# mechanical hack saw are they any good



## thezetecman (Oct 8, 2009)

I have a 6 X 4 band saw and it works very well most of the time.

I have been offered an old mechanical hacksaw a Rapidor. Its a nice looking old saw I think converted from overhead belt drive.

Apparently it works ok on solid material but jams on pipe and angle.

It this a set up (speed? damper? blade?) problem I could fix or is this the nature of mechanical hacksaws?

I quite like the machine as an object but it would take up a lot of shop space.


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## ozzie46 (Oct 8, 2009)

On pipe or angle I would go with a finer tooth blade. The cross section the blade cuts gets thinner as the cut progresses therefor you need a finer tooth to prevent grabbing.

 Ron


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## Brian Rupnow (Oct 8, 2009)

I have an old and big mechanical hacksaw that I built about 40 years ago. It cuts EVERYTHINBG with no difficulty.---and I love the automatic gravity feed feature. Just set it up and walk away. Come back later and the peice is cut.


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## bob ward (Oct 8, 2009)

Even if it is a real struggle, I would make room for a power hacksaw. I bought one that is missing all the non-essentials (guards, cut off switch, coolant) earlier this year, but it still cuts metal, and have not used the 6 x 4 bandsaw since. 

For cutting thin sections on which the blade tends to jam, I lift up on the cutting arm a little.

http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/showthread.php?t=33426


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## New_Guy (Oct 9, 2009)

we had a big power hack saw at a place i worked and the cam in it was broken when i first saw it i knew it was crap, cutting stock was a pain and at the end of the cut you had to lift the heave arm up and block it so it didn't fall back down on the stock you were trying to pull through to the next cut it had apparently been like that for years they had even put the crane on to use as a spring on the return stroke but even that didnt work it rooted blades very quick then i had to cut up some 4 or 5 meter long 150mm hollow pipe so we could put it through the spindles o the lathes.... to say it didnt like it is an understatement it took 20min to cut one with a new blade NOT one bar but one cut and half an hour for the second cut then the boss got some guys in to fix it wow what a difference it loved that bar after that  we ended up breaking the cam again lol but if you get a good power hack saw you will love it


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## Cliff (Oct 9, 2009)

Hey Brian do you have any pictures or drawings of your hacksaw I need to eather make one or buy one if I could yours it might give some ideas. Cliff


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## hammers-n-nails (Oct 9, 2009)

why is a power hacksaw better than a bandsaw?


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## Brian Rupnow (Oct 9, 2009)

Cliff--I built my power hacksaw 40 years ago. I still have it and still use it. I will lookand see if I have pictures of it.


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## Mainer (Oct 9, 2009)

A hacksaw will typically be slower-cutting than a bandsaw; that's why industry gave up on them. Otherwise, a hacksaw is fine. I agree that the binding problem sounds like poor choice of blade, not a problem inherent with a hacksaw.

There are some mechanical subtleties in a power hacksaw's operation; there should be a blade lift mechanism that operates on the return stroke, for instance, so the teeth don't drag. I suspect some of the power hacksaw complaints you hear are due to incorrect setup of the details because of lack of understanding.


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## rickharris (Oct 10, 2009)

Cliff  said:
			
		

> Hey Brian do you have any pictures or drawings of your hacksaw I need to eather make one or buy one if I could yours it might give some ideas. Cliff



plans for one or two here http://www.vintageprojects.com/machine-power-tools.html


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## firebird (Oct 10, 2009)

Hi

Back in the days when funds were short I built my own power hacksaw using a windscreen wiper motor to power it. Not the fastest thing in the world but a lot easier than cutting by hand. It served me well for quite a while. 

Heres a link to a couple of photos.

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=549.0

Cheers

Rich


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## eskimobob (Oct 10, 2009)

Ah! - well done Rich. As it happens, I have that copy (No. 111 - Dec05/Jan06) and have been considering making it for some time Thm:


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## lathe nut (Oct 10, 2009)

Brain good looking saw you have there, heavy duty to, I have several Mechanical saws and three 4X6 bandsaws, I got them at either yard sales or at the scrap yard, where I got the big ones, I love the sound of the mechanical and they seem to cut perfect, this is the last one I got at a yard sale, $ 20.00 dollars the fellow said that you could not get blades anymore, I have several on hand, good for me, Lathe Nut


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