than actual HP. I regularly cut 100mm aluminium and steel billets with a horizontal bandsaw that has a 550watt motor..

Four inch steel with 550 watts? :shock: Wow!

No problem, not production cutting speeds but a darn site quicker than using a hacksaw.
Can't find my basic machine but This is the nearest somewhat pimped up and a lot more expensive now.
It has a 1/3hp output motor.

Only problems I've had is with blades, they do have to take some tight radiuses on these small machines and can be prone to cracking, as usual Ian sorted out suitable blades when I encountered problems with high volume (in the hundreds) blank cutting on awkward materials.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yet another post disappeared without trace. :?
That's not exactly a woodworking machine though (nor is it upright).

 

[CHJ]

Yet another post disappeared without trace. :?
That's not exactly a woodworking machine though (nor is it upright).

No but it proves the points about blade speed an power requirements.
I cut alloy and brass sheet on my 14" SIP set to slow speed with appropriate blade but it's far from ideal.

 

[runcyclexcski]

A woodworking bandsaw may not have suitably sealed safety switches, bearing housings etc. to cater for liquids and metal swarf.

Thanks a lot for the tip regarding saw construction; I should have been aware that metal-rated saw would have better seals etc.
Would a reciprocal use of a metal saw to cut wood be acceptable? However, I doubt I can find a metal-specific kit for under 1K (my price range). Also, I am limited in space and weight (100kilos max). I.e. it has to be movable by 2 men (not only by a crane), and preferntially not be taller than 180cm.

I also have learned that it might be problematic to install a metal-rated blade on a wood-rated saw, i.e. I may have to order a specialty blade. :?

 

[runcyclexcski]

Four inch steel with 550 watts? :shock: Wow!

As it was pointed out, it beats hacksawing by a factor of 10 in power! I would not dare cut 100 mm billets of steel, but I might be tempted to cit an occasional 25 mm diam mild steel post.

 

[runcyclexcski]

I have cut 40 mm deep aluminium heat sinks with my Startrite 352.
Pete

May I ask how thick the "fin-less" solid part of the sinks were?
Is this the kit?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bandsaw-Star ... SweplbBuJm

 

[chaoticbob]

I use my Record 350S on the 'slow' pulleys for cutting ali - took a slice off a 40mm square bar today, 14TPI (I think) blade from Tuffsaws. Not super quick, but faster and more accurate than a hacksaw in my hands at least. No sign of the motor bogging down. Weighs under 80kg IIRC, cost about £700 with the wheeelkit.
Robin

 

[Jacob]

Re the wheeling around bit; I can move my 352 with a sack trolley quite easily, on level floors. It's hefty so you have to have part of it on your shoulder and do a bit of a balancing act. Easier if you take the table off.
It has little castors on one edge so you can drag it a short way to adjust position.
Any more difficult manouevres and perhaps a pallet truck. You'd need a purpose made pallet as there is no gap to slide the truck under.

 

[Racers]

I have cut 40 mm deep aluminium heat sinks with my Startrite 352.
Pete

May I ask how thick the "fin-less" solid part of the sinks were?
Is this the kit?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bandsaw-Star ... SweplbBuJm

That's the beast, mine is on a base with castors so it's easy to wheel about.

The heat sinks are about 6mm think in the root of the fins, these are the chaps.

Pair of Hackernaps by Pete Maddex, on Flickr

Cut with a fine tooth blade.

Pete

 

[runcyclexcski]

These are some proper heatsinks! I wonder what's going on inside those boxes, I see these on PCs needing 1kW heat dissipation.

I do have access to a pallet truck which I can use 24-7. But since the saw in question does not have pallet sliders and I would neet to make them myself it gets quite involved.

Here is a dewalt at 1.1kW which is on the high end of what amazon sells. I wonder if it's a 'sustainable' 1 kW, or if it can only handle it for a few seconds at a time. Just like TdF racers can generate 2 kW, but only during the final sprint to the finish.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... _qh_dp_hza

I have a 500W drill press which I thought was tough enough, but it smokes (the belts) and stalls when drilling Alu holes >12 mm in diam, deeper than 1 cm.

I will probably look on ebay for used saws of the brand/names mentioned above, as I can probably get a 2x more powerful saw for the same price as the new dewalt

 

[CHJ]

Your comparison with your drill is erroneous.
The cutting ability is down to the gearing between the motor and the drill/blade drive.

Your drill is at most probably only 3 to 1 reduction.
A horizontal bandsaw is more likely to be 50 to 1.

Hence why you need a vertical bandsaw with appropriate pulley reductions to lower the blade speed and deliver the torque.

 

[Racers]

These are some proper heatsinks! I wonder what's going on inside those boxes, I see these on PCs needing 1kW heat dissipation.

I have a 500W drill press which I thought was tough enough, but it smokes (the belts) and stalls when drilling Alu holes >12 mm in diam, deeper than 1 cm.

The heat sinks are on a pair of 150 watt hackernap power amplifiers, they run nice and cool!

Have you tried a pilot hole in the aluminium?

Pete

 

[Brandlin]

I regularly drill holes bigger than 12mm in ally on my drill press and its rated for 450W. The trick is cutting speed and multiple pilot holes and regularly clearing swarf.

 

[chaoticbob]

A metalworking rule of thumb is that you can remove about 1 cubic inch of mild steel per horsepower per minute, or about three times that in ali. Cutting a 75mm (~3") slit in 25mm (~1") stock with a 0.05" kerf say involves removing 3x1x0.05 = 0.15 cubic inches. So cutting that slit in ali with 1HP could be done in about 0.15/3 = 0.05 minutes or 3 seconds. I'm not suggesting that anyone should try to cut that fast (!) just underlining the point that raw motor power is unlikely to be an issue. There are other reasons for going for the biggest you can obviously.
If the belts on the drill press are smoking, they're slipping. Again I doubt that an underpowered motor is the problem - my 375W Fobco will drill 12mm in steel without straining.
Robin

 

[powertools]

A metal cutting bandsaw is a very different machine to a wood cutting bandsaw.