Band saw

[blowlampParticipant @blowlamp]

I have a Nebes TM 125 and although uncommon in the UK it is a lovely machine. It’s variable speed, hums like a sewing machine and it’s accurate as well. The vise is good and the downfeed pivot is fitted with taper-roller bearings, so it is adjustable to allow the removal of all play, which means cuts are repeatable.

 

Martin.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

The generic 4 1/2″ bandsaw, as supplied by various importers (Warco, Machine Mart etc) can do produce quire good work; but requires carefrul setting up for this.

The blade tracking needs to be carefully set, as do the blade guide rollers.

The original trolley wheels did not last long, but the DIY store replacements have stood the test of time, at least twenty years. It lives outside, under a cover made from curtainsider material, with occasional sprays of oil to prevent rust.

(In my case the driving and driven pulleys needed to be skimmed to run true. And then the paper thin spacer between the bearings on the wormwheel shaft failed and ruined the lower bearing and oil seal. With new seal, bearings and a home made spacer, that will not recur!

Also, I made a Jacques Maurel Blade Tension Gauge. Blades now wear out rather than break; so again, time well spent.

With careful setting up, it once produced a disc where the sides were within a thou thickness of each other, but don’t nxpect that degree of precision very time!

You do get what you pay for, but the the time and effort expended in careful adjustment is a good investment

Howard

 

[John Haine]

On John Haine Said:

IMHO though the Femi is a great machine their table is not so good – basically a casting and the top surface has a rough finish.  Stakesys sell one that I think is pressed steel and would probably be better.

John, I don’t disagree, the table finish could be better – on my to do list !  But it dose work pretty well, not as good as a dedicated machine and the table is rather expensive for what they are.

I do have a few sketches/drawings made for another member some years ago, available to anyone who wants them. Fairly simple to make.

John

[Adam HarrisParticipant @adamharris13683]

The Chester offering called the 85M is now at £310 incl delivery for the 110v version (out of stock for 240v), and it is identical in spec and appearance to the KAKA BS-85, Vevor BS-85 and Eastwood BS-85. 1kw motor with stepless rotary knob speed control giving blade speed of 40-88 mpm.  There is a favourable aussie you tube review of the KAKA and a UK video review of the Vevor, and  a more useful written review (with pictures of required improvements mods) of the Eastwood BS-85 in Hobby-Machinist.com. Obviously not as good as the Femi but almost half the price. I am wondering if all similar types of these portable bandsaws can be modified to work as a vertical bandsaw like the the Femi – any thoughts?

[Adam HarrisParticipant @adamharris13683]

The max diameter to be cut is only 85mm, hence the BS-85

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Bear in mind that any of these bandsaws will not have as wide a throat as a vertical bandsaw so after spending time or money on a vertical conversion you will be limited on the size of material you can cut. In the case of the smaller saw probably just over 85mm distance between blade & frame.

[Adam HarrisParticipant @adamharris13683]

Understood. So I’ve ordered this Chester 85M and a potential issue is that it is set up for dry cutting ONLY, seemingly because if the rubber coating around the blade drive wheels should get cutting oil on it then the blade quickly starts slipping about. How to modify the wheels to allow the application of cutting oil when seeking a perfect cut? How do the Femi wheels grip the blade without it slipping about? Are bandsaw wheels typically profiled with a channel to hold the blade centred, and/or perhaps a surface finish that is textured differently than a layer of rubber?

[Adam HarrisParticipant @adamharris13683]

Ok, I see the answer is that generally everyone runs these small types of bandsaws dry but a wax stick can help without affecting rubber if required

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

Don’t use oil, you don’t need it – these types of saw are designed for dry cutting and a ‘sawn finish’ is a ‘sawn finish’ in any material under any conditions.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

The Femi saws give the “perfect cut” dry.

Like most bandsaws the Femi have “tyres” . never seen a bandsaw with grooved tyres to guide the blade, that is taken care of by the blade guides before and after the length that does the cutting. Many bandsaws have an adjustment to the non driven wheel to allow you to “track” the blade so it does not wander. If you have ever used a beltsander then it is a simlar arrangement

[Colin HeseltineParticipant @colinheseltine48622]

I have had my ubiquitous Machine Mart 4 1/2″ bandsaw for I guess at least 20 years.  Started it up on Wednesday and started to cutpiece of 3″ x 7/8″ ali plate.  Tha blade jammed a couple of times then i found the saw woud only run if held the ON button down.  I had several cuts to do so this was bit of a pain.  Disconected the two output cables and jury connected them to a  short power lead and motor ran okay.

Found a phone number for Machine Mart spares and rang to see if ON/OFF switch available, after 5 mins the guy comes back ans says yes in stock at £9.?? and postage.  Ordered and kept fingers crossed.

It arrive this morning, fitted it easily and now have working saw.

Very pleased with Machine Mart service.

Colin

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

I would have liked one of those Femi’s at the museum, but there were no funds available. Roger has just donated his Axminster band saw which uses 96″ blades and will be used to cut metals. We already have a smaller bandsaw with 1.5m blades for cutting wood and plastic.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, I never use any cutting oil or anything else on my Warco 4 1/2″ bandsaw, and it cuts OK, and still has the blade the that was fitted when I bought it in Sept’ 22, although it isn’t used day in and day out, it has cut quite a lot of steel and some cast aluminium, and some grey cast iron without any problems.

Regards Nick.

[MacolmParticipant @macolm]

As already mentioned, a smear of wax applied along the cutting line on the metal seems to help blade life. Virtually none of it ends up on the wheels, so presumably is carried away by the swarf. I have found it particularly worthwhile when cutting thin mild steel using carbon steel blades. This is using a hobby saw, which allows quite complex cuts to be made accurately so as to minimise finishing.

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

It may be relevant to note that the air/oil lubrication systems on professional level vertical metal cutting bandsaws, such as my 14″ Startrite are basically mist systems delivering very little oil onto the cutting teeth. Main job is using the air to shift swarf.

Minimal, if any, oil seems perfectly adequate for the rate cut possible on a hand fed vertical saw and, by extension, the usual home shop small saws which can’t cut much, if at all, harder. Very different to the professional cut off bandsaws with vastly greater cutting rates.

For me the key is keeping the swarf from blocking the inter teeth gullets. Minimal oil may help the swarf fall clear or stop it sticking. Sticking swarf can be an issue with gummy materials. The shorter the band the less time the swarf has to work out between cuts.

The effect is most noticeable with a power hacksaw where there is little time for any sticky swarf to fall away. My Rapidor cuts aluminium much more freely with lubricant.

Clive

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

The generic 4 1/2″ bandsaws(Warco, Chester, Machine Mart, etc) are hobby machines, designed and built DOWN to a price. They are not precision machines.

(The spacer between the bearings on the wormshaft is only a thin bit of tube – about the thickness of a bean can. On mine it failed and ruined the lower bearing and oil seal. A substantial bearing spacer, careful set up, and blade tensioning VASTLY improved matters.)

As such, they will benefit from being carefully set up; which will improve their performance.

Now, instead of breaking, the blades wear out, occasionally.

Making, and using, a Jacques Maurel Blade tension meter produced a big improvement.

Howard

 

[Adam HarrisParticipant @adamharris13683]

I’m quite shocked and disappointed by how noisy these generic BS-85 (in my case Chester 85M) portable bandsaws are compared to my Bosch hand held 115 mm angle grinder 600w. Measuring with a Decibel Meter app on my iPhone held at head height and user distance, the bandsaw with 1kw motor comes in at 98db at max speed (about 90 mpm) and 92 db at min speed (abou 40 mpm) whereas the grinder comes in at 100 db, both without workload. To my sense of hearing the angle grinder noise is actually more tolerable than the bandsaw screaming. I am curious as to how this compares with members’ similar types of portable bandsaw, in particular the preferred FEMI 782 XL. I do notice that specs of these bandsaws never seem to mention db, at least in the case of the generic BS-85.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi Adam Harris, looking at the Chester instruction manual for the 85M, it says 82 db (A) when running idle, and 87.5 (A) when working. It also recommends ear protection, which you should use for both your saw and your angle grinder. But of course that is your hearing may that well get damaged.

Regards Nick.

[Adam HarrisParticipant @adamharris13683]

Hi Nick, thanks for that. You are absolutely right – I see that now on the first page “Safety Procedures for Operator” which of course I skipped over! :). Well, mine is clearly a lot noisier than 82db at idle  (actually 92 at db at min speed without workload ), so maybe I have a duff example or maybe the manual is chinese marketing. Of course ear defenders are good but I don’t see those being worn in video reviews of the BS-85 either. For me, goggles yes always but ear defenders usually full of too much grime and spiders. Do you have one of these types of bandsaws and do you know its actual decibel output please?

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

I bought one from Chester Machine tools 8 years ago and it has cut some large pieces of various metals Just had to extend one of the vice jaws to grip short lengths.  Its still going strong with some Tuff saw blades.

David

[Adam HarrisParticipant @adamharris13683]

The difference between 92dB and 82dB is equivalent to experiencing noise about twice as loud as it is marketed to be.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi Adam Harris, no I don’t have one of those, I have a Warco 4 1/2″ one, and yes I do wear ear and eye protection, and any other PPE that is needed. My mother was hard of hearing, due to a bomb explosion in WW2, and I know how bad loss of hearing affects people. Unfortunately such PPE that is available these days was not around much back then.

Regards Nick.

[Adam HarrisParticipant @adamharris13683]

Hi David, yes I am initially pleased with the performance other than the sound. I did a trial cut through 60mm diameter aluminium and it seemed good even without any wax stick. When I get the wax stick tomorrow I will take some closer measurements . I have ordered a 6 TPI bi metal blade from mrbandsaw.co.uk for large diameter aluminium stuff . Obviously I can wear ear defenders, but would love to know how many dB yours is producing

[Adam HarrisParticipant @adamharris13683]

I suppose what I’m thinking is if the Femi is actually a lot quieter (a real high 70 db – low 80 dB? ) then I can pull apart the innards to work out what bits I need to upgrade with this cheapo one eg  bearings? If it too is in the 90 dB area then I will just have to clean up my ear defenders and worry no more.

[Adam HarrisParticipant @adamharris13683]

It is half the price of the FEMI so I do have some leeway to upgrade bearings etc if the difference would be noticed

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