Band saws....? Cutting theory

I currently have a 4x6 band saw, which can also be used in a vertical position. I've never actually tried using it vertically, but I think if I ever have a need for that I'm going to build a stand for my portaband like in the post above ^^^.

Before I owned my 4x6 saw I had purchased a smaller vertical (wood) band saw that I intended to adapt for metal cutting. After learning what it would need to convert it I resold it and looked for a metal cutting saw..
 
I scored a big Jet wood bandsaw. I added a worm gear box and a dc motor to it and set things up so I can move the drive belt between the two motors. I'm absolutely thrilled to have it in my shop!!!

If you pick a blade speed that plays well with stainless then it will cut anything, just slower than if you had the right speed. I used the DC motor so I could do the 2:1 ratio between carbon steel blade speed and SST.

Fyi, "slow" wood speed is kind of fast for Al, but not totally nutty. "Fast" wood speed is ONLY good for wood!

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I have a 14" Grizzly metal/wood bandsaw. I cut steel at 120-150 fpm, I cut aluminum at 250-300 fpm, I cut wood at 1000+fpm blade speeds.

The throat is the major issue with vertical bandsaws. Consequently, I, too, have cut a bunch of metal with a hacksaw that should have been cutable on the bandsaw.

I need the vertical nature of the bandsaw enough that, for me, I would add a horizontal bandsaw rather than trade the vertical for a horizontal.
 
I have a ridiculous number of bandsaws, wood and metal. Probably not much different that what has already been said, but -

Horizontal metal cutting bandsaws tend to lean toward fabrication work, repetitively cutting fairly long pieces of metal to length. Usually can be set to make angle cuts up to 45 or 60 degrees depending on saw. Clamp it and hit start and you don't have to hold or feed anything. Think about having a stock of hot rolled rounds or square tube, often comes in 20' lengths if you get it from a local steel supplier, although obviously if you're buying online and having it shipped you won't be dealing with long lengths, but you will pay a premium for shorter lengths delivered to your door. Bigger models often include coolant which extends blade life in high feed cutting operations. I would think horizontal bandsaws are a bit safer as you almost never handfeed, but it'll still happily cut through flesh and bone.

Vertical metal bandsaws are good for a wide variety of cutting on odd shape pieces. Cutting off waste with a bandsaw is one of the quickest ways to remove unused stock. You can cut arcs but not as easily as with wood. Need to make something circular out of a piece of plate? Cut close to a line before chucking in the lathe or rotary table. For many odd shapes, just cut and grind/file. I made a spanner for my lathe chuck that way. Cut, file, and drill a hole for a pin. Often handfed with the aid of appropriate safety devices.

As others have said, blade speed is much slow for metal.
 
OK ... here's a question for all of you. I now that wood cutting bandsaws have rubber/urethane/whatever tires on the wheels. The only metal cutting bandsaws are a Jet and Delta 4x6 models. They don't have tires. So, are tires used on metal cutting band saws? If so, what's the preferred material?
 
Thanks for all the replies.

The stand for the portaband is an awesome idea. There is a coupon for the HF portaband that brings it down to $90.

The HF 4x6" 1hp horizontal/vertical saw is $280. For what it is that doesn't seem like too bad of a deal, but for as many HF tools as I have I still hesitate buying some things there. With my intended use being mostly vertical with a table that seems like a cheesy machine but might be worth the price of admission even just to have it as a horizontal machine if it doesn't work out for what I want for vertical stuff. I'd say the saw with the stand ready to go is a better option than making a stand for the portaband. We'll see. I'll keep my options open for a bit and see what I come up with.
 
I don't have the space to fit any more bandsaws into my shop so I just use my Jet 5X6 horizontal/vertical bandsaw for all metal cutting and it works just fine. It excels at cutting stock to length but it also works well in the vertical position. The thing that makes a H/V bandsaw work vertically is a good table. The stock sheet metal table is unstable and dangerous in my opinion but one made from mild steel works really well.

I use a small sub-table for small pieces and to support the larger main table:

subtable.jpg

On top of that sits the main table that attaches with two thumbscrews for a tool-less installation that takes a few seconds to do.

Maintable.jpg

The table is solid all by itself but if I cut something heavy I use a table support that also takes seconds to install:

support in place.jpg

This works just fine for me and I haven't found the need for a larger or more complicated bandsaw arrangement.
 
I'm digging the small wire wheel that cleans the blade teeth. Does it rotate or is it bolted tight?
 
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