9" Bench Band Saw Question

[FJ and G]

Today purchased a Delta 9" band saw, model BS100.

It came with a wood cutting blade (59.5 inches) but I purchased the unit to cut metal, thinking that I could use a different blade. Wll, I spent all day looking at Harbor Freight, Lowe's and HD and couldn't find any metal blades in those dimensions.

The Delta manual only talks about cutting wood; not metal; but it doesn't warn against cutting metal. So I'm confused.

Does anyone have experience with band saws? Reason I purchased it is b/c I'm making toy train girder bridges and have been using a metal cutting chop saw on a table saw. Didn't feel comfortable doing that and wanted more control I could get with a band saw.

Advice appreciated.

[csxt30]

Dave ; I had a friend make me a new blade which the teeth are I believe 44 teeth per inch & it could be more. He had a roll of this stuff & cut it & welded it together for me. I think you have to go to a machine shop to get it made, & it is for cutting metal, but with this blade I can cut wood almost perfectly straight & it is also wider than the other balades are. Mine is a Sears 9 inch band saw. Hope this helps. You can see all the teeth & how close they are I hope in the picture.


Thanks,

[markn]

Dave-my father and I both have the Sears 9" Band saw-basically the same as your Delta-I have not but my father purchased (I assume at Sears), uses, and loves a metal cutting blade on his-he says it nicely cuts up about 1/8"aluminum/brass/copper-1/16" steel-unfortunately Sears unit has 56 7/8" blade...if you can find a blade-you should not have problems metal cutting just go slower and keep the guides as close as possible, Good Luck. PS-take the Delta back for a refund-find the blades then get a saw to match

[Nick12DMC]

Hi,
At the company where I did my apprenticeship, we had a bandsaw blade welder.
We brought the blade in long rolls and just cut it to length and welded it.
There are companies here in the UK that do custom length blades to order.

It may be worth contacting a local engineering shop (Toolmakers or Fabrication). They may have a blade welder or can tell you the trade supplier
of their blades. Blade width will be a issue for the smaller saw such as
you have.

This is a common size of DIY saw so the blades should be available.

Regards
Nick

[FJ and G]

THanks, guys. I may return the unit if I cannot find blades and look for another one. I probably should have learned to weld as well (an excuse for another power tool?).

If you've ever been to HD or lowe's and looked at the aluminum and steel small parts bin, you will have noticed the outrageous prices of the small pieces.

Yet, a few aisles down, one can see metal gutter and trim in 8 and 10 foot sections that costs anywhere from $1 to $4 a piece; many times less expensive than the small, custom cut parts. And if you want copper, a few aisles down are large diameter plumbing pipes that can be flattened and cut. It seems to make more sense cutting your own stock pieces.

[trigtrax]

Check Sears, I believe they have a 59.5 inch Band saw Blade. If not, MSC will cut and weld blades to your size.
There's a few points about cutting metal with a band saw. First is blade speed, it needs to be much slower to cut metal than wood. The second is teeth per inch. The best cuts are obtained with a least 3 teeth in contact with the metal. If you're cutting thin sheet metal this is almost impossible to obtain and this must be cut with a plywood backing board to avoid distorting the kerf and snagging the blade.
If you're primarily working with sheet metal you may want to return your bandsaw and invest in a power nibbler or shears.

[dougdagrump]

Dave, Have you tried the Deita website for parts, I have ordered stuff there when my local service center wasn't providing the requisite "Timely Customer Service". In other words they had their heads someplace where the sun don't shine.

[Brutus]

Okay - my Lowes had the blades for this saw a couple aisles over from the actual saw. Ask one of the employees that has a little gray in his hair for help.

You can pick up blades online from a number of sources including
ToolcribI(Amazon.com) etc: Scroll down to accessories.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006JZZT/qid=1145807782/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-1504027-8156043?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=hi&v=glance&n=228013

Basically, you can use any 59 1/2 inch metal cutting blade I think.

[FJ and G]

Jim,

Under "accessories," the most teeth per inch for 59.5 is 14, for wood, not metal. BTW, paid $99 at Harbor Freight; could have saved $$$ at Amazon (free shipping at $89, no tax). I thought Amazon only sold books!

TT,

What does MSC stand for?

Also, my bandsaw only cuts at one speed----fast: RPM= 1725

Doug,

Delta's website only offers 14 teeth per inch for 59.5 inch blades

----

(btw, the model I purchased can accept blades from 1/8 to 3/8 inch wide)

I'm starting to get a sick feeling that I purchased the wrong bandsaw for metal.

[dougdagrump]

Dave, I'd take it back, sounds as if that is "Wood Only" since it only has a single speed.[?]

[Brutus]

You should be able to cut soft metal with either blade, but I'm not sure what results would be. When I got mine, I picked up several blades including a metal cutting blade. I looked under more accessories and it's not listed on Amazon - sorry.

Toolcrib used to be a great online tool store that was an associate of Amazon. Last year, Toolcrib sold out and it's all Amazon now. Since then, the service and deals have deteriorated badly.

I looked up the manual on servicenet and I looked at all the blades delta still supplies. They don't have a metal cutting blade for the 9 inch BS, but do have one for the 10 inch???

I think if I was you I would return this to Harborfreight, who didn't give you a good deal anyway. This BS was made by RYOBI for Delta and it's a pretty low end tool to start with. For about the same money, I think you could get one in a local store, maybe at Sears, with all the blades you want, and verify it is good for cutting metal. Sears bench tools used to be made by Ryobi, but I think now they are Hitachi??? Or maybe that's the hand power tools.

You need to find a variable speed, cheap bandsaw that has readily available metal cutting blades. Look at Ryobi, Craftsman, locally if you are going to be cutting soft non-ferous metals like brass, copper, thin aluminum, etc.

If you are going to be cutting STEEL etc, and still want to go with a low price product, then I would look on grizzly.com

Grizzly makes some good tools for the $$$ depending on what you want to do. One thing to remember with Grizzly is that you have to pay freight shipping. Also, you want to look at their high end stuff and then work down the list. Some of the very low end stuff they sell might only be good for a one-time job, while their middle range stuff, if it's their newer products, are getting good user reviews on wood website etc - planers, jointers, tablesaws, etc.

Maybe you should be looking at a nice jigsaw? You can get a Bosch or Porter Cable jigsaw and mount it upside down in a piece of plywood with a couple of clamps and maybe do what you want - plus have the versatility to use the tool as a hand tool when needed. I have some plans around here somewhere I could email you for a jig to do this, I think.

[trigtrax]

TT,

What does MSC stand for?

Also, my bandsaw only cuts at one speed----fast: RPM= 1725

Doug,
MSC stands for Machinery Supply company (I think) they are on-line at mscdirect.com.
1725 is a motor speed, the saw speed would be in feet per minute but unless yours has some hefty gearing it's too fast for metal. The metal blade I used on a wood working saw which I built gearing for was 32 teeth per inch in a wave set. It was also a composite of hardened teeth with a softer metal back. The blades that come with these "home-owner" type machines are usually stager tooth set and generally much weaker than their industrial cousins.
I hate to tell you but if you're working with sheet metals as a hobbyist you'ld be better served by what are called Aircraft Shears. These come in three flavors, left, right and center cutting. Once you use them you'll get the hang of which one to grab for the job you want to do.

[Brutus]

Craftsman snips on sale:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_SessionID=@@@@1031230187.1145971037@@@@&BV_EngineID=cdccaddhimgiemfcegecegjdghldggo.0&vertical=TOOL&pid=00942713000

[laz 57]

DAVE this site will costom make them for you all you need is tell the your length.

http://www.spencedistributors.com/dynamic/10000480.pdf

laz57

[FJ and G]

Jim,

Had trouble opening that site but actually did get L, R, and straight set of snips from Sears. Alright for anything thinner than ductwork gauge metal but if much thicker than ductwork and the piece is long, the nuts get in the way.

Laz,

Thanks, buddy, but FINALLY found what I need here:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=76939-353-31152&lpage=none

Thanks, all!

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(Now I need to check around for siding to match my house as yesterday I built a new doggie door for BB and mussed up the siding by cutting it too wide and high) [:D]