Can some one help me

Hello Steve,
I use a Chinese made horizontal bandsaw (I think it is 4 1/2" cut) fitted with a bi metal variable tooth blade which I find is best for longevity and accuracy of cut. I possess numerous hand held hacksaws and find the old fashioned Eclipse frame with a wooden handle (Like a file handle) best for controling the direction of cut and less impacting on my aging tendons than a pistol grip one. Of course an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel and oxy propane equipment is also useful.
A good blade (HSS) from a reputable maker is essential and although there is always a tendancy to buy cheap, the saying "If you buy cheap you will buy twice" is certainly true in my experience of hacksaw blades.

If you are new to working with metal you may find "Model Engineering (A Foundation Course)" by Peter Wright a worthwhile investment. Amazon has copies for sale.

Good Luck

B

Brian Rupnow said:

Used wood cutting bandsaws are generally for sale in the $200 range. I bought one, and with the addition of a second shaft and pulleys was able to bring it down into the proper blade speed for cutting metal. No other modifications were necessary.

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I recently made myself eight hacksaw blades for cutting wood. They were made from a broken bandsaw blade, cut and ground to length and a hole drilled in each end.

The bandsaw route is the way to go. I like to mix my metal working up with a bit of steel fabrication work and frankly a bandsaw was one of the best investments I've made. Prior to the bandsaw I used just about every thing under the sun to cut stock. That includes a jig saw, a Sawzall, 4.5" grinders, hack saws and even chisels. The all have their uses but for the most part the band saw wins for most cases. A cold cut saw has its place but personally I feel that a bandsaw is more versatile in a home shop. A 4.5 inch grinder is in fact an extremely handy tool and that still gets used to cut things, but only when the bandsaw isn't right for the job. A bandsaw is cheap especially when you start to add up the cost of cutoff disks for a 4.5" grinder. recently I managed to cut some prehard with a used blade on the band saw with not problem, doing the same stock with a 4.5" grinder would have cost me a few cutoff disks. I would expect that blade to cut a lot more steel too, you get reasonably good life out of a blade on a 4x6!

AS for the horizontal band saw itself if you are buying new, consider buying as large as you can afford to go. Once you have the tool it seems like you end up doing things you never imagined with it.

Of course there is another option here that might be worth considering and that is a portable band saw. These are available in corded and battery power. You will not get the same cut accuracy with a hand held unit obviously but there are advantages. One big advantage, with a battery powered unit at least, is the ability to trim stock to length at a junk yard or other location and to fit the stuff into your car / truck. This makes it far easier to pick up "junk" stock for the home shop. There are also ways to turn such saws into vertical band saws. It is a good option for one just setting up shop.