This is O/T and am jst looking for some help. I am going to a rather large estate sale Sunday morning.This guy has been a contractor for 50 years.So the shop is loaded.He has alot of decent stuff that has to be unloaded.He just retired and the shop needs to be liquidated.I need the real gurus for this. My question is, How can you identify a wood saw from a metal saw??? I need a metal saw.
ive been looking at these recently. check the speeds. if the bandsaw has variable speeds down to 250 or so (i forget exactly) you ll be fine...wood ones have the higher speeds.
whats the 'minimum' hp thats good for cutting metal? and can you explain a 'blade welder'? sounds pretty self explanitory, but more info is always good.
Yeah A blade welder is used to weld the ends together to make an endless blade. It is an attachment to most industrial bandsaws, allowing you to buy your bldes in bulk containers, instead of already made up. It's cheaper that way. They also have a little grinder to grind the weld flush. Frustrating at first, but with a little practice, anyone can do it.....
You can cut metal with a 1/2 H.P. motor. Typical machines used in home shops have .025"/.035" X 1/2" blades and don't like being pushed real hard therefore the motor power isnt the limiter. Wood cutting saws run as high as 3300 F/M. For metal cutting you want to be down in the 40-80 range. Most 14" saws (Dayton, Delta,Jet, and miscellaneous Chinese copies of same) can be slowed down enough to make adequate metal cutters. If the saw this guy has is a DoAll, Grob, or Roll-In, buy it if the price is under $7-800.
I have an older 20" Powermatic, 12 ft. long blade, two speed, variable speed to 36, and a 20 in throat. They sell on Ebay for 1800-2500 all the time. They definitely kick ***.
Sorry, I should have included Powermatic in that list of preferred industrial grade saws. We had one of those in a shop that made HVAC sheetmetal-We would cut blanks out of a stack of 24 ga about 2" thick. It was a horse.
Not to mention when you break the blade while cutting something you probably shouldn't be cutting on the band saw, you can repair the blade. Robotics shop at the college I went to had a blade welder on their saw . . I used it once.
Metal saws will be speed variable. Will have a high low seting with speed settings on high/low side based on what metal your cutting. Blade welder is nice to have if your doing a lot of cutting, can buy blade in bulk and cut to size and weld. Not a absolute requirement cause you can buy different blade with widths and mediums already made to size. Advice: Dont waste your time on anything smaller than 20" wheel size. Make sure your using the correct blade and cut speed for the medium your cutting. Clean the blade after every use. Check the blade brushes and wheels weekly, and lube once a month. Best v-saw I have used so far is a 21" Dake-Johnson.
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