Portable Harbor Freight metal cutting bandsaw

[Rick Potter]

I don't often want to cut metal, but I do have an abrasive 14" chopsaw to make cutoffs. I cut angle iron with it, and is fine, but I have always wanted a better way to occasionally cut plate steel or aluminum. I have used metal cutting blades in my jigsaw, but always wanted a band saw that cuts metal.

Since I would rarely use it, I don't want to waste space and money on a floor model. Harbor freight is advertising its model 62800 portable band saw for $99 right now and I am wondering if this could possibly be one of the elusive HF gems. If I get it, I will have to come up with a base to hold it upright on a bench.

Anybody have experience with these? Are they any good for occasional use? Thickest thing I can imagine cutting is maybe 3/16 steel plate for making brackets, jigs and the like.

Thanks,
Rick

[Charles Lent]

I'm not at all impressed with Harbor Freight power tools. It's a real hit-miss situation, like maybe there is no quality control at all.
If you buy a portable band saw (any brand) there is a portable band saw table available from www.swagoffroad.com that will fit it. He has 3 versions of the table to fit whatever saw you buy, and the saw itself is easily removed from the table to use as a portable saw by removing just one screw knob. I have now bought two of these tables, one for my son's welding shop and one for my own shop. He has a DeWalt and I have a Milwaukee. Both are very rugged saws and will likely last you a lifetime. A foot pedal power switch accessory is almost a necessity when using one of these saws in a table, and he sells one for $20

Charley

[Jerome Stanek]

My BIL has the Harbor Freight one and like it. He is a welder by trade so he uses it a lot

[Curt Harms]

I'm not at all impressed with Harbor Freight power tools. It's a real hit-miss situation, like maybe there is no quality control at all.
....................................
Charley

I've always wondered if Harbor Freight machines are rejects from Grizzly Powermatic and other Asian manufacturers that are not so bad that they get remelted.

[David C. Roseman]

Rick, I'd put it in the "gem" column, as you say. For years I cut angle, plate and bar stock with a 14" abrasive chop saw, abrasive cut-off wheels on a 4-1/2" angle grinder, and from time to time a good ol' fashion hacksaw. Two or three years ago I picked up the earlier version of that HF portaband, and it's never let me down. And it's only 6 A (the 62800 is 10 A, with a deeper throat). 1" mild steel bar stock, no problem. 3/8" and 1/2" steel plate, no problem. Zips through 1/4" and 5/16" angle stock, and round or square tubing. Much faster than abrasive blades. Also none of those pesky spark showers that have you looking around to see if your shirt or anything else is smoldering. Makes quick work of aluminum, brass or alloy stock, which as you know clog abrasive wheels quickly.

[Charles Lent]

Could be !! Need details? I just know that I've had bad luck with any power tool that I've bought from Harbor Freight, with one exception. The $19 saw with the vibrating blade (can't remember the name) has been going strong for about the past 3 years and about 11 blades after I bought it. The one that I bought for my son last year had the drive linkage come apart about 10 minutes after he started using it. Of course, they gave him another one, and it has been running OK with light use this past 6 months. The metal cutting circular saw that my son bought from them burned up on the second cut through 10 ga sheet metal, a total distance of cut of about 8" for both cuts. He got his money back from them and bought a Milwaukee metal cutting circular saw. I think it's on the 8th or 9th blade now with no problems. My son bought a Harbor Freight 1/2" drill and it just barely made 4 through holes drilled in 1/8" sheet steel with a brand new 1/4" drill bit Fire was coming out of the vents as the bit broke through on the fourth hole. We removed the bit and put it in my 18 volt DeWalt 1/2" drill and finished drilling the 26 holes that were needed, with no problem. The original drill bit was still good and the DeWalt Lithium battery in my drill still had power left in it.

There are some real gems to be found at Harbor Freight, but from our experience, I don't think their power tools are very well made at all.

Charley

[Peter Kelly]

Make a miter box for use with a Sawzall? Freud reciprocating metal cutting blades are pretty inexpensive..

[Rick Potter]

Wow, that stand for the saw is really cool. I have used my bosch jig saw with metal blades, with mixed results. I would never bother trying to do something neatly with a sawzall, at least mine. I appreciate especially the posts from actual users.

I think I will try it. My experience with HF power tools is mixed. Bought an abrasive chop saw, ran it for 10 minutes or so running free to seat the brushes, and it sounded like it had rocks for bearings. Returned it and got the Makita I now have. On the other hand I have an inexpensive angle drill which has served well with intermittent use.

Spark showers? Oh boy. I used the Makita abrasive saw to cut metal posts at a church workday once. Put it on the tailgate of my Mazda pickup, and went here and there to cut them. It wasn't till I washed the truck later that I realized the rear window was pitted badly from the hot sparks.

Thanks again,
Rick

[Charles Lent]

With the saw stand, keep in mind that the trigger switch on the saw isn't easy to get to when the saw is mounted in the stand, so a foot switch is the preferred method for turning the saw On and Off. You will need a way to hold the trigger switch ON. A small woodworkers pinch type clamp will work, but it's not possible to adjust the speed of my variable speed saw when using a clamp. I now just use a Tie-Wrap and tighten it just enough to get the speed that I want, then start and stop the saw with the foot switch. Tie-Wraps are cheap, so when I have one on and the speed is now too high for the next project, I just cut it off and replace it, setting the speed carefully as I tighten the tie-wrap. If going portable with the saw I also just cut the Tie-Wrap and replace it when I return the saw to the table.

If you get much into metal working, the www.swagoffroad.com website several very handy, well made, and reasonably priced tools that are great to have. To learn more from satisfied (or not) customers of Swag Off Road you will need to go into welding forums or Off Road driving / racing forums. His tools are very popular in those forums.

Charley

[Noah Katz]

Anybody have experience with these?

Did you read the reviews on the HF website?

Often HF reviews are very informative and useful.

[Rick Potter]

Funny you should mention the reviews. I did read them after I decided to buy the saw, and there are just too many complaints about the blade guards getting cut up, and the fact that it comes with a wood or aluminum cutting blade, rather than steel cutting.

So.........hate to say it, but I am backing off getting it. I think I will just look for a nice Milwaukee on CL. I know I have seen several for about $150 (when I wasn't interested, of course).

Thanks again, folks.

[John K Jordan]

Rick,

I've had the Milwaukee portaband for years and yes, it is a great saw - you can't go wrong with good tools. (My personal rule is to never buy anything from harbour freight that has a motor or engine. I know contrary testimonials and justifications abound but that's my policy and I'm sticking to it.) I use the portaband mostly when I need to do a lot of cutting on things I can't easily carry into the shop.

Have you considered a horizontal saw on a stand? Many can be quickly rotated to a vertical position for small work. I bought a Jet 7" saw (from Amazon) which I use for most steel cuts when I'm fabricating something. Since steel comes in 20' lengths I keep it against the wall and roll it in front of a double door so the long stock is mostly outside. This particular saw is probably way more than you need but a similar benchtop version might work for you.

Another thing I've used a LOT to cut steel is a recip saw with a bimetal blade called The Torch. The combination is amazing and what I grab mostly for quick cuts, even with thick steel.

BTW, ain't nuttin better for cutting sheets, plates, expanded metal, rod, rebar, etc. than a plasma torch! :-) I got a Hypertherm model a few years ago that will slice 1/2" cleanly, 1" raggedly, stainless, anything, straight cuts, curves. What a great toy, er, tool. And quiet!

I do have a chop saw but haven't used the screaming noisy, fire-spitting thing for years. It's gathering dust in the barn. Anyone need one?

For your needs, I recommend trying a recip saw first (very cheap if you already have the saw), then if you need more either a small horizontal saw or the porta band.

JKJ

[Charles Lent]

Another saw to consider is a metal cutting circular saw (not an abrasive saw). They are ideal for making straight cuts in aluminum or steel up to 1" thick. If you need to make curved cuts, the band saw and stand do well, but for straight cuts in larger work they have limitations. My son's welding business has a Milwaukee 6370 dry cut metal cutting circular saw for cutting sheet steel and aluminum. He also has the Milwaukee 6190 metal cutting dry cut chop saw. Both are ideal for cutting steel up to about 1" thick. Both use carbide toothed blades, and not the abrasive blades, so there is little to no sparking when making the cuts. They both cut very fast and clean, leaving an almost milling machine smoothness of the cut edge, and the steel or aluminum being cut does not heat up like it does when cut with an abrasive blade. You can pick up the pieces with your bare hands immediately after making the cut.

If you buy the 6370 or any of the hand held metal cutting "dry cut" circular saws, be sure to always guide the saw with a straight edge. Binding the blade in the cut, even slightly, easily damages the carbide teeth of the blade and significantly shortens it's life. When the saw is guided along a straight edge, the blade will not bind and will last a surprisingly long time. With both saws, the blade life is also shortened if you stop a cut in steel and then try to resume, because the end of the cut in the steel will harden when allowed to cool, and this spot will damage the blade teeth when you try to continue the cut. Always complete each cut without stopping.

Reciprocating saws with the right blade and blade speed can be used successfully if the cut does not need to be perfectly straight, but the circular
dry cut saws will cut straighter and faster than either the port a band or reciprocating type saws.

Charley

[Rich Riddle]

I noticed they had a coupon for this for $99 this month. It gets good reviews on their site.

[John K Jordan]

Another saw to consider is a metal cutting circular saw (not an abrasive saw). ...the blade life is also shortened if you stop a cut in steel and then try to resume, because the end of the cut in the steel will harden when allowed to cool, and this spot will damage the blade teeth when you try to continue the cut.

Charley, That is interesting. (both the circular saw idea and the hardening.) I may look into a blade like that. Most of my fab work is for welding and not that critical but a near-milled edge could save a lot of time cleaning up on the milling machine on occasion.

Do you know if such a blade work on a wood-cutting miter saw or would the rotational speed be too high?

JKJ