My generic 4" X 6" horizontal bandsaw

[John Conroy]

I was at a garage sale a while back and there was a sorry looking 4" X 6" horizontal band-saw for sale. The guy was asking $75 and when I asked him about it he told me "the cheap Chinese piece of s**t won't cut anything".
I had a quick look and noticed that he had replaced the motor with a much better quality one than it had come with but he had installed the blade back on with the teeth facing the wrong way. I guess the ethical thing to do would have been to tell him the blade was on backward but I wanted the saw so instead I offered him $50 and he helped me load it into my truck. I felt guilty for about 10 minutes! I figured if he didn't know which direction the teeth should point on a saw blade, he probably shouldn't own one.
After I got It home I repaired all the Red Green stuff he had done on it. I had to make up some brackets so the belt guard would go on with the larger motor. I cleaned the sludge out of the gear box and filled with new hypoid gear oil and made up a new base support to make it more solid. It cuts dead straight and works awesome. It is one of the most used tools in my garage now.

 

[Johnwa]

Shame on you! LOL
The idler wheel on my bandsaw runs on a hardened steel bushing with no easy way to oil. I didn't find out until it started binding. Fortunately no harm done but I have to squirt oil in the general direction of the bushing. A bandsaw is one of those tools you'll wonder how you ever did without. Good find!

 

[Jwest7788]

Here's my version of the same tool

I jokingly call it my arm ripper, a dark reminder to keep fingers and limbs a safe distance, for fear of what it will do if (heaven forbid) I ever get something caught in it.
(It has a guard over the belt now too, for the keen observers who would have noticed it was MIA in the video.)


Anyways, I shared the above because I agree:

It is one of the most used tools in my garage now.

An automated method to cut stock is by far one the most convenient things to have in the shop. Expensive or not, if it works, it's perfect.

JW

 

[EricB]

Tsk tsk, John. For Karma points you'd better give that nice little saw to... Oh, I dunno... some young guy who has to do all of his cutting at work or his friend's house perhaps?

I'm the kind of guy who would typically rather have a 60 year old machine that was built in North America or Europe rather than something brand-new from China (hope that didn't come across as conceited) for quality reasons (my old Beaver drill-press will for sure outlast me) but when it comes to bandsaws, there is nothing wrong with a cheapy import! Especially with a few minor modifications they are an awesome thing to have!

 

[John Conroy]

Here's my version of the same tool



I jokingly call it my arm ripper, a dark reminder to keep fingers and limbs a safe distance, for fear of what it will do if (heaven forbid) I ever get something caught in it.
(It has a guard over the belt now too, for the keen observers who would have noticed it was MIA in the video.)


Anyways, I shared the above because I agree:


An automated method to cut stock is by far one the most convenient things to have in the shop. Expensive or not, if it works, it's perfect.

JW

That's a very cool power hacksaw. I would prefer to buy old North American equipment too but they are pretty rare here. In Ontario where there was a lot more manufacturing the old stuff is easier to find.

 

[PeterT]

Good score! Seems like modding / improving / hot-rodding 4x6 asian bandsaw 'kits' is almost a hobby unto themselves. This isn't the website I was thinking of but it has some related links in the first post
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/show-us-your-hf-4x6-bandsaw-modifications.87/
There are some good ideas floating out there to improve an already useful tool. The 2 common ones seem to be improving stock holding close to the blade in lop-off mode (or holding a mini vise that holds stock, especially short stuff). And also improving the table/fixtures in upright mode seems to be another.

Just curious, have you looked into blades much? My saw is slightly larger, Taiwan origin, but more obscure blade length that isn't very common. I stumbled onto a Starrett blade on ebay & holy crap it cut so much better than whatever tuna can metal was on there before. I've heard its no big deal to get them welded from stock material. I thought one day I'd get some different TPI / width blades that might be better suited to cutting profiles from say aluminum stock in table mode. Found this link but have not used them.
http://www.tufftooth.com/

 

[John Conroy]

I've just been buying my blades at Busy Bee. Their bimetal blade is about $20 and I've had good luck with them