portable bandsaws

I'm not questioning the Cadillac quality and reputation of Milwaukee tools, but if you think you are only likely to use the tool once a week or so I'd suggest buying a chinese knockoff from Harbor Freight or similar, they sometimes have them on sale for about $60. You'd have about $200 left over to buy other toys with.

If you're going to use it daily in your work, a Milwaukee might be in order, but only if there's a low chance of its "growing legs" and walking away from you.

I've had one of those HF ones for a couple of years now and it works very well for me, sure beats the heck out of an "Armstrong" hacksaw for anything heavier than a 6 penny nail. I bought some Milwaukee blades in a few different pitches for it and tossed out the one blade which came with it, as I was displeased with some cheap crummy chinese hack saw blades I once bought and assumed their bandsaw blades would be equally poor.

It is challenging to try and follow a straight line with a hand held bandsaw, but I suspect that a Milwaukee is no different in that regard. I've thought about making a frame with a hinged saw support and a vise on it, like ones I've seen offered as accessories for other portable bandsaws, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

My portable bandsaw is single speed, so I can't comment on dual or variable speed models. I do have a Harbor Freight router variable speed controller, and I suppose I could use that to slow down the portable bandsaw if I ever run into a situation where that seemed necessary.

Happy Holidays,

Jeff

I don't have any trouble cutting fairly straight and square with the Milwaukee, but it may just be a matter of practice.

Mine is the MIlwaukee 6230 "deep cut" model. It is a great tool!

I have used both the Milwaukee and the Portaband (Porter Cable) professionally, and both are excellent. The only time I have trouble holding a straight line is when I have knocked part of the set out of the teeth--time for a new blade. Variable speed is a big help in making the blades last--if you slow down on the tough jobs the blades last much longer.

I also have one of the cheapo HF saws, which I bought just so I would have a backup. So far, I have tested it on a couple of cuts, and it seems OK. The gears are noisy, but I am willing to tolerate that, considering the price.

If you do a lot of welding fabrication, a portable bandsaw is one of the best investments you can make. It can be carried to the job, and held in positions which would be impossible for a stationary saw. This is especially valuable if you discover a mistake after a weld has been made.

I have 3 Porter Cable portaband saws, all 2 speed. One is for hand use, one is on one of the table/floor stands, (I wouldn't be without it), and one is used as a vertical bandsaw by affixing a 4"X5" table with a saw split halfway into it to allow me to tape the trigger and clamp the saw in the vise to use as a vertical saw, with a foot control switch. The table attachment is simply held onto the rear saw guide by a tongue of flatbar welded to the table piece perpindicular to it's underneath, using Vise grips or a small c-clamp. That's an old millwright trick we used to use in the field to enhance operations. The following link is for the saw stand for those not familiar with it.

I just tried something new I thought of to avoid ascii drawing. I did a super-quick rough sketch of the little saw table attachment using the windows paint program and posted it on photobucket to give you a visual. This could come in handy for explaining things.The link is below.

The PC wormdrive model is probably the most reliable, but the Milwaukee is very similar and also has a deeper cut. The deep-cut PC is lightweight and easier to handle and cheaper, but not as durable. Milwaukee is the most popular these days.

I dunno about the speeds. I have a variable speed deep-cut PC. Works fine for me, probably wouldn't hurt too much if I had a 2-speed saw.

GTO(John)

Yeah, the savings is substantial. But, I've had bad experiences with cheap power tools. My first Milwaukee tool was a power drill that I purchased 10 years ago, after the engine in my old drill burnt out, while I was lying on my back 20' deep into a crawlspace. The Milwaukee has taken a lot of dust and abuse since then and never a problem. Had a similar situation arise with a cheap circular saw - got a Milwaukee, and it's never failed me. And so forth! I think good tools eventually earn their keep. But of course Milwaukee isn't the only company making good tools.

When a tool dies, it doesn't die in between jobs, it dies while it's doing something important :-)

I had the portable bandsaw from Horror Fright. I bought it for a one-time use (cutting the ends off a truck axle housing - to convert from GM C-clips to an aftermarket full-floating setup) and ended up using that saw many times over three years. For 60 bucks it was noisy as all get out but cut what I wanted it to cut.

Of course, that garish orange color will make your buddies laugh every time you pull it out, but I sure as heck wasn't prepared to cut axle housings with a hack saw or pneumatic cutoff wheel.

I bought a used Porter Cable 10 years ago for $50 and it's been a very good saw. I have found it pays to use the higher quality Bimetal blades even though they cost more. I'm sure the Milwaukee portable saw is just as good.