Ever heard of a Jet wood/metal bandsaw?

[Silas Smith]

I have a bead on a 14" Jet wood/metal bandsaw. 1hp motor, enclosed base and blue. What do you think the value is and has anyone seen a jet version? BTW, I would be able to pick it up for $250. I've seen the Delta version, but not a jet.

[Hoa Dinh]

Jet and other brands have 2- or 3-speed BS, the slowest speed being about 1500 lfpm.

Some brands label the 2- or 3-speed BS as wood/metal cutting.

Sure they cut brass and aluminum. Metal cutting doesn't mean much, I guess.

Ferrour metal cutting is another story.

[Silas Smith]

Still, I'm thinking $250 isn't a bad price. So you think that 1/8 or 1/4 in steel would be a no go for this band saw?

[David Wambolt]

Looking at the Delta/Jet offerings of today, they look to be basically the same offering. Wilton also offers a version of the saw. I recently bought the Delta Metal/Wood bandsaw and it has 3000 SFM for cutting wood and then you can engage the gearbox and get 50-300 SFM for metal cutting. It works really slick, and the only issue I'm really having is quite a bit of vibration in the lower belt assembly. I have ordered Power Twist belts to solve that problem though.

For $250, I'd jump all over it. Check and see if it has four position step pullies and a gear box. If it does not have a gear box, then metal work can be dicey at best.

[David Rose]

I saw that saw listed. ...saw saw... whatever... I have a US Delta 14" wood saw and an ultra cheapie from Wholesale Tool for metal. If the wood/metal saw is anything as rough working as my metal saw, I would skip it. For metal cutting a horizontal saw is much better anyway normally. Nothing much more than keeping the band on and turning is expected from them. And it does the job and does it well. A lot more precision is desirable from a woodworking saw.

David

[Hoa Dinh]

Are you sure it is a Jet? Or is it a Wilton?

I don't know about the Jet, but Wilton has a 14" wood/metal cutting BS very similar to the Delta (lowest speed about 40 lfpm). If it is the Wilton, $250 is a great price.

I have the Rockwell version of it (circa 1975). The previous owner used it to cut steel with a bi-metal blade. I don't plan to use it to cut ferrous metal - ever.

[David Wambolt]

I saw that saw listed. ...saw saw... whatever... I have a US Delta 14" wood saw and an ultra cheapie from Wholesale Tool for metal. If the wood/metal saw is anything as rough working as my metal saw, I would skip it. For metal cutting a horizontal saw is much better anyway normally. Nothing much more than keeping the band on and turning is expected from them. And it does the job and does it well. A lot more precision is desirable from a woodworking saw.

David

My Delta Metal/Wood is basically the Delta 14" wood bandsaw with a gear box. I went with a 3 phase model and added a Variable Frequency Drive to get complete control of the speed. That means I can run the motor in such a way that 4000SFM is not a problem, or I can back it off or speed it up while in metal mode to get the best cut possible without having to swap belts. While it's not top of the line by any means in the woodworking bandsaw market, it's not bad either. Now I have a $2,500 Ellis 1600 swivel head horizontal bandsaw I use for cutting steel and aluminum to length. It's an awesome bandsaw with great precision. You want to miter a 5x5 piece of tube to 45 degrees? It will do it, all week long. However the vertical bandsaw allows you to cut sheet metal and do longer cuts in tubing. Cutting metal to length should only be done on a horizontal if you demand precision, but I know a lot of guys use a vertical saw for trimming tube when doing exhaust work and such.

[Noah Katz]

A "real" metal-cutting bandsaw will have a gearbox to get much slower speeds.

Though I'm wondering if I even need my 5"x8" horizontal metal-cutting bandsaw anymore after seein the videos of metal-cutting CS blades.

Check the video of cutting channel iron here

http://www.metaldevil.com/seeing.html

That's at least 5X faster than my saw would do that.

Seems like using a router speed control with a CMS would do the trick.

[David Rose]

That is fast! But for more precision, I will keep the band saw too. It would be awesome for a jobsite though. I suppose it is the metalurgy of the tips that allows that.

What is the cost? I really don't like marketing where they don't show the prices. If you really need it though...

David

[Noah Katz]

"But for more precision, I will keep the band saw too."

I expect more precision from the CMS because the blade isn't nearly so flexible and angles can be set precisely.

I got a 12" 60T for $83 at Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...620480-2088154

Maybe their 20% off sale on blades is still going.

[David Rose]

Noah, you said, "Seems like using a router speed control with a CMS would do the trick." Is the rated speed lower than a CMS speed? I didn't notice the recommended speed anywhere, but there was no thorough searce done.

Also, Amazon shows a CS for metal. What are the differences between that one and a wood cutter?

The blade price seems reasonable enough.

Thanks,

David, mostly curious at this time, but...

[Noah Katz]

Yes, the max rpm for the 12" blade is 1800rpm.

The tooth composition and angles (all the mfgr's of this type seem to use a triple chip grind) are different.

There's a place click to get an brochure with all the sizes/speeds.