Harbor Freight 4x6 Metal Bandsaw. Details inside

[Gamble97]

Well I finally got around to buying one. But first let me tell you about my HF chop saw. It works great, but the clamp sucks. Worked ok for a short while until the edge of the threads wore out. So if there is a way to put a different one on or one that is harder material that would be good.

Ok onto the bandsaw. Been wanting one for some time and didn't really want to clutter up the garage. But I figured it should do the job I needed it to do so I grabbed a 20% off coupon and bought one with the extended warranty of 2 years. BTW if you use the 20% off coupon it knocks down the warranty price, plus this comes with a 90 day warranty already so your extended warranty starts after the 90 days. So it's basically a 15 month or 27 month warranty.

First off, the thing is HEAVY. Managed to wiggle the box up the driveway and into the garage. Started to put the stand together and it's literally a joke. It's about .067 thick.

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So I put it together 4 bolts and now it's time to put the saw on it. Had my dad grab and end and I put it on there. Seemed to be more stable as the old man said once it was on there. Didn't bolt it down yet, and I put it into the vertical position and the stand decided to play dead.

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Literally we caught the saw and it folded all the way down. Can't way I wasn't warned but I had to try it.

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I had a fold up table saw stand sitting in corner not being put to use so I put it to use. The thing was $99 a few years back and I don't use my miter saw anymore and I gave away my table saw. So I threw it on there and had some 3/16 flat stock and some 3/16"thick x 1/2 Angle iron. I cut 4 pieces of angle and 4 pieces of flat stock and drilled some holes and started welding.

Honestly should of used longer angle but I didn't have any, so I took another piece of 3/16 and went across the stand for a brace to take the weight. Welded that to the first set of 3/16" plate then welded the angle to the brace.

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Tacked it in and mock fit. Looked good to me so I welded it around. One 2 sides that hole was at the back of the plate and on the other side it was at the front of the plate. So I welded the opposite side of the hole and both adjacent sides. It's not going anywhere.

I used the hobart handler 140 cranked up to 4/70. The downside is once I felt the metal got hot enough to get really good penetration the damn house fuse blew. So damn sick of that happening. I probably blew it like 5 times. So I had to do small beads. Probably didn't get 100% penetration but it will hold. And some spots I did multiple passes to be safe.

I used the bandsaw to cut the angle and it worked great. I did stand there with a small water bottle misting it so it didn't get too hot. I think tomorrow I'm going to finish doing the setup and start searching some mods. The coolant mod being the first one I want to do then order a few other blades.

Definitely a great purchase, however be prepared to spend money on a DIY stand.

Here is a pic of it sitting upright.

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And down.

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Only thing I want to do right away is find some kind of weight to add to the left side (20-40lbs) so that when it's vertical it doesn't have tendency to tip with little effort.

 

[ENICKB]

Wow I am jelous!

 

[bastarddsm]

Thats almost Identical to the one I have at home. The stands are a joke, but its worked well for the last 15years!

 

[turboglenn]

That's the much nicer cutting one than i have, but my stand was a little better (suppose i'd give up a stand in trade for better cuts though )

looks good, time to start on projects

 

[Josh97eclipse]

I spy a Harbor Freight tool box also. That is actually a pretty nice box from what ive seen at the store.

 

[Gamble97]

I spy a Harbor Freight tool box also. That is actually a pretty nice box from what ive seen at the store.

I have their chop saw and it's ok, but the clamp broke. I have their set of unibits that were $10-$15 and they work really well compared to a $48 american made bit. I had their stick welder that I converted to tig to learn and that worked great. I have had a lot of luck with their products. By far my favorite thing from harbor freight is the toolbox. It's SOOOOOOO much better than my craftsman. It's ball bearing, can handle a good amount of weight, not thin metal like the bandsaw stand, every drawer comes with liners. By far my best purchase from HF.

 

[Josh97eclipse]

I think I saw the top box for about 300. I paid 297 for my 6 drawer Craftsmen and its smaller than the HF box. I didnt know they had this nice of a box when I bought mine so I was a little upset when I went there last week. I bought snap ring pliers and there CRAP. I really want this box though.

 

[Gamble97]

Sell the craftsman! The top box is $300 that seems about right. Can't use the 20% off coupons on them anymore though and the bottom is $359-$379 on sale.

 

[Josh97eclipse]

I cant sell the craftsmen I just got it hahaha. I would love the bottom box and then just set my other one on top......Hmm time to set aside 50 bucks each week.

 

[redyute1]

What did the band saw cost ya

 

[Aphix]

I used to work at harbor freight, love the store. I just wanted to throw in here that if any of your tools go out (particularly the expensive units), and you purchased their extended service plan, you automatically get a new one.

So if you remember that your warranty is about to expire and your unit happens to "fail", you will be reimbursed with a brand new one two years later.

So you could potentially get a new bandsaw every two years for the price of the service plan, since you can renew it.

Just a little tip for worn equipment from an ex employee

 

[Gamble97]

^^Great to know!

What did the band saw cost ya

I think it's $239 plus there is a 20% off coupon floating around. Find it in any car magazine. That brought the price of the 2year warranty down as well. Probably like $250 after tax and warranty and coupon.

 

[b00stedAWD]

Great unit for the price and it cuts straight. Make sure you have better blade as backup since the original one will snap within several cuts.

 

[Gamble97]

I have to find out the size of the blade and a place to order some from first. It's on the list of things to do.