Just thought you might like to see this video of my power hacksaw. I think I mentioned the project before. I did a lot of work on the machine and also build a static phase convertor to drive it. It's running through the phase convertor and cutting a length of 2" x 2" x 1/8" steel angle in the video.
I know someone's going to mention coolant. I'm not using any because it makes machines rusty and smells bad. The HSS blades last a long time even without it. And smoke is fun.
There is a knock from the main bearing. The journal is a little worn and really needs metal spraying, but I don't want to spend the money for that now. Also, the bowslide leaks a little oil from the reservoir, even though I have the gib adjusted to hold the bow closely without binding. Any idea how to stop the leakage?
Here's the video. I love this machine. I wouldn't swap it for a bandsaw any day:
Nice but where time is important you need to realize that with the proper blade most any of the doall horizontals will make that same cut in about 2 seconds--do the math or unless your only doing one-offs your gonna end up going broke.
That's only true if sawing is your only operation. The hacksaw can be cutting the next part while you're welding, deburring, milling, and/or turning the previous cut part. Either with band saw or hack saw the 2nd part is waiting by time you're done with the first, and the hacksaw is already raised waiting on the next part. I have both a power hacksaw and a band saw, if I'm just cutting parts I use the band saw, otherwise I'll use the hacksaw if I'm using my lathe because it's next to the lathe, the band saw is over by my mills. Either saw is done before I'm ready to start the next part most of the time. I have heard the hacksaws can cut straighter than a bandsaw, might make for less machining time.
Chris, his "litany of troubles" consists of California companies dying, resulting in:
1) fewer hours of self-employed work for himself due to the current recession (which, according to Ig, Obama couldn't possibly have had a single thing to do with and is probably helping more than any other single human being ever could) and
2) a laid-off neighbor, who lost his Internet connection which Gunner was subsidizing and utilizing. Telco wants $70/mo for it, a bit rich.
P.S: I don't miss his political rants and troll enticements, either. Other than that, he's a good guy and a friend.
-- Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens. -- Epictetus
After having one foot surgery and two knee surgeries in the past decade I'm going to opt for the quickest individual prosessing method and conciously avoid having to be constantly on my feet pacing back and forth between the various shop tools.
That said, if I am going to improve efficency by "multi tasking"...then in order to be the most productive I will FIRST try and shave cycle time off of the process which takes the LONGEST--shortening it as much as is practical and then basing all of the other tasks around IT
--whereas for some reason it appears you are advocating doing exactly the opposite, acting as though sawing time is somehow "free".....when the reality is sawing requires significant "blocks" of time from a man-hour standpoint, the best possible approximation of "free manhours" actually only occuring during true lights out where no humans are present in the factory--and even then you still have your basic overhead and you also must deduct any man-hours spent in loading /unloading parts and in support of your "lights out phase"....
Besides, since our saw has auto feed mode usually I just set length, load a bar and walk away, coming back once instead of say 20 times.
I think of power hacksaws as cool artifacts of the times when bandsaws were not used. A bandsaw is superior to a power hacksaw in every way.
That said, power hacksaws are very attractive and eye pleasing.
Christopher's hacksaw is, clearly, a great tool and works reasonably fast. If it does the job in about 20 seconds, that personally would satify my needs.
If you cut ferrous metal, the milieu of the machine has fine iron particles. Of COURSE after a while, those become fine rust particles. And, they get on everything. This doesn't say anything about the coolant used, though. In related news, anvil design doesn't make the blacksmith... black.
I'm not advocating doing the opposite, if the sawing time is what is slowing the process then that's what you need to speed up. I often use the power hacksaw at my home shop because it sits next to the lathe. So if I'm turning pieces for 10 minutes what does it matter if the next piece is ready to be turned in 2 seconds or 20 seconds?
It would be interesting to add an automatic feeder and vice to a power hacksaw :-)
Awesome , here mine cutting a piece of 4" x 1" steel flat bar. I restored this about two years ago , the knock in mine was due to a loose fitting key on the main drive gear , now fixed and I have it running in the opposite directtion now . I did some timing tests on the cutting time to see which direction cut faster , and left it at that.
I use it a lot and the beauty of it it you can set and forget ,let it run while you do something else.
This is not true. Companies wouldn't make power hacksaws any longer if people didn't buy them. People buy them for good reasons and I still see them in commercial workshops sometimes. You can still buy good power hacksaws and poorer imported ones:
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If the speed at which you can make the cut is your only criterion for judgement, then fine, get a bandsaw. (Although I doubt the 2 seconds figure for a bandsaw with the same footprint as my hacksaw, and the hacksaw's feed could be set heavier if I was feeling daring.) But if speed is that big a deal, for cutting angle, just get a special shear. At their best, bandsaws also give a better surface finish.
But "at their best" is the issue. A worn bandsaw that hasn't been properly adjusted will give you a cut that's way off square. I encountered so many bandsaws like this in the past that I believed all bandsaws wandered off square, that it was just a fact of life, until I finally saw a good machine. And when you buy a used industrial machine, it's going to have seen some use.
My hacksaw is about 45 years old. There aren't many bandsaws that age in existence. Durability is one of the hacksaw's advantages. I adjusted the gib, tensioned the blade and the hacksaw cuts reliably square. I can get short lengths of stock, say below 300 mm, repeatably cut to +- 0.5 mm. The thing is, it takes longer to set a piece of stock in the vice to that accuracy than it does for the machine to make the cut. And so, for the average hobbyist, I think we're splitting hairs. Speed is fun, but 2 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds...it's still way better than the 5 minutes and dripping sweat it would take to make the same cut by hand.
It's interesting to see other people's machines. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. Different machines suit different people.
Chris
PS: How fast is that baby cold saw of yours, Igor? The last one of those I used seemed about the same speed as the hacksaw, but I forget what make of machine it was.
The power off is worked by the arm on the end of the beam pivot shaft ,it has a leg on it that pulls the on off rod onto the switch. The machine has coolant now it always had a gear pump and a tank inside the main body , this video was made the first time I ran it after the restoration.I restored the original bronze gear pump for it ,made new gears and shaft and bushed the bronze housing .The pump is driven off the main drive pulley on the other side ,I used a large sealing "o " ring from a large 22" 3 piece truck wheel for a drive belt It's a Parkanson , made here in Australia(Melbourne) just after world war 2. All cast iron construction and wieghs around 500 kilo. Parkinson was a very big name here in machinery in the past , but was taken over by Capitol Machinery
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