Band saw Help!!

[Holbrook]

Good afternoon gentlemen!

I recently purchased a 14" craftsman bandsaw. Thinking that if I purchased a nice enough blade that it would cut metal. Well... I was wrong, very very wrong. It wouldn't even touch it! I got lucky and was able to return the saw and get all my money back. So now I am back to square one in searching for a band saw. This time I have a better idea on what I am looking for. I am currently looking at a JET 5" x 6" horizontal and vertical metal bandsaw. This saw is in the low end of JET products. My question is this; is there anyone out there using this machine? If so how are you liking it and are you finding any restrictions? What are some other good options out there? Would it be worth it to purchase the next 1 or 2 steps up? I will be using this for cutting various metals O1, 1095, etc. Any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[Hart]

I haven't the experience some here have, but I'd say it IS a matter of the proper blade for a band saw. Unless you're trying to cut hardened steel then..... it may be useless regardless of the machine. It does look like a very nice saw though, but still a band saw with the same blade limitations

[MikeB52]

IMO if you are staying in the jet line, J-3230, 5" x 8" Horizontal Bandsaw
is the minimum worth purchasing. It has the hydraulic feed control, and more important the coolant system feature. Can't really cut metal well without those features.
As Hart says as well, invest in a good blade or three. Get a good cutting fluid and the blades will last longer and run cooler as well.
Cheers.

[Hart]

IMO if you are staying in the jet line, J-3230, 5" x 8" Horizontal Bandsaw
is the minimum worth purchasing. It has the hydraulic feed control, and more important the coolant system feature. Can't really cut metal well without those features.
As Hart says as well, invest in a good blade or three. Get a good cutting fluid and the blades will last longer and run cooler as well.
Cheers.

I don't think that model has the vertical cut feature Holbrook is looking for. It should also be pointed out that these have 1/2" or 3/4" blades that would make it difficult or impossible to cut small radius curves.

[MikeB52]

Good point, these are for straight cuts through bigger slabs. I may have misunderstood the OPs needs with his saw.

[Holbrook]

Yes I need vertical positioning in the saw. Hart, I bought a $60 metal cutting blade specifically for my needs but it did no good. Do you have a blade in mind? What machine/blade combo do you have experience that has worked for you? Thank you for the feed back guys!

[Hart]

I only have experience cutting mild steel. I can't understand why you could not cut what you had unless it was hardened and needed to be annealed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48IznM5CEYs

[Holbrook]

I only have experience cutting mild steel. I can't understand why you could not cut what you had unless it was hardened and needed to be annealed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=289&v=48IznM5CEYs

He is using a vertical metal cutting bandsaw in that video. Huge difference between that and the Craftsman I had. I tried cutting a 1/4" chunk of annealed A36 with a damn good blade and it did not cut worth a damn.

[Tarkus]

While a cant comment on the bandsaw, however as far as the blade I used for decades standard carbon blades to cut all types of metal including tool steels. Mostly because we bought the blade in 100 ft. coil stock and welded to proper length. The results were that we never got any good blade life. As a experiment I purchased a Bi-Metal made to the proper length, and I was shocked to see that the life of the blade increased 10 times longer then standard carbon blades.
However it does still come down to speeds & feeds.
Many small hobby saws are made mostly for wood and you cant drop the RPM's enough to handle steel.

[Hart]

He is using a vertical metal cutting bandsaw in that video. Huge difference between that and the Craftsman I had. I tried cutting a 1/4" chunk of annealed A36 with a damn good blade and it did not cut worth a damn.

I guess then, the saw itself is the problem as you initially surmised, and as Tarkus points out, it comes down to speeds and feeds, something I hadn't considered. Anything designed for wood isn't going to "cut it" when it comes to steel, the speed is too fast.
Most of the time I use a handheld bandsaw for cutting unistrut and steel pipe. It moves slowly, 200 sfpm which is about three feet a second, and it eats through the soft steel as if it were wood.
Anything designed for cutting steel should work as it will have the correct speed range.