Use for a bandsaw?

[Shooting in the wind...]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if any of you regularly use a bandsaw for gunsmithing purposes? Or would be a good idea to have one on hand? I was looking at a few but am unsure if a bandsaw would really be a tool that be used enough to justify to cost.... i would like to hear opions, maybe what thoes of you who do use one, what application do you use it for?

 

[jepp2]

I was wondering if any of you regularly use a bandsaw for gunsmithing purposes?

I'm not a smith and I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

But I see a power hack saw (reciprocating, coolant feed, not continuous band blade) at my smith's shop. I believe he uses it to cut the "biscuit" off every barrel he installs. Straight cut, better blade life than a portaband or band saw, I believe.

 

[jamesh]

Rather than parting off the ends of a barrel blank I cut them off with a bandsaw. I cut a lot of other round stock off rather than parting in the lathe. So much faster.

 

[Shooting in the wind...]

I was looking more for using them for woodworking in a gunsmithing shop. Anything barrels or metal i need to cut will be done in my lathe or hawksaw.

 

[WayneShaw]

For metal, I use a Porta-band saw. Hack saws are evil. I have a bandsaw for wood work.

 

[Shooting in the wind...]

Thats what i want to use it for is wood work, however, aside from shortening a stock. What else can they be used for?

 

[DaveTooley]

Get an inexpensive combination horizonal vertical metal cutting bandsaw. Even with a fine tooth blade it works well on wood. Maybe better with the fine tooth blade.

 

[shortgrass]

Thats what i want to use it for is wood work, however, aside from shortening a stock. What else can they be used for?

I use my wood cutting vertical band saw to cut excess from stock blanks before inletting & shaping. Trim here and there before 'truing' on the jointer, layout then inlet, trim where needed before shaping (after verifying layout, again). No sense in filing excess when it can be cut away with the band saw, it's a lot faster! Other than that, I use it to shorten stocks for pads. I've used it to cut plugs for CeraCoating, too. I use my horizontal, metal cutting saw to cut lots of metal things. Barrels, round bar, angle iron, channel iron, round & square structural tubing, you name it! A good saw, metal cutting or wood cutting, has endless uses.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I use a portaband.

 

[butchlambert]

Got rid of my big bandsaw and use a Roll In bandsaw now.

 

[gunnermhr]

I had a budget friendly Grizzly for 20 years, although it did what I needed I cursed every time i used it, between the blade jumping off and the crooked cuts i got upset and bought a new PM712G. I could never understand why someone would spend that much on a bandsaw, that was until i got mine. What a dream to use. I know you can spend time setting up small grizzly's and grizzly clones that will cut straight, but this thing is the cats pajamas. I use it all the time now for all types of projects.

 

[Walt Krafft]

My wood cutting bandsaws are the most used machines when i am working with wood. I have a metal cutting band saw and also use it a lot for cutting barrels and other material to length. A well equiped shop will have both.

 

[Gun Smith]

Bandsaws are very useful; get one!

I have a 14" Rockwell that I use all the time for Delrin and Aluminum, and wood. It has the 4 speed box to slow down for steel, but I seldom use it for that. I use a Milwaukee Portable bandsaw set up vertically with a shop made table and cross slide for steel. I wired in a reversing switch for the motor, and turn the blade inside out so it cuts downward. I can quickly remove the table, reverse the blade and motor, and use it as a potable saw for large pipe and steels bars, etc. Both of my saws are real workhorses.

The Rollin Saw's are really great! Used them a few times in factories I worked in years ago. Wish I had the room for one.

 

[okie]

they work really well to remove digits

 

[Twdmar]

A table saw is in my opinion more useful if you plan to make stock blanks from rough woods and for shortening stocks. But, I use the bandsaw also for rough cuts, re-sawing and rough cutting stock shapes out since i do not have a duplicator. Mostly my bias against the bandsaw is that, even when properly tuned with a good fence, it still does not make as nice a cut as the table saw.

 

[lb-ft]

I think you’ll find yourself using it all the time once it lands on your shop floor, especially since you do wood projects as well. They’re so drama-free in both metal and wood, quiet, no sparks, no fuss. Depending on the design a broken band can be terrifying, that’s about the biggest drawback to me.

 

[carlsbad]

I use a horizontal bandsaw to cut materials when I don't have them in the lathe. If your lathe is good and stiff, you can part faster than a bandsaw can cut. If you are stiffness challenged, a bandsaw will be handy. I use a vertical woodcutting bandsaw to cut stocks out of blanks.

 

[Judd]

I remember a thread quite a while ago and remember there was a lot using cold saws to cut barrels to length and said they were handier than a band saw.

 

[Sundown]

I used my Band Saw for making Benchrest Gun Stocks.

 

[Clark]

I have a 14" delta with riser for wood.
I have a Dewalt portable band saw in a vertical mount for metal.