Technical Porta-band

I just picked up a Porta-band band saw that needs a new blade, what tooth count would be good for all around cutting aluminum and steel? most of the stuff i would cut will be 1/16" to 1/4" thick.

 

18 tooth will work. A coarser blade would be preferable from the thicker stuff but 18t will work.

 

That's what I use also. Works great

 

wow, That was quick! thanks guys

 

As a guy who used these for most of my adult working life, a few tips. A 18T blade is a fair compromise, but for thinner material a 24T will work better. Too high a tooth count, the blade will clog up, especially on aluminum. Too few teeth, you'll knock the teeth off. Thicker stuff (over 3/16") a 12/14T will cut better. The correct blades for the thickness will last longer too. Make sure the ball-bearing blade guide bracket is securely mounted, a worn/ loose/damaged guide will make doing straight cuts harder. These will wander when cutting pretty easily, particularly on large/deep cuts. The deep-cut versions are even worse for this. Make sure the rubber bands on the rollers aren't too worn, another item that will affect controlling the cut. Milwaukee and Lennox seemed to make the best blades, the cheapies didn't hold up or broke at the splice, but with heavy-handed use even these will break. The blades are consumables, buy more than one... LOL.

But to be honest, I quit using these after I retired, selling the one I had. For steel, I've found a chop saw with an abrasive blade will give a more accurate cut much faster as long as your set-up is right. For cutting aluminum I'll use either my table saw or fit a 70T 14" blade (carbide tips on both) to the chop saw, or my miter saw if I need a compound cut. Apply steady but light pressure when cutting, let the blade do the work, don't be in a big hurry.

 

This contraption sure saves on bandaids

 

Homemade version. I've cut tons of steel on this. Oh yeah, 18t blade.

 

OK I gotta ask, not being an****, just curious is all.

If you buy one of these, build a stand, make mounts, buy all the metal, bolts, time, energy, etc in building all of this. Why not just buy a used upright bandsaw?

I looked at doing this but couldn't justify its use and all the stuff involved and cost so I just bought a used 2 speed craftsman off of Craigslist for 200.

Just curious is all....

..

 

Well, the biggest one is foot print. You can throw the porta band and the more commonly found vice tables in a drawer. That’s not happening with a dedicated band saw.

your also not picking up a band saw and cutting a B pillar with it.

I also think a lot of guys are leary of used power tools. Not everyone is ready to have the tool they need for a project also be a project before they can use it

 

I enjoy making something out of nothing. It can be easily removed from the stand to be used independently too.
Bought a used Milwaukee porta band off Craigslist for $50. Spent $25 in parts rebuilding it.
$2 for the vise at a garage sale.
1" square tubing and plate steel scraps I had laying around. Nuts, bolts and screws from the buckets of used hardware I have. Took me about 3 hours to put it together. I'm just cheap!

 

problem is finding one that runs at a slow enough speed for cutting metal or being able to slow it down for that purpose, most used bandsaws you come across are woodcutting and have a faster blade speed.
the one I have came from a defunct hvac shop.

 

I bought some bandsaw blades for my 4x6 bandsaw and I didn't realise but you can get a bimetallic blade for them. They last far longer than the "regular" type of bandsaw blades.
This is in the UK but I imagine they are available over there.

 

This stand works great as a band saw or cut off saw. IF YOU CAN GET ONE.
About 3 months ago the local Harbor Freight got a couple in and non since. Several small towns about 50 miles away were getting shipments but never any to my local store. I was told they can't order them and they can't be ordered online. I had to travel 50 miles to get one.
I called up Harbor Freight and******ed to them about not having them available at my local store and they gave me a $25.00 gift certificate to shut me up. The original price was $99.00 and now they have raisen to $119.00.
They have a good review for the item.
https://www.harborfreight.com/unive...e=go&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=shortener

It appears that they can be ordered online now.

 

Cause it was cheap and I got both, and takes up less real estate which is at a premium

 

You want at least 3 teeth cutting at all time.

 

I was actually looking at picking up a combo horizontal/vertical bandsaw than could go on the bench myself rather than a vertical I don't have floor space for.

 

Bimetal blades for sure.
I have thought about buying one. When I see a used name brand used one on the market place every now and then, they ask 100 plus for them. Thought the portable part would be handy sometimes.

 

Good Porta-band story. I was in MSC store, a big machinery dealer. If anything is returned it goes on a discount table, no questions. I open a brand new Milwaukie Porta-band box and the cord was cut. I paid the asking price of $130ish. Fixed the cord and boom, I love it. They were about $400 at the time.

 

Bitch, scream, and drag my name through the mud, but I wouldn't trade acreage in Georgia for my harbor freight Bauer portaband. My current saw is 2 years old, works great. It replaced my last harbor freight portaband that I got in 09 and backed a truck over.

 

If you plan on doing a lot of band sawing either with a portable or a full size one, you might look into getting a band welder and buy blade in bulk. It is FAR cheaper in the long run.
Also, if your saw has the required band speed, learn how to use it for friction sawing thin stuff. Far cheaper.

 

A dude gave me a 1938 Delta Milwaukee 14" bandsaw years ago with a Grob Brothers pulley reduction base, and it is one of the most useful tools in my shop. I had an old Porta-band at one point and was amazed at how useful it was. It always struck me as one of those tools that shouldn't be as effective as it is, but it is, and you wind up using it all the time. I need to get another one

 

Here's the one I have. Less expensive than a metal cutting bandsaw, and smaller. I use it for cutting out all kinds of things. I keep 14 and 18 tpi in the garage for it. Funny thing is, I never take it off the stand except for blade changes. The stand came from Swag Offroad. I broke the foot switch that I got from Swag, just clumsy, and bought a new one from Harbor Freight. It really helps when cutting out brackets and the like.

 

Thanks for all the tips. I do plan on making a stand for this, one that will just clamp in the vice. I do have a large floor band saw but it is a wood cutting saw, I have looked into making a speed reduction thing for it but this porta-band came up and that is the easier fix.

 

I got one of those Grizzly port a band saws new a few years ago. Mine would hardly cut through a warm turd on a hot day...I Tried a straight cut through some 1" square tube and it took forever & gave a crooked cut. Tried some simple flat stock w the same results.
I threw that thing back on the shelf and its been there ever since. I wonder what the issue with mine is...blades ?
My neighbor has one of those 4 foot jobs that you lock in the piece & it self feeds through then cut. That is awesome, but it wouldnt be able to be used vertically.

 

I have four tools for more or less precision cutting metal, not including the normal angle grinders and air cutoff wheels.

the first purchase was a 14” abrasive cutoff saw. I hate it because if the sparks and abrasive dwarf it throws. It probably hasn’t been used more than once in the past four years.

My go to is a used Wilton horizontal / vertical (4x6?) . I probably use this maybe 90% of the time. I like it, but it didn’t come with a table, so I grabbed a similar Jet on clearance at Menards that I leave set up in the vertical position for most of the remaining cuts. I would like to replace the Jet with a more industrial SAE with a larger more ridged table if I ever run across one, but floor space may become an issue.

I bought a Milwaukee M18************ portaband almost two years ago because it seemed that everyone was raving about them. I have used it exactly once. It might be useful with a stand, but it’s heavy and clumsy without the stand, and I don’t see how it could replace the little Wilton.

 

move noticed when the blade gets worn and lose it does have a hard time with the cut line drifting. Based on what you’ve said I’d say it needs a new blade

 

I've seen guys put the blade on backwards. They don't cut for***** that way. Not saying you did but maybe check.

 

I have a Powermatic Bandsaw for cutting steel and I converted it to single phase. I use it a lot. I have a Craftsman bandsaw for cutting wood. Its in a different building. Don't use it as often but really handy when I need to cut a wood pattern or some plywood stuff. Can pick them up pretty cheap. I moved my chopsaw outside under a small shed roof that protrudes from the rear of my shop. Put the belt sander in there too. I did it to keep down the amount of dust that ended up in the shop. I consider this a good move that others might want to think about. When the dust begins to pile up, just point the leaf blower at the stuff and blow it out into the rock behind the building. Have noticed a big difference in the dust level in my shop.............

Now to the point of all my rambling............Those of you who are really in a bind for space might want to consider buying a Craftsman or similar vertical wood saw. Probably $150 or less. Then keep your eye open on Ebay for a DC motor with gear reduction . You might also look for 110V w/gear reduction. Get one that has the speed controller with it. Then you know you have a speed control that will work with your motor. They are not all interchangeable. You can make a small metal cutting bandsaw that way and its more compact than the larger saw.

Here is an example: www.ebay.com/itm/374959984616?hash=item574d5b4fe8:g:JqoAAOSwyg1jTa-h&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4Gu8xgaGrW50Ct7ih96mml0RFjXZuGgID5mogY5kAF8zSKSeWD%2Bx7WCL2qDwKU2NYHVuvqlOeHwJL%2BipKURAzAdm%2BNW%2Fw58h4xjxzNDVQrQ%2FQzzLZhcekoYqu%2FrH58Rhg8GkU%2FxSKomG%2BH2p93R%2FPkukR2MKZJSZgv7BTJ7OGBCx2D7iy5fdI8CUmvMpv6cqJpm6LIFX%2FR5HvzeSB%2BZMB42ekr9a0Ib26VEIIk%2F4RIR0tQDhF215n%2BptX1Z1h8rIa8c9A4t%2F0oXcSFJoAkKYr4NlhfjnwBXRMpnuJatiIXVE%7Ctkp%3ABFBMxuSfvt1i

One of the problems with the small handheld bandsaws and the horizontal/vertical bandsaws is "throat depth". There often isn't enough space to cut what you want to cut. So the best choice is a large saw with a big throat.....but you have to have room for the saw.

Or you can buy a radial arm saw and build a bigger mousetrap (shop)!

 

Good idea regarding a second shed for the dusty dirty stuff. Planning on a shed for a small forge, between the neighbor and me. We're collecting cast off building materials for it. Wasn't planning on power, but now I guess I'll have to get at least 60 amps 220 in there...

Like others have said, those chop saws make a big mess, and the horizontal belt sander also. Good idea to plaigerize. Thanks for the idea...

 

The crooked cut is inherent in the design of a Porta-band. The problem is a design flaw. In order to get throat depth with the small wheels, the single blade guide imparts a 'twist' in the blade at the cut. The wider/longer the cut, the more 'twist' in the blade. The better small-wheel horizontal bandsaws will have blade guides on either side of the cut (and are adjustable to help control the twist) but the porta-band doesn't have two. The************ porta-bands are even worse, as those have even more 'twist' to get the depth. If you try to make the cut in one go on longer cuts or if cutting tubing, the blade end away from the guide will wander, giving you an angled cut.

This can be mitigated by two things. First, always cut in the shorter dimension. If cutting flat stock, cut at 90 degrees to the long dimension. This is where tooth count gets important; too few teeth and you knock teeth off the blade. Two, you have to 'work' the cut to keep it straight. When cutting tubing or long cuts, you have to 'work' the saw to keep the 'away' end of the blade on the cut line. It helps to mark the cut line all the way around the piece, so you have the line to follow. I know when cutting large-bore conduit (1.5" or larger in EMT, 2.5" up in rigid conduit), if you didn't do this you'd end up with a crooked cut every time. Same issue with square tube; the blade next to the guide will follow the line well, the 'away' end will want to wander off. Large cuts are time-consuming because of this. Even if you manage to stay on the line, the finished cut will still look a bit gnawed-on.

The big vertical bandsaws don't have this issue nearly as much because they get throat depth with large wheels, so there's no 'twist' in the blade. Same thing goes for the chop saw; there's no blade twist, you can get a dead-straight cut every time if you get the set-up right and in a fraction of the time it takes to use a porta-band. Yeah, it's messy but that's the trade-off...