What would you buy.

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Lets say you have $5k to buy equipment to do mainly structural tube constructions. 1"-3" square or round tube used for furniture.You already have a welder.The goal is the fastest process to get fitment and cut angle etc. What would you buy and why?Lets go with actual models as well. I would like to see the exact thing people would recommend vs a band saw and some clamps...
Reply:Lots of clamps, Bessel 90 or 3 way clamps as well. Milwaukee dry saw. Coping tool of some sort, don't buy a cheap one. Then build a bunch of fixtures to hold your pieces in place for welding. Angle grinders, die grinders, angle die grinders with 2" quick change sanding disks. Sandblast cabinet. Forge for bending.How many and what are you planning on making?Last edited by walker; 12-04-2013 at 01:42 PM.
Reply:One of those fancy fixture tables by Stronghand and a bandsaw.
Reply:Steel plate table and a miter bandsaw. Ellis, Hydmech ,Roll in
Reply:Round tube, I'd suggest a good notching tool and probably a good bender. I don't really do round tube much, but I'd be tempted to look at top quality  tools by JMR and JD tool. I've heard really good things about both from guys that do superb tube fit up.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...s-and-notchersAny quality jigging or cutting tool would be on my list. Not knowing what you have makes this a bit of a blind guess. I assume this is for business and light production work and the more consistent you can be with fit up and jigging, the better. I'd also have to agree with clamps, you can never have enough clamps..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Hey, Jay.Good to see you on here. Have not seen anything from you in a while.You get your house and shop built? Are you building furniture or projects like you talked about when you were up here?I can't help you with this question, but I'll be anxious to see what you get from the other guys.Burt _____________________Miller Syncrowave 250Millermatic 211Miller 375 Plasma Cutter Hobart Handler 12010FtDrillBit.com
Reply:I would start with a ELLIS 1600 or larger band saw . http://www.ellissaw.com/Baileigh Tube Notcher TN-250   http://metal.baileighindustrial.com/tube-notcher-tn-250Bessey angle clamps, these are my favorite, http://www.amazon.com/Bessey-WSM-9-7...y+angle+clampshttp://www.amazon.com/Bessey-WSM-12-...y+angle+clampsSome METABO grinders and a BFH. Ok, maybe TWO BFH !!!
Reply:Nice list BD1 thats what im talking about  That ellis bandsaw is pretty awesome. Though i think the 1100 would fit the bill just fine. Though that would take up more than half the budget =/Any reason for a band saw over a cold saw say http://metal.baileighindustrial.com/coldsaw-cs-250eu its about $1k cheaper than the bandsaw.Any quality jigging or cutting tool would be on my list. Not knowing what you have makes this a bit of a blind guess. I assume this is for business and light production work and the more consistent you can be with fit up and jigging, the better. I'd also have to agree with clamps, you can never have enough clamps.
Reply:The cold saw doesn't have much size capacity compared to the band saw. Here's my local supplier , Welders Supply in Wisconsin whose site says Free shipping on orders over  $300.00. http://www.weldersupply.com/They got the ELLIS 1600 for $ 2495.00  .http://www.weldersupply.com/Search.asp  You may have to type in ELLIS and do a search if the link doesn't open.Those Bessey angle clamps have gone up in price. I got them when they were less then $ 100.00 each. They are quick and accurate. Money well invested for a quality product. There has been postings about angle clamps and band saws. I still have a old HF 4'' x 6'' that I got years ago for $ 115.00 and it is still going. Waiting for it to die to replace it with a real one. I don't know what I would get . Ellis is nice but has a pretty large footprint. The Baileigh are nice but priced close to Ellis.http://metal.baileighindustrial.com/...d-saw-bs-712mshttp://metal.baileighindustrial.com/...andsaw-bs-210m
Reply:So next question. Local guy has 9 of the Bessey wood clamps for $150 total. Other than just a coating any difference? i think i might pick them up and give them a try.
Reply:Originally Posted by BD1The cold saw doesn't have much size capacity compared to the band saw. Here's my local supplier , Welders Supply in Wisconsin whose site says Free shipping on orders over  $300.00. http://www.weldersupply.com/They got the ELLIS 1600 for $ 2495.00  .http://www.weldersupply.com/Search.asp  You may have to type in ELLIS and do a search if the link doesn't open.Those Bessey angle clamps have gone up in price. I got them when they were less then $ 100.00 each. They are quick and accurate. Money well invested for a quality product. There has been postings about angle clamps and band saws. I still have a old HF 4'' x 6'' that I got years ago for $ 115.00 and it is still going. Waiting for it to die to replace it with a real one. I don't know what I would get . Ellis is nice but has a pretty large footprint. The Baileigh are nice but priced close to Ellis.http://metal.baileighindustrial.com/...d-saw-bs-712mshttp://metal.baileighindustrial.com/...andsaw-bs-210m
Reply:When you're looking at a saw, since you're going to be doing a lot of mitering, go with a unit that can swivel both ways.  ZTFab's got a nice Baleigh that does this.  http://metal.baileighindustrial.com/...leigh-bandsaws  I have a JET 7x12, cuts great.  I think a cold saw would work well, but I don't like dealing with the coolant mess.  For notching, I'd probably go with the Baleigh TN 250 as people have mentioned.  $1100 can get you a great bender with air over hydraulic, from JD2.  To get by for now, you can use their entry level, highly popular manual bender, $295, then drop the real coin on dies - http://jd2.com/p-32-model-3-bender.aspx-AaronJet 17.5" Drill Press1942 South Bend 16x84 Lathe1980s Miller 320A / BP --- 2013 Power Mig 2562012 Jet 7x12 Horizontal BandsawVictor O/A Setup
Reply:Originally Posted by socoj2So next question. Local guy has 9 of the Bessey wood clamps for $150 total. Other than just a coating any difference? i think i might pick them up and give them a try.
Reply:I would buy a Hypertherm plasma cutter, a power hack saw, various clamps, and a new helmet.Miller Multimatic 215
Reply:WS3 made in germany
Reply:So i bought those WS3 clamps. Made a huge difference in time. But This saw still sucks. it appears the gate slides when i tighten down the fence to hold the work piece no matter how much i tighten the damn thing.ill post some pics of the crap i build later.My new list.1. A decent saw. 2. GOOD corner clamps. (CHECK)3. Bender4.Tube Notcher.5. Belt grinder
Reply:Here is the table i built.
Reply:Nice work on the table !  Belt sander ?  Here, check this earlier posting out. Mine is  # 13. I have the POWERMATIC 6''x 48'' belt and a 12'' disc. I recently added this 4''x36'' Kalamazoo from a garage sale. http://www.kalamazooind.com/products...s-belt-sander/ Do you have a harbor freight by you ? They have a 6''x48'' belt and 9'' disc for $ 199.99. If you use a 25% off coupon it's not too bad. Other option is watch craig's list. http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-...nder-6852.html Here's another post on sanders from garage journal  http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/s...t=disc+sanders