# Portable Bandsaw Horizontal/Vertical Stand



## kquiggle

I've been mulling over whether to buy a Harbor Freight portable bandsaw for some time. Based on comments by other people on this item (and with a 20% coupon in hand) I finally decided to buy one.

It was also my intention to build a stand for the bandsaw to convert it to a benchtop cutoff saw, as well as a vertical cut saw. I found a number of plans for this on the web, but none of them met my requirements, so I designed and built my own. Of course I also had to replace the provided bandsaw blade with a metal cutting blade.

Pictures of the completed project below. I'm able to cut a 2-1/4" steel bar in under two minutes. I don't have room (or budget) for a fullsize metal cutting bandsaw, and this unit meets my modest needs nicely.

More info and plans here:

https://sites.google.com/site/lagad...thes-mills-etc/tools---portable-bandsaw-stand


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## gus

Hi Feyman,
The horizontal bandsaw with vise looks great and would give a straight/square cut basis aligned true.
I am very short of shop space in the very small balcony machineshop. Bought a Makita Portable Bandsaw and made a housing/support stand. Cutting of bars are hand guided. Some improvements required.
See foto. Prior to having the bandsaw,manual hacksawing was a pain on the side and would leave a "70" young man wheezing away:wall:.
 The bandsaw has removed all the procrastination on starting any new jobs that require manual hacksaw.


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## kquiggle

Nice looking shop Gus. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who mixes wood and metal (whatever works is my motto).

Would you mind posting a closeup of the cutting table you built for your bandsaw (looks like aluminum plate?). I haven't built a table yet for cutting in the vertical position, and I'm still shopping for ideas.

 - kaje


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## gus

kquiggle said:


> Nice looking shop Gus. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who mixes wood and metal (whatever works is my motto).
> 
> Would you mind posting a closeup of the cutting table you built for your bandsaw (looks like aluminum plate?). I haven't built a table yet for cutting in the vertical position, and I'm still shopping for ideas.
> 
> - kaje



Hi Richard,
Fotos attached. The cutting table was suppose to be temporary but It worked
so well and I have after-thoughts and made it permanent. the angle iron is a
stop piece that came with the band saw. The aluminium table slit was cut with the bandsaw. Call it the first cut. The cut line was a wee bitty snaky.
The cutting table worked very well for me cutting short length bar stocks
to build engines made from bar stocks. Been avoiding projects that require
too many manual hacksaw cuts.Was suppose to put in a cutting guide but my
hand guiding puts saw on marked line with good results with minimal to skim off to final size/length/width.

Happy BandSaw cutting.But please put in an angle iron guard on the returning
side of the saw blade.


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## kquiggle

Gus -

Thanks for the photos - much appreciated; you've given me some good ideas.

About the blade guard: You can't see it that well from my photos, but I made extended faceplates for the vise to act as a guard.

I don't know about your Makita, but the HF bandsaw is "stepped" in the area where a table needs to go. I will need to add some supportpacer under part of the table to make sure it is firmly supported. I also want to be able to put it on and take it off quickly so I can switch between horizontal and vertical modes.


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## gus

kquiggle said:


> Gus -
> 
> Thanks for the photos - much appreciated; you've given me some good ideas.
> 
> About the blade guard: You can't see it that well from my photos, but I made extended faceplates for the vise to act as a guard.
> 
> I don't know about your Makita, but the HF bandsaw is "stepped" in the area where a table needs to go. I will need to add some supportpacer under part of the table to make sure it is firmly supported. I also want to be able to put it on and take it off quickly so I can switch between horizontal and vertical modes.



Hi Richard,
One fine day as I was happily cutting a wider piece, the other side of the bandsaw brushed against my left hand.Was fortunate that I don't use contain gloves. It could have grabbed my gloved hand .
As a prevention, I put in a brass angle bar. See foto. The 6mm Alum Bar and Allen key point at guard.
To cut metal,you will need a dob of lubricant. I use Tapmatic Tapping Fluid.


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## old-and-broken

gus said:


> ...
> To cut metal,you will need a dob of lubricant. I use Tapmatic Tapping Fluid.



I've always used a candle stick.  I find the wax is less of 'a mess' when it comes to cleaning up later.  I just present the side of the candle to the blade and let the blade lightly cut it long enough to coat the entire length of blade.  I do this every couple of minutes with a long cut, and just once when making a small cut.  
A scotch brite pad and a drop of turpentine will clean the wax up when you begin to get any build up.

For some reason the smell of turps is much more enjoyable to me than kerosene or naptha.

Glad the blade encounter was not a problem for you Gus.  I do enjoy your postings here.


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## gmac

Kaje / Gus - thanks fellows! 

I bought a Canadian version of the HF shown and have been planning to build a base for it. Appreciate the two of you taking the time to document how you did it. 

Having been there done that; would you say the vertical or horizontal position is more useful? I'm debating whether to hinge it or fix it in one position. 

I haven't used it on steel (original blade) half expecting the blade to melt! Anyone have experience with the Bi-Metal blades, preferred brands?

Cheers Garry


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## kquiggle

Garry - 

The blade that comes with HF bandsaw is of limited use for cutting metal - I replaced it with 24tpi blades bought locally (not bimetal, but they seem to work OK. There seems to be general agreement that bimetal is best, but also more expensive. I got three blades for $24, so at that price worth a try.)

Vertical versus horizontal:

Horizontal: Easier to cut straight bar. Because the vise is holding the pieces to be cut, cuts are cleaner and straighter. Easier to cut several pieces from the same bar by quickly repositioning in the vise (even quicker if you rig up a depth stop). Safer because the work is held in a vse and hands are away from the cutting action.

Vertical: Easier to cut large flat pieces. Easier to "trim" flat pieces (for example, trimming a flat square piece to an octagon prior to turning on a lathe). Easier to cut angles. Possibility of making curved cuts (although the wide blade makes for pretty wide curves). 

The vertical position probably offers more versatility if you have to choose. It's probably also easier to make a vertical only stand, although it only took a few days for me to make my vertical/horizontal stand (I estimate around 4 hours work total), and that includes some trial and error work on my part (explained in more detail in the link I posted earlier). The vertical only is also cheaper to make as you don't need the horizontal mode parts.

If you do make a stand please post some pictures for us.

- kaje


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## gus

Makita has a choice of saw blades. Bought the one for cutting steel. Its not bimetal.

In my case ,I use hand feed/guide material and quite good at cutting on marked lines When you have difficulty cutting on the marked line,its time to replace saw blade.


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## gmac

Thanks for the input fellows, I'll post anything I cobble up!

Cheers Garry


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## kquiggle

The Makita looks like a quality bandsaw. Unfortunately for my budget, it's 3 times the cost of a HF bandsaw. 

On the other hand, it remains to be seen how well the HF bandsaw will hold up over time. I'm optimistic based on the reviews I have read on the HF website and elsewhere, but time will tell.


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## Wizard69

kquiggle said:


> The Makita looks like a quality bandsaw. Unfortunately for my budget, it's 3 times the cost of a HF bandsaw.  On the other hand, it remains to be seen how well the HF bandsaw will hold up over time. I'm optimistic based on the reviews I have read on the HF website and elsewhere, but time will tell.


HF does sell some passable tools, it is probably best to look someplace other than HF web site for reviews though.    For example one of their inverter welders had a good reputation even though the rest of the line up was junk.    At least that was feed back on one of the welding forums.  

By the way it isn't HF that is the problem with their review listings but rather their customer base.   Some guys tend to think of HF as a church of sorts and just can't see any wrong in anything HF sells.


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## kquiggle

Here's a quick update on my original post on making bandsaw stand. I finally got around to adding a table for use in vertical mode (see pictures below showing both vertical and horizontal mode). 

I also updated the plans I posted to include the table; see here:

https://sites.google.com/site/lagad...thes-mills-etc/tools---portable-bandsaw-stand

Now that I have been using this for a while, I feel this was a worthwhile purchase. Yesterday  I used it to cut 1 inch square steel bar - faster and easier than a hacksaw..


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## SilverSanJuan

That's awesome!  Thanks for sharing this.  I'll be looking to do this in the next couple months.  My arm is getting tired, and it's hard to make straight cuts. 

Todd


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## kquiggle

Thanks - I still use the hacksaw for little stuff, but for the bigger jobs or for multiple repetitive cuts, it's great to have a bandsaw.  

When you do get a bandsaw, be sure to get some hearing protection also if you don't already have it. I don't know about other models, but the HF bandsaw is pretty noisy and it is much more comfortable (and safe) to muffle the noise.


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## gus

SilverSanJuan said:


> That's awesome!  Thanks for sharing this.  I'll be looking to do this in the next couple months.  My arm is getting tired, and it's hard to make straight cuts.
> 
> Todd



Hi Todd,
Like to share the sawing pains and fotos.
Had to hacksaw 1 1/2" square M.S bars and 1" x 1 1/2'' to make a QCTP.
Prior to this I had been procrastinating. But the work had to go on because I need a QCTP.My darling boss offered good advice----buy a power saw!!!
She offered to pay for bandsaw.Not a bad deal for her as I paid for all our Japan Trips.

Took foto while taking a break. To make it worse,Gus cannot saw straight and square like my masters. 
Saw a better looking QCTP months later. No way I am going back to manual
sawing. Bought a Makita Portable Bandsaw. Built a housing and from here went to make the new QCTP and other projects with minimal amount to trim off. No more procrastinations.


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## SilverSanJuan

Thanks for the note on the hearing protection.  Good advice to be sure.

Gus, that's a good looking setup you have there for that bandsaw.

Now I have another tool to put on the Christmas list. 

Todd


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## gus

SilverSanJuan said:


> Thanks for the note on the hearing protection.  Good advice to be sure.
> 
> Gus, that's a good looking setup you have there for that bandsaw.
> 
> Now I have another tool to put on the Christmas list.
> 
> Todd



Hi Todd,

It was really a need for a "70 young man". After manual hack-sawing a 1 1/2" M.S. Square Bar,Gus was wheezing away. There is got to be a better way to cut M.S. Bars w/o having Gus to die for.
Sketched out a quick housing cum support and went to the timber supplier for tailor cut size plywood. Was a cordless drill/screw driver job.

Go for the Bimetal Saw,its worth every $$$ spent. The normal steel cutting blades is much cheaper but just won't retain sharpness too long and soon saw blade wanders off.Gus did stinged on the Bimetal and ended up buying 6 regular saw blades which worked out to square one.:wall::hDe:


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## SilverSanJuan

LOL's Gus.   I hear ya.  Thanks for the words of wisdom. 

Todd


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## kquiggle

This is an update to my original post on this topic.  I decided to purchase a narrower blade for my portable bandsaw, to see if that would be useful in cutting tighter curves. To be specific, I purchased a Magnate M44.875M14V10 M-42 Bi-metal Bandsaw Blade, 44-7/8" Long - 1/4" Width; 10-14 Variable Tooth (cost about $22).

I also updated my web page with this information:

https://sites.google.com/site/lagad...thes-mills-etc/tools---portable-bandsaw-stand

Long story short: My initial test was successful. It's too early to say how this will work long term, but I am quite happy with my first test. If anyone else has tried something like this, I'll be interested to hear about your experience.

Here's a picture of my initial test (dimensions of cut piece are about 3" x 1-1/2"), the material is 0.260" thick aluminum plate:


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## gus

Very good hand guided cutting. Please advise blade width.


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## kquiggle

The blade width is 1/4".  For comparison, the blade width of the blade that is provided with the bandsaw is 1/2".

Here's the blade specs again:

M-42 Bi-metal Bandsaw Blade, 44-7/8" Long - 1/4" Width; 10-14 Variable Tooth (cost about $22)


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## pkastagehand

Wood workers do this all the time.  Blade life may be shorter in the long term with less blade to conduct heat away from teeth.

Paul


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## Lloyd-ss

kquiggle, I too, have one of those HF portable power bandsaws, and I love it. With a decent blade installed, it just keeps on cutting. Here is a box of 8-5/8" steel rings that I cut at one setting with that saw. I had to keep rotating them around and reclamping. But using plenty of oil, all went well. and those rings are now the flywheel in my avatar.

Your horizontal cut-off set-up looks fantastic. I am sure I won't be the first guy that has copied you on that rig.
Lloyd


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## kquiggle

Lloyd - nice job on the flywheel. My HF bandsaw is still going strong - just used it the other day to cut some 1" thick aluminum plate. HF is now selling metal cutting bandsaw blades of reasonable quality.

My overall impression of HF is that there has been a general (but uneven) increase in quality. Some items that look the same have improved internally, so it may be that the bandsaw they are selling now is better than the one I bought some time ago. On the other hand, you can still buy some genuine junk at HF so _caveat emptor_*!

I am also of the firmly held belief (with no proof whatsoever) that many low priced goods found on ebay, HF, etc. are made with little or no quality control (except on the part of the buyer), so that sometimes you buy an item that gets good reviews and it falls apart on first use - you just lost the lottery.


* Let the buyer beware!


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## Lloyd-ss

I agree with you on the budget tools. Buyer beware is right, and you need to have realistic expectations. That $110HF portable hack/band saw is not a $450 Milwaukee, but it comes surprisingly close. Is the Milwaukee worth $340 more? Not to me. But if I used it everyday on the job, then maybe it would be.  The HF predator engines, $99 for a 6HP engine? I have 2 and love them.  And their mini tire changer; another thing I should have bought 20 years ago. But I digress. I will make the stand/base like you did for the saw and not have to kick myself 3 years from now for not doing it, LOL.


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## kquiggle

I count the HF bandsaw and the stand I made for it as one of the most used tools in my shop, and it was well worth the time I took to make it. And it really didn;t take all that long.

Some additional thoughts: When I first made the stand, I wanted to do it such a way that I could put the bandsaw back into it's original condition if it turned out I didn't like the stand. However, since I made it I have never considered going back. I mention this because I made some design choices that probably made the build a bit harder than it needed to be. Off the top of my head, instead of making a replacement blade cover, I would just modify the original blade cover. 

I'd probably also simplify the table mounting a bit by drilling and tapping some holes in the bandsaw itself. Although having said that, I will also say that I have never had any problems with using the table, which has proven to be quite stable.

Finally, it's worth taking some time to get the saw blade aligned as much as possible - the straighter the cut, the less waste and cleanup later.


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## Lloyd-ss

Do you still use the saw in both horizontal and vertical arrangements, or does one take care of the bulk of the tasks?
Thanks


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## kquiggle

I find myself going back and forth between the two quite often. Somewhere along the way I misplaced [Dropped it on the floor and can't find it. It will turn up some day.] one of the two screws that hold the table in place, but I found that one screw works just fine. Another design change I would consider is a way to lock/unlock the table in place more quickly since I do it fairly often, but so far it has not been annoying enough for me to make a change; I just keep an allen wrench with the saw, and changeover takes less than a minute.

As you might expect, both configurations have their benefits, so it's very useful to be able to switch between them. I would add that I have never found it necessary to lock the bandsaw in the upright position in any way; the cutting forces hold it upright automatically.

Generally speaking, I cut rods and bars in the horizontal position, and flat pieces in the vertical (table) position. With good lighting and a bit of care, I find I can make fairly accurate cuts on the table which is very beneficial in terms of reducing waste and the the time required for final dimensioning. Before I got the bandsaw I was using a hacksaw and cutting intentionally oversize to allow for any error; then I would have to mill or turn off the oversize portion which is some cases was probably more than it needed to be. I still cut oversize of course, but much less than with hacksaw cutting.


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## Lloyd-ss

Thanks very much for all the tips and thoughts. I'll ponder this a few days and see how the design evolves before I start building.  My best results happen  when I get neither impatient nor greedy. LOL. Hard to do sometimes.


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## kquiggle

In case you didn't already see it, you can find a list of links to other bandsaw stands at the link below - lots of good ideas out there:

https://sites.google.com/site/lagadoacademy/useful-links#misctools


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## myrickman

Here’s another option for the HF bandsaw but with a yellow saw. I have the base clamped to my bench and the larger surface is good for cutting larger stock. I added a foot switch both for safety and convenience. I’ve gone through several blades. The Starretts were problematic breaking at the weld. The Lennox blades at Lowe’s work well for like 20 bucks for three. I’ve made a gazillion cuts with this rig and don't know why I did or sooner. Replaced the M6-1.0 Phillips head screws for the shoe with Allen head countersunk screws. It took an afternoon to make from scrap odds and ends.


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## kquiggle

Looks like a good solid build; the foot switch is a nice idea. I've had good luck with the Lenox blades also. I don't know if Lowes carries them, but the Lenox Diemaster variable pitch blades are nice - the variable pitch let's you cur a larger range of materials.

I do like being able to use my bandsaw both in horizontal cutting mode and in vertical (table) mode. I find myself switching back and forth between the two fairly often.


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