Band saws

[nautilus29]

That's a pretty good idea, cheap and easy

Lol. Yes I also succumbed to Harbor Freight and bought the 4x6 bandsaw. Yes, the stand was not only cheap but also a safety hazard. After getting the saw, I was getting materials together to build a proper stand when my wife looked at me and said "I have a better idea". We went to a flea market (boot sale) and she bought a heavy duty two drawer file cabinet. That file cabinet, sitting on a Harbor Freight furniture dolly, has been my saw stand and cabinet to this day.

 

[master53yoda]

I bought 4X6 at a garage sale four $75.00 it needed bearings, I looked at the HF saw and ordered a set of bearings when they arrived I realized my saw bearings where half again bigger. There is no name on my saw but I suspect it was one of the Cummins saw spoken of earlier. Any way if you need bearings on the older saws they are built heaver then the new HF saws so take off one of the old bearings and get the right ones first. The old bearings didn"t have a readable #.

 

[Ed T]

I have a 4x6 bandsaw with an ENCO sticker on it. It has served me well for more than 30 years and consumed a number of blades and one motor. I recently picked up a well used KAMA 96 saw for about $150. Cleaned it up and added a VFD that I had lying around to deal with the 3 phase motor. It's an amazing saw and way better than the ENCO saw. It will cut an .010" slice off a 1" bar without any trouble. Cuts square enough that I often don't have to do any clean up. That said, I still use the ENCO almost daily since it is adequate for many of the things I need to do. So, despite their shortcomings, the HF, ENCO, Northern tool (and a hundred other names) saws are a great value for the money and way better than the manual alternatives.

 

[Apprentice707]

Like so many folks on here, I bought a 4 x 6 Bandsaw, a pillar drill, and a 1" belt sander from Machine Mart about 25 years ago. The total cost was around £350 and some of the best money I have ever spent. I think they all came from Taiwan, not the Chinese mainland. I have made a few modifications to them and keep them well maintained and cleaned and these are important procedures.
I have retained the saws stand since it does what I want so why fix what ain't broken? I would advise the use of Bi-metal blades on the saw, I bought 3 at Harbour Freight during a visit to the States about 15 years ago for $15 each ($1.80 to the pound then) I still have one left and the fitted one doesn't show any signs of wearing out. Winner. Helps to offset the costs of our hobby. I also use Aluminium Oxide (Blue in colour) belts on the belt sander. Both are worth the bit extra you pay.

Just a few musings on my Chinese things which generally have served me well

Cheers

B