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Thread: power hacksaw plans and designs
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9th Nov 2019, 11:15 AM #1Member
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power hacksaw plans and designs
hi, i have been wanting to build a power hacksaw for many years and of course been down the google path over and over. most of what is available is small and cheap type designs but i would like something of good quality and still compact enough to be practical in a hobby workshop. i know the imported saws are cost effective and its just plug in and go but i want a project and something completed thats going to be around for my grand kids to admire. it must be from bar stock totally and us a damping thats adjustable, vfd controlled or gearbox no sure yet. smooth acting movement, quiet and compact in design. accurate and adjustable to be kept correct. does anyone know of plans , photos or a past project i could copy. thanks brett.
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9th Nov 2019, 12:41 PM #2Diamond Member
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This may provide some ideas, its home made (not by me) I think it was once part of a miniature line shaft belt drive workshop. To give an idea of size the base is a 600 long piece of 5" x 2.5" hot rolled channel.
A possible source of proper plans for a full DIY build would be the US or UK model engineer magazines from the first 60 or 70 years of last century.
I'll never use the saw PM me if its of interest.
IMG_3053.jpg
IMG_3055.jpg
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9th Nov 2019, 02:12 PM #3Member
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Looks interesting and a size I would prefer for the small materials I mainly use.
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9th Nov 2019, 02:49 PM #4Philomath in training
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I bought the Gingery book on making a power hacksaw many years ago. I started making it but it was not very rigid and there were some pieces that would not bolt together and work. I think it was one of those 'designed on paper' machines.
Michael
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9th Nov 2019, 04:50 PM #5Member
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yes i have looked at a lot of internet sites and most are a bit ordinary in there design, they will all work of course but not like a good quality made type, one thing i have not seen is the reverse stroke lifting which would save the blades im sure. i am not keen on buying plans that are like you stated. i can design and build my own but there is always some that will have done it better and you wish you had waited
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9th Nov 2019, 05:24 PM #6Most Valued Member
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When you say "made entirely from bar stock" do you mean no machining involved (just drilling and tapping holes to join the pieces) or do you mean e.g. no castings?
Probably a better question would be what tools do you have access to to make one?
Steve
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9th Nov 2019, 05:36 PM #7Member
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I have a lathe and a small mill , yes I ment no casting to make it a bit easier as my mill is horizontal and old and it needs a motor, so not great . But when I have the cash I'll get it running so anything is possible. I can weld etc, I have just about everything at hand.
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9th Nov 2019, 08:58 PM #8Most Valued Member
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I've got a Parkanson power hacksaw that is mostly fabricated from plate. The drive mechanism is just a 2 stage belt/pulley arrangement to gear it down. Bearing blocks are standard industrial pillow blocks. The saw frame and the arm it runs in are cast, but could be fabricated and machined, but they are a dovetail arrangement so particularly easy.
Mine takes a 14" blade
Have you seen the Hercus saw that's currently for sale in the markets section? I think that style of arm and saw frame arrangement would be reasonably easy to fabricate. Making the bars from chrome bar or linear shaft would be really nice, but you could make them out of whatever you wanted. Mount them by making up a stack of (say 4) support plates and boring the holes for the shafts in one operation. One plate at the open end of the bars, 3 plates to support the bars in the pivot arm. Maybe a bit of heavy channel for the pivot end of the arm - the support plates would and pivot tube could be easily welded into that). Hopefully that makes sense.
I think a couple of fundamental decisions you need to make for a start if you are going to build one are:
- what size blade are you going to use
- are you going to run coolant
That gives you rough size and whether you need to contain coolant in the base of the saw. With that sorted you can make decisions on the base construction and choose how you construct the arm etc.
There's a reasonable amount of material in them, and if you're having to buy it all the cost will add up. I wouldn't be surprised if it was over $300 total for materials including bearings and pulleys etc - but I could be way off.
Not a drama if you are creating an heirloom, but just saying...
Maybe it doesn't hold the same attraction for you, but have you considered making a horizontal bandsaw instead?
The standard design is tried and proven, but you could improve on it slightly and implement the tweaks that many have done on their import saws to make them a nicer tool to use. IMO it would be a much more useful tool in the workshop, and if any of the grandkids get into metalworking they could inherit it and continue to get good use out of it knowing that you built it.
Similar could be said for a power hacksaw, but they are a tool that is approaching extinction, and I think if one of the grandkids with limited space was given the choice of the PH that grandad built or a bandsaw of unknown origin they would likely choose the bandsaw.
If you want any photos of how my Parkanson is constructed just sing out and I'll grab some for you.
Steve
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9th Nov 2019, 09:34 PM #9Novice
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Popular Mecs hachsaw
Built one some time ago along the lines of this Popular Mechanics power hacksaw.
Didn't use car parts but fabricated it along the lines of their design.
Use it a lot. Works well. Works with either power hacksaw blades or hand hacksaw blades.
Power blades are probably better but hand saw blades get good mileage especially when cutting thin material like angle iron and unistrut.
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9th Nov 2019, 10:44 PM #10Golden Member
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Hacksaw Plans
I've accumulated a few plans from trawling around with google.
You have probably already found these but just in case .....
Myfordboy has plans, cannot remember if free or small price to pay, he has a youtube channel worth a look
Popular Science has Plans on the google magazines site
Edgar Westbury had plans published long ago in Model ENgineer, (PM me if you cannot find them)
Popular Mechanics has plans on the google magazines site
Duplex had plans published - not sure if I have those
Do a search on the UK forum and you will probably find people who have built the Westbury and Duplex ones
A few variations on the lathe mounted hacksaws exist, intuitively seems like it might somehow hurt the lathe, can anyone comment further ? There is a youtube video somewhere of somebody running one on a Hercus 9" lathe.
Bill
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10th Nov 2019, 10:30 AM #11Member
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Thanks for the info, all good suggestions and a bandsaw idea is not a bad one. I guess it must also end up being cost effective as well or it will be worth more than my qualos. The lathe driven idea was my first ,but space will be an issue around my lathe and generally in my shed full stop. I am over the abrasive cutters and dont want to see another 14 inch blade explode beside me again. I haven't been seriously looking at bandsaw plans but I'm thinking I should consider them. I have read the posts relating to one or the other and having a vertical position could be usefully on a bandsaw. Coolant may be an option but I won't use it a lot so cutting fluid would cover my needs I think. Thanks for the links I will have a look and see what I could use to suit my needs.
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10th Nov 2019, 11:32 AM #12Golden Member
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Speed Reduction Workaround
Whether you go for bandsaw or hacksaw at some point speed reduction will raise its head.
See attached photo for what I thought was a clever workaround using your existing lathe speeds, I pinched that idea from an American forum. Have been surprised that I don't see people using it more often. Is there something inherently bad about this idea that I'm not yet aware of ?
I stopped using this after I bought a second hand power hacksaw.
Bill
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11th Nov 2019, 09:22 PM #13Novice
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PM Hacksaw My build
Attached are a few shots of my take on the Popular Mechanics hacksaw
There is a mention of lifting the blade on the return stroke This design can do that. I set it up it to cut on the back stroke and the action pulls the blade down on the back stroke and tends to lift it on the return stroke. Not enough to lift it out of the cut.
Can slice of 10 thou from the end of a shaft with a bit of careful tuning.
Hope the pics are of some use.
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12th Nov 2019, 07:28 AM #14Member
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some good pics to get ideas from i must say, i like the lifting on return stroke idea.i will have to think about the type of project i really want before i start.
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12th Nov 2019, 09:32 PM #15
Here are some design elements from a U Tube on a light hacksaw.
Some wood elements can be obviously substituted with steel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrk6pN53kxk
Grahame
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