HF Bandsaw Questions

[Bret Whitten]

Hi all! Just bought a new HF Bandsaw. I know many here have this and have done successful modifications to it; such as new heavier bases, different bimetal blades, coolant trays,etc. What brand of blade and size(tpi, etc.) and where to get it from? Also, suggestions , pictures would be nice, of any mods to improve this saw. Thanks a bunch in advance!

[Chipmaker]

I have a alot of images and mods listed on my webiste for the HF saw.....Mine is over 20 years old now and still woorks like a champ and has original motor as well. Its used hard and put up wet most of the time, and owes me nothing.

My saws mods are on the Projects Page listed as a link off the main page.
http://www.frugalmachinist.com

My preference in blades is the Lennox line of blades. I use Lennox NEO blades which will last a long time if yur not cutting exotic or hard metals, and they are about 1/2 or 1/3 the price of a bi-metal blade. Lennox Bi-metal is my mext choice for more severe use or cutting hard materials, specially the Lenox Diemaster II blades. The vari pitch blades willcover a lot more possibilities without having to swap blades for variations in thickness of materials but IMHO a single pitch blade is still hard to beat, but the vari pitch has its place.

I also use whatever blade stock I can get for a good price at closeouts and on ebay as long as its from a major manuf like F.E Morse, Starrett or DoAll etcand stay away from the imported blades from th orient. I weld up my own with this stock. For the times I have to buy blades I get em at the local welding supply store which as been lots cheaper than any major retailer like Enco or MSC or online sources etc.

[RussellH]

Here's the sound advice I recieved from our fellow forum member Zrexxer when I asked the same question about the blade just a few weeks ago.

Enco has Morse brand bi-metals on sale for $14.98. The model number is CX371-0402 for 14 tpi, and if you order more than $50 before 9/30 enter the code 84FSNR and get free shipping.

That's http://www.use-enco.com

As for the stands and mods do a search here and you'll see several useful posts...

[Zrexxer]

I'm glad you brought that up Russell, because you just reminded me I need to order some blades myself!

[BRISKELTON]

How do you guys like those hf bandsaws? Our local HF has them on sale for $149 and I'm tempted but
i've spent a lot of money on tools lately. I checked around and most the other cheap saws only have a half or three quarter horse motor. The HF one has a 1 horse. Can you tell a difference?
thanks

Brian

[Hobweld]

It may say it's 1HP but I wouldn't bet on it. It is a cheap imitation of the real thing. That being said it does fine for what the saw is. It will run hot if cutting for long periods. But many have had no problems with them. I haven't had a problem with mine yet either. The saw is a great little gem for the price. I'd go for it. Take care.
Ken

[BadDog]

1 Hp! ................................. Sorry, couldn't get up for a while till the laughing subsided.

My "1 hp" motor bit the dust when I walked away for a refill on my water when it was cutting. Came back, maybe 2 minutes later, only to find it had jamed the blade which left the motor smoking with goo running out. Bought a rebuilt "real" 1/2 hp motor to put on it from a local shop. That 1/2 hp motor is bigger, runs smoother, and is considerably more powerful than what came on it. All that said, this thing has done it's job well enough for the 2 years leading up to the failure, and would probably be running still if I had stayed around nearby for the cut as I usually do (working on other stuff) instead of walking into the house...

[fun4now]

any input on the clark version. i think it starts with a 3/4 hp cant remember
ant1 got 1

[HighSierra]

Rather than dig up an old HF bandsaw thread, I'm just going to ask here.

I'm putting a coolant system on my HF 4x6, but it seems from all the pictures I've seen of people doing this mod, they've built HUGE catch trays for the coolant under the cutting table... Can anyone tell me from their experience how far front to back (along the blade axis) the tray really needs to be??? (I'm thinking about 18" but I'd hate to build the tray only for it to be too short and have coolant spilling out all over the place) I'm trying to make this thing not be too much of a space hog in my garage... So far the footprint is about 21"x36" and that's what I'm shooting at keeping it at (maybe, hopefully)

Thanks for the input!!!


BTW...I've been a long time lurker here, and all I've got to say is what a great spot with lots of clever people sharing info!!!

[Chipmaker]

For width it only needs to be about an inch or two wider than the widest portin of the saw. For length it needs to be long enough for coolant to catch in it when the saw is raised up as the back tends to drip quite a bit. IIRC I made mine about 2" larger than the largest dimensions. But you will find on the width if your cutting small pieces of say channel or tube etc that extend past the coolant catch pan its still gonna drip off the ends and onto the floor, so I usually keep a plastic 1 quart bucket around for cutting pieces that extend past the coolant pan.

I can't bad mouth my HF bandsaw motor as its original, does not run any hotter than any of my other american made motors and its worked flawlessly for close to 20 years now.

[HighSierra]

Thanks for the reply... I acctually found some material at the scrap yard to make it fit the machines length and about 18" wide.

About the motor on mine... It runs Hot when making several consequtive cuts..... When I was building a stand... The only material I could find that would work from the scrap yad was 1/4" x 2" sq tube. After about 3 consecutive cuts the motor would be nearly 160 degrees F... but with a fan pointed at it it would never get much over 110 degrees....so If I'm doing lots of cuts on thick material, I just point a fan at the motor. So far I'm very happy with what I got for $150!