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Thread: Cold saw vs bandsaw
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28th Aug 2019, 06:01 PM #1Intermediate Member
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Cold saw vs bandsaw
Hi All
After a bit of advice from those who own bandsaws and cold cut off saws.
I have a bandsaw and have quite a bit of trouble getting a consistent square cut (as well as breaking blades).
I've been looking at the cut off saws e.g. makita, Dewalt etc and would like any feedback available from those who own them.
Also, have a Brobo super 300, single phase cold saw in our local buy swap and sell for $1,900. Any thoughts on these as well?
Cheers
Ash
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28th Aug 2019, 06:14 PM #2Mechanical Butcher
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I was able to improve the accuracy of my bandsaw by trial & error adjustments.
These are not high precision machines, but should be OK for many types of job, otherwise finish off in another operation.
I wish I could afford a Brobo.
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28th Aug 2019, 06:28 PM #3Most Valued Member
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Sounds like you may be pushing the blade too hard if it's running off and you are having breakage issues.
What type of bandsaw is it and what are you cutting?
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28th Aug 2019, 07:14 PM #4Senior Member
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I have to agree here. Going too hard can leed to problems.
The same can be said for drop saws. Trying to push the blade through to hard can cause the blade to flex and go off track.
Don`t know if they are still around but the Hitachi drop saw use to be the best around 20 years ago. Though hardly used today (I prefer the bandsaw) mine`s still going strong today and it copped a lot of hard site use in the early days.
The modern Makita if like the old ones has that 3 or 4 piece cover setup, its a pain. Hard to hold out of the way while changing blades or checking to see if the piece to be cut is in the right place under the blade. They did last ok though.
I would love something like the Brobo but for home use I cannot justify the cost.
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28th Aug 2019, 07:33 PM #5Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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I dislike noise so I dislike cut-off saws. When they start the cut-off saw up at the mens shed I go outside or over the road for a coffee. Not to mention the sparks and grey-goo dust they generate. I do use angle grinders but as sparingly as possible,
I have an old, small well used bandsaw that cost me $100 and like others have said a bit of farting around sorted out it cutting square, set up a pneumatic down feed control and a coolant/lube pump for it. I was getting about 6 month from carbon blades but I've had the same bimetal blade on it for almost two years and it still cutting OK.
If you have volume work to do and $$ then a cold saw is definitely the way to go.
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28th Aug 2019, 07:55 PM #6Most Valued Member
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Going on the saws used at my metal suppliers to cut steel, cold saws seem to be limited in what they can cut. For heavy stock they always use a bandsaw where I go.
There's no reason why any bandsaw (even the cheap ones) can't cut dead straight if it's set up correctly and the feed pressure is correct. As stated, they will definitely cut off line with too much pressure.
Friction cutoff discs can go through anything except non ferrous material, but they are noisy and a consumable. I have never been a big fan of these, but they are fast and compact. Pretty brutal IMHO.
So it really depends on what you are intending to use the saw for.
Cheers RobThe worst that can happen is you will fail.
But at least you tried.
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28th Aug 2019, 08:07 PM #7
Hi Guys,
One of the issues I've had with abrasive cut off saws, is the work can get extremely hot and self harden ! You generally don't notice it until you come to machine the cut edges. Stainless steel is notorious for work hardening. But seems to cut easily.Best Regards:
Baron J.
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28th Aug 2019, 08:22 PM #8Diamond Member
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I have a bandsaw and a carbide-tipped cold saw. The latter is brilliant for fast, clean, square cuts. There’s a few of these saws on the market around the $700 mark.
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28th Aug 2019, 09:04 PM #9Member
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I think a few people who have already posted have misread "cold saw" as "cut off saw" - these are two very different beasts - a cold saw is neither loud or dusty.
I've got both so i'll share my experiences - A Soco 370 cold saw and a Hare & Forbes EB260V.
Both produce extremely clean & square cuts. The Soco's cuts are a machined finish - smooth with a razor blade sharp edge - it produces a much smoother cut, but for my needs the bandsaws finish is more than adequate - if i was doing balustrade work then it'd be the cold saw i'd pick as my go to saw.
Downsides of the the cold saw are - They require you to stand there and make the cut, the bandsaw you setup your stock, start it and walk away and let it do it's thing.
Cold saw blades are expensive and require the use of coolant at all times - depending on the size of the blade you require it can push $400+ a blade. They can however be resharpened.
A bimetal bandsaw blade sets me back $66 a piece and last a very long time, even without coolant.
I haven't used my cold saw ever since I purchased my bandsaw and that's going on 2+ years now, I should probably sell it and gain back some much needed space.
Cheers
Jon
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28th Aug 2019, 10:31 PM #10Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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28th Aug 2019, 10:37 PM #11
I used to own a power hacksaw which i still regret selling it, it cuts dead straight. I now have a Thomas cold saw it's OK for thin wall tube but i think i will sell it and get a power hack saw again.
Resize of IMG_2781.JPG
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28th Aug 2019, 10:37 PM #12Most Valued Member
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I have a 6X4 bandsaw, access to a Brobo and also 7X12 bandsaw, and used to have a cut off saw. The 6X4, I couldn't live without as it's handy as a vertical as well as horizontal. True they take a bit of setting up to cut true. Once you have set it up to cut correctly, provided you use the same thickness of blade, you don't need to touch the settings.
Have attached a link that will hopefully will help you set up the cutting side of things. https://cdn0.grizzly.com/manuals/g0622_m.pdf
The Brobo is a great machine, I feel an overkill for a DIYer, as stated before, you need to stand there and put pressure on the blade to keep it cutting, blades are expensive to buy, depending on what you're cutting, you may need 2 of them if fabbing for a living, and possibly different teeth numbers for different thickness material.
I wouldn't touch a cutoff saw ever again, dirty, expensive on the blades, noisy, sparks going everywhere, have had on a couple of occasions a fire started by the sparks. Ignition point was a couple of metres away. If working near glass, sparks embed themselves in it.
HTH
KrynTo grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.
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28th Aug 2019, 11:06 PM #13Most Valued Member
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If i could wipe two things from the face of the earth, they would be milling cutters on angle grinders and abrasive cut off machines.
A Brobo saw is king of the tube fabrication world, but a bandsaw is far more versatile. Brobo's are very picky about the number of teeth on the blade as it relates to the stock size, while bandsaws seem far more forgiving in going outside the ideal tooth pitch.
When I did my apprenticeship, we had as our main saw a 16" abrasive cut off machine. We would buy blades by the carton of 20 or 25 (I can't quite remember) with Pferd being the weapon of choice as Flexovit glazed way too easily. I can recall cutting whole packs of 100 X 100 X 10 angle iron into 2 M lengths and then putting a 45 degree chamfer on both flanges one end. The noise, the sparkling silver dust in the air and the pile of dust left afterwards is a memory that will stay with me for ever. No wonder I hate, vomit, loathe, hate the damn things! The cold cut saws are possibly a bit better, but they are still noisy.
I own a Brobo saw and a bandsaw, but no abrasive cut off saw.
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29th Aug 2019, 12:01 AM #14
Even tho bandsaws are fairly forgiving wrt TPI vs what you are cutting, I do recommend you have a few different blades up your sleeve.
At the shop cutting thin stuff in MS right up to some pretty chunky solid stuff.
For my biggest saw:
Thinnest is basically guttering, so its a high TPI (cant remember exact count) - Best blade here for this is actually blunt. Doesn't tear as much and jam like a sharp blade does. Use a rough former so doesnt collapse.
For solid tool steel M51. 5-8 TPI. This one comes in at just over $100 bucks, so not left in for regular MS.
Also have next highest TPI up from 5-8, (M42) for general MS, as in hollow sections. Price somewhere in the $60 range.
Always run coolant with thisFrisky wife, happy life. Then I woke up. Oh well it was fun while it lasted.From an early age my father taught me to wear welding gloves . "Its not to protect your hands son, its to put out the fire when u set yourself alight".
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29th Aug 2019, 04:40 AM #15Most Valued Member
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