portable bandsaw, which brand is best

[Cajun Welder]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I'm looking to buy a portable bandsaw and would like to know which brand has been the best for you and why. Thank you to all who repsond.

Tom

[Lu47Dan]

One Word.

Milwaukee . Dan

[burninbriar]

I dont know what price range youre looking at but the Ellis is highly recomended.
http://www.ellissaw.com/
I hear the grizzly is a pretty good product also.
http://www.grizzly.com/index.aspx
Jet also has pretty good reviews.
jetequipment.com/products/MA/Cat03-MA_web_p24-26.pdf
I dont have a band saw but one of these is on my wish list. I would prefer the Ellis but I think it is out of my price range.

[mccutter]

Harbor Freight is not the best but only $69.99 on sale...

Harbor Freight is not the best but only $69.99 on sale until March 27. Go to the following link to find out everything you ever wanted to know about the HF and how to "pre-lube and maintain" it to assure you'll get more than a week's use out of it. Apparently, many are having good success with it.

Milwaukee is probably the best although they are starting to have stuff made in Mexico and elsewhere and as one who uses their 8" circular saw in a machine we make, I have started to notice quality issues such as the spindle lock not working on one saw and a blade guard mounted incorrectly. But that is just about 1% of all the saws so I suppose it isn't that bad...

http://www.shopfloortalk.com/forums/...ead.php?t=6214

[MAC702]

Milwaukee, Porter-Cable (maker of the original "Portaband"), and DeWalt are among the top brands for these and all are worth the money. My favorite is, of course, the newer DeWalt. I've used the Milwaukees as well and are happy with them, too.

I've been extremely happy with factory reconditioned DeWalts from places like amazon. I think this is a helluva deal, right here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=...6SSGT6MTZ3OP5D

[burninbriar]

I guess I missunderstood and was thinking about a mooveable bandsaw.

[JWOOD]

I have the Porter-Cable and find it extremely handy. If I remember right, I picked it because it had a larger throat capacity. Also it had variable dial speed.
Good luck, Jason

[Leons2003]

I like my Milwaukee Deep Cut
L*S

[BilljustBill]

The NEXT STEP: Brand Name Band saw Blades....

Tom,

If you should decide on a Brand Name saw, by doing a "Band Saw Blades" search on EBAY, you can get some good deals on blades that will fit your new saw...

Bill

[Cajun Welder]

Thank ya'll so much. All of you have been a big help, that is why I love this site. Thanks again

Tom Dupre

[Lu47Dan]

Bandsaw Blades

Milwaukee Blades are very good , buy them in different pitches (teeth per inch )Lenox blades were good when I used them years ago , steer clear of the sawzall blades though (junk ) And buy BiMetal blades they last longer . Here are some tips on cutting with a portaband .1 use the correct blade ,TPI the thicker the steel the lower the number of teeth per inch . If you are cutting tubing you want more teeth then the thickness indicates , have found that this makes blades last longer. 2 let the saw do the work , used to work with a fitter who always leaned on the saw , I could cut more inches of steel in a day then he could because he would ruin his blade. we were cutting angle iron ,pipe up to six inch , allthread , copper , and unistrut .3 keep your guide rollers clean . in others words keep it out of the mud ,dirt is hard on them if a roller starts to go bad replace it . it will save you a lot of aggrevation . 4 watch for a saw that includes a case with it or purchase one seperately , you can keep your blades and saw together . 5 learn your saws balance and use it to your benefit . Go to tool stores and handle the saws , and by the one you are most comfortable with , be it milwaukee , porter-cable , dewalt or any of the other brands . because if the balance doesn't feel right to you , you won't be comfortable using it . Just my opinion I like the milwaukee deep cut portaband , it is heavier than the dewalt and others but I like the balance of the milwaukee . the dewalt and others of that design always have felt like the were falling over to me . Dan

[wb5jhy]

Milwaukee deep cut. 11 years and still perfect condition. Dan's advice on the case is right on. Not just handy for keeping blades, but will really save on wear and tear from banging around with other tools, especially when transporting.

[Cajun Welder]

vertical portable bandsaw stand, check it out

A add on. Everyone needs to check this out on ebay. It is a VERTICAL BANDSAW STAND FOR MILWAUKEE SAW. Really neat. Who is going to be the first to build one.

Here is the link: http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nk...mId=7602601516

[nate]

blades

i sell blades, and band saws 1-888-745-1266 m-f

[triggerman]

Odd.....Very odd

A add on. Everyone needs to check this out on ebay. It is a VERTICAL BANDSAW STAND FOR MILWAUKEE SAW. Really neat. Who is going to be the first to build one.

Here is the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/VERTICAL-BANDSAW...QQcmdZViewItem

I checked those two out and though both say NEW! NEW! NEW! and are listed for the same price, one has an updated description that says used. Gotta watch those wascally ebayers.

Thanks for the heads up. I downloaded the blowup and breakdown.