Chopsaw or horizontal wet bandsaw side project

admin

I have a decent size side project that I'll have to make almost 500 cuts on 3"x 3/8 flat stock. I'm going over the numbers and am trying to decide if I want to purchase a wet horizontal bandsaw or do it with a chop saw. Having not really used a WHB for production I really dont know how many cuts I can expect to get before the blade needs replaced. But then again I never payed that much attention to how many cuts I get out of a chopsaw either! I guess I'm kind of looking for an excuse to get a new shop tool, but I just want to justify to myself that it will be cost effective in the long run.2011 Dodge 3500 diesel duallyLincoln SA-200Lincoln SAE-300LN-25'sLincoln Idealarc R3RMiller Trailblazer 302
Reply:Cold cut saw.  Or a band saw.  It doesn't need to be a fancy version of either.But not an abrasive chop saw.Jack OlsenMy garage website
Reply:Chop saw is fast, portable, for onsite, construction jobs etc.  Cuts hardened steel well. NoisyHorizontal band saw with coolant, slower but quiet, cut multiple pieces at a time, more accurate than chop saw, not very portable but good for shop use.  You can do other tasks while saw is cutting.Good to have both if you have a need for them."The reason we are here is that we are not all there"SA 200Idealarc TM 300 300MM 200MM 25130a SpoolgunPrecision Tig 375Invertec V350 ProSC-32 CS 12 Wire FeederOxweld/Purox O/AArcAirHypertherm Powermax 85LN25
Reply:Live a little, get a bandsaw!That's a lot of cuts with a chopsaw.Buy American, or don't whine when you end up on the bread line.
Reply:blades on a wet bandsaw last a very long time, and will pay for themselves many times over. i just scored an old jet brand wet horizontal bandsaw that is missing the motor for $50. so look around. also you should be able to cut through 6 or 7 pieces at a time which makes it 84 to 72 clamp settings which with a guide wouldn't be too bad in my opinion.Dynasty 200DXPassport plus w/ spoolmate 100victor 315c oxy/(act and prop)Miller digital elitemilwaukee power tools
Reply:chopsaws also waste more material..tackleexperts.comwww.necessityjigs.comhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/mach...dingequipment/
Reply:I would go with the wet horizontal band saw, I have a 7X12 import (ru-fung or something like that) and it works great. use a good quality blade, I run a Lenox 4-6 pitch on mine to cut anything from aluminum to 17-4SS. I have cut 8" diameter 17-4 bar stock on that little saw with no problem. I think I payed $700-800 for mine, I had to buy it in a hurry so I didn't have time to shop around.LarryMiller XMT 304 CC/CVSyncrowave 180 SDLincoln PowerMig 255XTTermalDynamics 52Lincoln 305GComlpete machine shop to back it up
Reply:Both is nice, as sated.I can cut several tons [10+] of steel with one [$35.00] blade in my 8-1/2" x 7-1/2" [Baliegh BS210] band saw.But it's bolted to the floor like it needs to be, with 20 feet of roller table  A good coolant will run around $50-$100 for a 5 gallon bucket of concentrate. A 5 gal bucket of u mix will last for 10 to 20 tons of steel cut in my experience with my equipment.So by the time you divide the tons into cuts it gets pretty cheap per cut, after the initial cost.Rustlic and Lenox band-Aid do a great job of cooling AND stopping rust. Some cheaper stuff that came with my saw would let the mitre head rust stuck overnight. With either of those 2 brands I can let the saw sit for days and it's still nice and smooth. For on site work a chop saw a port a band and some grinders and you'll be good to go.So I say for this job, if it'll pay for it, band saw all the way, you won't regret it.Although if I really had my 'druthers it'd be a 50 to 100 ton 3 position hydraulic ironworker.Last edited by app-ironworksllc; 01-11-2011 at 02:10 PM.Brian LeonardAppalachian Ironworks L.L.C.434 Long Branch Rd, Marshall, NC 28753828 649 9966828 702 [email protected]
Reply:Wet band all the way. One or two blades tops. I use Band Aide fluid. Abrasive chopper is good for some things, this would not be it. As others have said, fill the vise with as many bars as you can and just watch it run. I have a small Jet horz that I usually run dry, and a 14" Hyde Mech auto that I always run wet.
Reply:Now I am leaning towards a plasma cutter. I'm a field welder by day, so I haven't had the chance to play with one very much. I own two nice chop saws but dont want to listen to them for 500 cuts.  As for the WHB, I like the idea of being able to set it and forget it while I do other tasks. But honestly about the only times I use one at work is to cut weld qual coupons. Ive got about 4k budgeted for tools on this job,  A roller is going to eat up 1,500, the plasma's Ive been looking at seem to be around 1k. I may keep the engine drives/ Ln's turned off for this one and use the rest of the tool budget for a decent shop wire feed.2011 Dodge 3500 diesel duallyLincoln SA-200Lincoln SAE-300LN-25'sLincoln Idealarc R3RMiller Trailblazer 302
Reply:I have got all three tools, a carbide chop saw, a coolant fed horizontal bandsaw, and a plasma. I'm with the majority, my top choice would be the band saw. Clean cuts, accurate, low cost, less work.Gordhttp://gordsgarage.wordpress.com/