Hand held band saws any one use one ? any good accurate?? etc etc

[jack404]

G'day folks i'm looking for a saw , i was thinking a reciprocating saw until i saw these

http://www.vektools.com.au/milwaukee-watt-handheld-band-p-1075.html

then i saw them on ebay from the USA

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Milwaukee-62...ryZ20784QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

its $700 cheaper from the USA for a <$1000 tool here ( inc postage!!) i have a 110 vlt -240 240-110vlt transformer (2000 watt ) already..

anyone have one? use one?? like em ? hate em? and why

questions questions always with the questions but its a big investment and maybe with a lot of potential

my workshop is a flat ( apartment ) spare badroom, so space is a premium 1020,1030, Alu plate and the odd 4140 bar is what i will use it for.

cheers

jack

 

[Tin Falcon]

The Milwaukee brand is a good one. They popular with steel fabricators. I have used them for cutting steel bar they are a nice tool. Harbor Freight sells a cheap knock off for US $70 on sale I have heard decent reviews on them the cheapies might hold up OK in the home shop. $700 sounds high but have not priced latel a Milwaukee sawzall can be had on sale for $100
Tin

 

[Circlip]

And don't forget to fit a panic button in the flat. You've to be awfully careless to hurt yourself with a reciprocating saw, although not impossible, but wow, how much more damage you can do with a hand held bandsaw how much more quickly.
Have a look at Safety and grinder injury threads.
Regards Ian.

 

[jack404]

ever seen a sine bar rifling machine bust a rod ??

Zorro has got Nothing on those!!! jab you 5 times before you know it....

but tip accepted and will watch it but will bench vice all items and was thinking of making a table for it

cheers

jack

 

[jim_geib]

My wife got me one from Harbor Freight this last christmas, it sure beat a hacksaw. In fact it is now clamped in the bench vice standing tall like a band saw. The blade was junk, replaced it with a Milwaukee brand.I have cut upto 1.5 1018 steel with it. I have a small shop (10'x12') so this fits real nice and like I said much better than the old hacksaw.

Jim Geib

 

[wareagle]

I have a hand held band saw in my shop, and use it a whole bunch! Same brand and unit. It beats the stuffing out of the hacksaw on most jobs! You won't want to use this for small items. As far as accuracy, it really depends on how well you can hold and guide the saw. They aren't exactly light, and the blade will try to wander off on you, but with a little practice and patience, you can get some accurate cuts with one. Invest in good blades, they do make a huge difference!

I am not sure what shipping for the US would run, but I can image it would save you some money if you were to do that. They are running somewhere around $350 IIRC.

 

[jack404]

Thank you all for the input gents!!

i'll grab a Milwaukee brand one tonight, got the email back from the distributor in CA ( longbeach)

$94 AUD shipping to Oz $249 USD for the unit and he'll throw in some spare milwaukee brand blades

and he's checked that i can get warrentee here ( i can, but only 1/2 the time because the aust. rippoffs only give half the ammount than US dealers give )

and they accept Starrett blades too if i need more ( Starrett make the blades for Makita)

the Milwaukee here is $962 AUD plus tax ( $1050 AUD total) plus delivery. ( $36 AUD i can walk there but they only deliver)

from the USA Its $235 USD ( $349.96 AUD at the moment and climbing fast) plus he'll do a cost price ship ( $85 USD or $140 AUD) as i bought gadgets of him last year (3 ' hydraulic ram and pump ,12 vlt motor again less than half the price available here)

as stated i have a 2000 watt dual way converter ( inverter/transformer) AU-US US-AU so i hope to have this in a few days and if i sell a few of the chucks i have on Oztion, i'll splurge and get the clamp to bench holder that is on the milwaukee catalougue to suit, making it a mini H/V bandsaw ( $39.99 USD) and giving my screwed up arm a rest from the hacksaw, just gotta figure how to make a table for it and how best to mount it but i'll wait til i see it before deciding that..

thank you again

( took me 4 hours to cut some 2 1/4 " 4140 last week with a hacksaw, one cut only my right arms not what it used to be)

more time working less time recovering

cheers

jack

 

[wareagle]

Jack, once you use your saw, you'll throw rocks at the hacksaw everytime you see it! And it sounds like you are getting a good deal!

 

[jack404]

Thanks W/E yes i think its a great deal

i try to buy US or UK Branded stuff ( even when they are most likely Chinese made)

Japan next then i get desperate.

but have a Milwaukee drill and tool sharpener and it does everything really well

drill doctor is not as nice ( i know they are good but the Mil. is way better)

i expect this to be similar in quality and to last

the HF ones are probably as good but warrenty is gone if outside the USA so if i buy a known brand i can generally get international warrenties, its a few hundred more ( but still half the cost of buying here)

Thanks again for all your input, this will see me doing a lot less recovering after cutting

and save $521 AUD in the process ($410 USD i think depending where the south pacific peso is today)

cheers folks

jack

 

[Tin Falcon]

Do not think you will be disappointing with the red one.
Tin

 

[macona]

I picked up a Milwaukee deep throat port-a-band this summer at a swap meet for $40. Works nice. If anyone does get oe used there is a little steel guide on the back to help guide the blade and they fall out sometimes. If you are having tracking problems this piece may be missing.

 

[bigmike]

Well i was in Princess Autothe other day. The power hand held bandsaws were on sale for 89 dollars. NOW i bought 2 of these a couple years ago, one was used to saw apart about 40 wheel chairs ,old broken ones. The saw never missed a beat came with spare set brushes and worked great. I was surprised . My friend bought one from me. He also used it hard and was impressed with it. I would recommend one. For 89 dollars where can you go wrong.??

 

[jack404]

wrong is a case of the following equation

R = risk of it dying

D= distance to repair shop

C= cost of item

C$ = cost relative to same item but with servicable guarentee

R
- X C$ - C
D


D in this case is a big number as is C$

C is small compared to the others

so i'll stick with a good known brand seeing MY D = about 8000 miles or so and the C$ is about $500 with frieght

R is average for anything from China but when you think about it, its Bound to go wrong as i could not claim anything if the $69 USD one died

this way i have 6 months of cover from date of delivery and i only have to get it back to the USA and i have a brand new one sent back on thier dime with a new warrenty starting the date it arrives here, however if i was a bit closer to the US or we had humans beings as distributors here instead of get rich quick critters, it may be different. so i'll stick with a brand that i have some confidence in backed by a decent reputation and a written warrenty that will be honoured here.

cheers

jack