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portable bandsaws

thriller007

Well-Known Member
what are you fellas using for portable bandsaws? with my limited room I am interested in one. Probably a corded one would be better for me.
 

YYCHM

(Craig)
Premium Member
SHOP2020.JPG

Are you this cramped?

Check with @eotrfish . Seems to me he had a neat little table top band saw collecting dust the last time I visited him.

Craig
 

Bofobo

M,Mizera(BOFOBO)
I have a Propoint (princess auto) it came with a base but is a corded portable, 52”x1/2” blade. Works amazingly well with the right blades, I get mine here (all blades Canada). Have used many saws both wet and dry, I highly recommend mechanized saws over hand powered ones. But some floor model bandsaws are to be had for quite cheap, in many cases for less than a port-a-band.
 

YYCHM

(Craig)
Premium Member
How often do you actually use it in portable mode? Seems to me a Sawsall is a better solution to off the table situations.
 

CalgaryPT

Ultra Member
Vendor
Premium Member
Sometimes a Sawsall is better, you're dead right. And I do have one of those too. But I originally got the Portaband because I was cutting a lot of angle cuts at a remote location. I had a generator in the back of my truck and I worked several weekends cutting tubing for a metal fence. But for more precise fit-ups a portable bandsaw is better I find. No back and forth movement that gets annoying and dangerous after 100+ cuts, and the finish is almost perfect. It's way easier on the muscles for larger jobs. Sawsalls are great because you have no throat to deal with, but they are really a demolition tool. They also make a mini Fuel version (see pic) great for plastic pipe and tree limbs. The plumbers love 'em. When I was buying 6" and 8" IPEX sewer pipe I'd take one to the Wolseley Service Yard and cut up the big lengths they sold to smaller ones that fit in my truck bed.

But you get ugly cuts from Sawsalls, and they are hard on the muscles as you get older. Here's the mini version below, but I still prefer the portable bandsaw.

1589758263924.png
 
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Dabbler

ersatz engineer
I have a portable bandsaw for cutting up 20' barstock to fit it in the garage. Otherwise I use their bigger cousins to do the heavy lifting.
 

Tom Kitta

Ultra Member
I am looking at auctions to get a cheap portable bandsaw for cutting smaller stuff or very long stuff. Using my horizontal is difficult with its blade optimized for thick stuff and my vertical is limited to length of stock of around 15 inches. So I either use a grinder or cut very slowly on horizontal.
 

thriller007

Well-Known Member
I do have a portable bandsaw now and wish I would have bought it earlier. Mine is not a fancy one but it does the trick. I made a redneck stand for it so that it can be used stationary and upright. Now thinking of setting it up as well to use as a horizontal. The easy thing would be to just buy this base https://www.princessauto.com/en/stationary-base-for-portable-band-saw-8857971/product/PA0008896243 but what is the fun in that? Well, that and it is not on sale. Does anybody on here have one of those bases? I need to get an angle measurement from the part that bolts to the saw. Or if you see it go on sale at the Princess store as my daughter used to call it give me a heads up. Thanks
 

Hruul

Lee - metalworking novice
I do have a portable bandsaw now and wish I would have bought it earlier. Mine is not a fancy one but it does the trick. I made a redneck stand for it so that it can be used stationary and upright. Now thinking of setting it up as well to use as a horizontal. The easy thing would be to just buy this base https://www.princessauto.com/en/stationary-base-for-portable-band-saw-8857971/product/PA0008896243 but what is the fun in that? Well, that and it is not on sale. Does anybody on here have one of those bases? I need to get an angle measurement from the part that bolts to the saw. Or if you see it go on sale at the Princess store as my daughter used to call it give me a heads up. Thanks
That looks just like the one I have for my King Canada saw. Let me know what measurements you need and I will attempt to get them for you. Note: the stand does not fit at the saw bolt location really well, have to fiddle with the saw to get the bolts to start, I suspect the holes are a little off on the stand. Likely cause it is the same stand for several brands and they are just a little different. Also, the work clamp is just above useless on my stand.
 

thriller007

Well-Known Member
That looks just like the one I have for my King Canada saw. Let me know what measurements you need and I will attempt to get them for you. Note: the stand does not fit at the saw bolt location really well, have to fiddle with the saw to get the bolts to start, I suspect the holes are a little off on the stand. Likely cause it is the same stand for several brands and they are just a little different. Also, the work clamp is just above useless on my stand.
thanks so much, I am just looking for the measurements of the angle that the arm is at where it screws on with the 3 screws in relation to the pivot bolt, and any other dimensions that are on that arm would be great as well
 
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