band saws

[three turbos]

Hey guys, looking at getting a band saw (horizontal) though I would love to go out and get an Ellis like everyone else, It seems a little unpractical for a guy who does not use it everyday.On that note I know the harbor freight stuff is all nock off chinese and i realize its nothing compared to the Ellis but for 250$ I have read alot of reviews on it and the biggest complaint is the flimsy stand.Im not concerned with that, my concern is will it cut straight? I have seen no negatives on this part the saw anyone here have one that can share there experience with?


Believe me guys I have used the ellis and if money grew on my tree thats what i would buy however, for the weekend warrior / hobbiest seems a little much for me.Thanks in advance Eric

[Jobpump53]

I will tell you first had, i could not get the HF bandsaw to cut straight.

I ended up finding a kalamazoo h9aw on craigslist for $900

Hope that helps

[aametalmaster]

I have been running 3 HF 4x6 saws for the last 12 years on production runs and they are perfect. The stand is scrap and i didn't use it on any of them. I made my own and raised up the saw so i can see whats going on. One never needed any adjustments and cuts perfect right from the box. I did drain the oil in the gearbox from the start and refilled with some good gear lube for Boston gearboxes. For the price they can't be beat but thats just my thoughts....Bob

[WyoRoy]

As with most Harbor Freight equipment, you'll need to do some tinkering, rebuilding, modifying before the saw works as you wish. It is doable and the price probably has you straining to keep from walking in the door and plopping down your hard earned money.

Get on the newsgroup and scope out the modifications for those saws. Generally you're going to need to open up the gearbox and scour the casting sand and grit out of it before repalcing the oil with the 'real' stuff instead fo whatever the Chicoms used. Same goes for the wheel alignment...might get lucky, but probably not. No real major re-engineering, but a mess of nitpicking hassles. Friend fried his motor by walking away from the saw while it was cutting and it jammed in the cut. That one cost me a Baldor motor to make right for him.

While an Ellis may be too much for your blood, I'd say that you should look into a bit higher range of horz. saws. I've owned Grizzly's and they weren't nearly as problematic and their work envelope was much greater. A cheap little saw may prove to be just a cheap little saw no matter how much you spit and polish it up. not extolling Grizzly exclusively either as most of those Chicom/Taiwanese saws are made by the same folks and rebadged/repainted for sale.

[Jobpump53]

I do agree with the other posters. If i had maybe put time in and worked alittle harder on it i may have achieved the cut i was looking for. I just had a hard time justifying the time re working it over and over. I adjusted wheels and guides a handful of times before i gave up.

And i also looked at longevity and continues parts.

[BD1]

aametalmaster said it for me too. Had mine at least 5 years now and it is good. However, I got mine REALLY CHEAP. They had a 30% off coupon , one day special. Back then it was $115.00 with coupon. Got two, and are still going on the original motor.

[three turbos]

Thanks fellas for the input, seems im at a crapp shoot with this. I am a name brand man through and through normaly for everything else just hard to cut loose of that extra coin for a hobby is all. On the other hand my mig is Miller, my diversion180 obviousely blue again, and just added a hypertherm plasma to the arsenal what to do, what to do??? One would think this wuld be an easy decision.

[WyoRoy]

Study on it for awhile! I purchased my Ellis 3000 for $1500. Locally, there is a 1600 for around $500...thinking about getting it for a backup. Sold my Grizzly for half what I paid for it. So...there are deals to be had out there. I'd imagine if you took a look around your area...gotta be better than Wyoming...there would at least be cheap used Harbor Freight bandsaws coming out of the woodwork.

[monte55]

I don't understand why people will spend so much for mig welders, tig and stick welders and a host of other shop tools and then want a metal cutting saw and want it for under $200 and expect it to be a great machine. You can spend more than that on a decent drill. What do they actually expect? Oh yeah, and top it off with $16 grinders and a 115 piece imported drill bit set for $39. I just don't get it.

[bbraman]

Just my two cents!
I bought a Jet, cuts straight, can get the blades easy, no problems after five years, cuts vertical and horizontal. I paid $400 for it. It's not fast, but for home use it works great!