Junior hacksaw blades

I have never had a problem with "Eclipse". BTW do not forget to fit the blade with the teeth pointing to the hand (as a coping saw), blades last much longer!

Richard

That is interesting, presumably because the blade is then under tension***** rather than under compression which would tend to bend it laterally?

*****Yes, I know that in the holder it ought to be under tension whichever way around it is, but the frame itself is also a bit springy which would result in a compressive force on the balse in some circumstances.

They may last longer,I don`t know but they will take a long time to cut something.I always fit the blade with the teeth pointing away. I use Eclipse blades,cost about =A38-9 per 100 Eclipse is another name that is now Chinese owned I think. Mark.

Still based in Sheffield.

Eclipse blades are made by Neil tools, which changed its name to Spear and Jackson in 1995 after they bought that company in 1985.

Dormer have gone foreign though...

Mark Rand RTFM

Maybe but Screwfix show these as made in Sheffield!

Given that a Junior Hacksaw does not cut quickly anyway, I have no problem cutting on the backstroke. Totally different however with a full size good quality saw frame.

Richard

They may last longer,I don`t know but they will take a long time to cut something.I always fit the blade with the teeth pointing away. I use Eclipse blades,cost about £8-9 per 100 Eclipse is another name that is now Chinese owned I think. Mark.

------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the Eclipse recommendation chaps. Chinese or not, it will be good to get blades that work.

Cliff.

I understand your problem, they do seem to go blunt quickly compared to full size blades.

Have you tried the extra thin cutting discs for small angle grinders? Once you try them you'll never look back IMHO!

Julian.

I'll see your cutting disks, and raise you a bandsaw.

Yum :)

-- Peter F

Horses for courses, each has it pros and cons. I like the thin cutting discs, 1mm, compared to the thicker due to lower heat input into things like SS so less warping and discolouration in a given time. One local welding supplier moaned he hadn't sold any of the thicker discs since the thin ones came in.

When I first got an angle grinder I thought they were great but now see them as a possible liability due to the damage the debris can cause. Given the choice now between a cut-off wheel and a bandsaw, I would go with the bandsaw for less noise and mess, and potentially more versatile.

I've been thinking of acquiring a bandsaw, which one would you recommend? Don

No I don't have an angle grinder. Not only would it be impossibly large for pieces of steel just 2 or 3 cm across, but I doubt if I could pedal fast enough to drive it

Cliff.

grinders? Once

I have a DeWalt battery angle grinder - initially bought for masses of stock fencing I had to alter, but you'd be amazed how useful it is in the workshop with a 1mm disk. You can be suprisingly delicate with it when needs must. 2 to 3cm steel would be no problem. Used yesterday screwdriver slotting the heads of coach bolts in a climbing frame where the square collar wasn't big enough to stop them rotating.

AWEM AWEM

Very good tools indeed. More commonly employed around my neck of the woods by the Pikeys to thieve catalytic convertors from cars :-)

Julian.

Can I borrow it? I've about 30 coach bolts fastening planking down to my low loader trailer - they all need shortening by a couple of inches :-)

I have actually got a large (1/2 ton(ish)) donkey saw. For me, who's never in a big hurry, they are better than bandsaws. Accuracy cutting angles is excellent and the blade doesn't wander. Welding up fabricated steel structure is straightforward when you don't have unwanted gaps all over the show :-0

Julian.

You've both got me interested. I'll still get the saw blades, but the angle grinder is worth investigating. Which particular model are you talking about?

Cliff.

message

impossibly

masses of

yesterday

talking

DC41KA 18v DeWalt battery angle grinder - they are not cheap but so far mine has performed faultlessly, some times in rough conditions literally 'in the field'. I chose it as it takes the same batteries as my cordless drill

AWEM

Donwill wrote:

I wouldn't use the word recommend as I only have experience of the one bandsaw and that is a Clark 4.5" x 6" horizontal/vertical that I bought from MachineMart about 11 years ago. From reading about them over the years this class of saw seems to be produced by a company or companies in China and possibly Taiwan to a basic design and varying levels of quality. My understanding is these are considered something of a pre-assembled kit of parts that needs reassembly or at least adjustment to get it to run right although likely usable out of the box. Mine arrived in a slightly battered box but worked although the worm and wheel engagement was well out and the motor used most of its power to overcome the friction created, some adjustment sorted that out. Realignment of the blade guide at the start means it produces a square cut, not perfect, but something like 0.5mm over 75mm at the moment which I think is quite acceptable for cutting off stock for machining or fabrication, at least for me. The main switch failed after about 3 months so could have been replaced under warranty but I sorted my own and it's still going strong. I've had the motor burn out due to it stalling in a cut when I was doing something else, lesson learned, although some suitable protection could be fitted I suppose. A cuttings catch pan has been added so it doesn't fall into the pan/stowage tray under the saw. The main casting boss where the clamping screw bares is cracked, most likely due to cutting some 3.5" x 7" RSJ, but has been like that for maybe 5 years now, I may fix it sometime and more quickly if it actually breaks fully. At about 7 years I had to replace the worm and wheel due to bad wear, I think due to the sharp edge on the worm chewing the wheel, I got replacements from MachineMart for about £17 delivered. I've not had much call to require spares from MachineMart, mainly consumables, but all credit to them they have always had the parts and at what I consider reasonable prices. Interestingly one of the ball races I pulled and replaced while doing the worm and wheel had an ID about 0.004" over what it should have been so the worm shaft was loose in it. The replacement worm had the sharp edges at the top of the tooth removed on my linisher so hopefully that should help. My neighbour has an older saw of the same basic design from Graham Engineering Tools IIRC and that has a better quality British motor fitted and we checked the drive box for wear on the worm and wheel and it still looked pristine, it did appear to have better fit and finish than the Clark but maybe it was from a better quality supplier of the class of saw and had been speced higher in the first place.

All that said I paid about £170 for it and wouldn't be without it. It is used very regularly to cut stock of all sorts, I've cut 2" aluminium and

1" bronze in vertical mode, bigger in horizontal but that is just the set-up. I guess I've generally used it regularly and hard and am very happy with the purchase.

A workmate bought one from Warco about a year ago, ex-demo apparently, for about £100 and has been happy. He is an ex prototype tool maker so was happy with the cost saving as he could sort any details, he said it had the cone pulleys the same way round so only one speed options, must have been a beginner at the factory or Friday or Monday.

Last thing in vertical mode, while useful, the throat is quite small so some though has to be given sometimes to marking and cutting the part. In the last couple of years I've been given 2 small Burgess bandsaws, I sold the 1st one for the cost in time to clean it up and adjust it, the

2nd I've kept and it's proved useful for wood and non ferrous material and has about a 12" throat.

Many thanks for your detailed and comprehensive reply, there's a lot of info to think about there and I shall take my time to digest and decide. Cheers Don

I have a small 3-1/2" Warco one, it repeatedland reliably cuts square both ways to 0.1mm in 80x40mm cast iron and 60x40x3mm steel box section, and probably would do better if well adjusted. It's pretty quiet.

Apart from size (some other bandsaws are bigger) I can't think of anything even remotely bad about it.

That's as a bandsaw, of course - like 'most all bandsaws it has a silly vice arrangement which limits it's usability with short stock.

And afaik you can't buy a table to change it to a vertical bandsaw, but that would be pretty easy to make.

But despite any of that, the verdict is - wow, doesn't that cut nice!

-- Peter Fairbrother