cutting plate on a bandsaw ?

[amashinga]

I got an itch - bad. I want to build some of the things I see others doing here, but my problem is budget. My budget (or lack of) trumps my itch unfortunately, so I am looking at other ways of getting it done. I have access to lots and lots of scrap steel, I have a sandblaster to clean it up, I can spray, and I can weld. The big issue for me is cutting. I have been drooling over the posts on plasma cutters, but I am afraid they are gonna stay a dream. What I do have is a 1.5hp bandsaw that has a gearbox that allows me to run it at 40, 60, 85, 115, 160, 220, 335, or 3000 SFPM. It was made by delta to be a combination metal/wood bandsaw, and can take a blade up to 3/4 inch. It is a good quality machine, made in the USA, but I have never used the metal cutting capabilities much. Do you think I could use it to cut out plate to make some grapples for my FEL ?. Time I got, and being in the shop is no hardship. If it is possible, Is this a dry cut, or should I be looking at some kind of cutting fluid ?.

Thanks
Bruce

 

[Egon]

The only way to find out is to put on a metal cutting blade and give it a try.

 

[dfkrug]

I have a Delta 4x6 metal cutting bandsaw and I have used it for many
years, despite adding a plasma cutter to my metal cutting toolbox. It is
a horizontal saw, but it can be used vertically with its small table. I use
only 1/2" bimetal blades and I do not think it would work very well for
plate that is more than 6" wide. Curves are very hard to cut in steel
plate, too. IMO, the only practical way to cut larger pieces of plate
would be with OA gas or plasma. It can be surprising reasonable to have
a shop do it for you, too. If you choose to avoid cutting curves in plate,
design your projects in multiple pieces that can be welded together.

 

[TDVT]

I have a small horizontal bandsaw myself & for straight cuts it works great (when it's aligned) but when I've had to cut any curves I've used a Bosch jigsaw. You'd be amazed how quickly it will cut 1/4", not sure how you'd make out on thicker stuff. If your combo Delta doesn't do the trick, may be better to farm it out?

 

[2manyrocks]

Long....................................................slow.................................. watch your fingers

or trade some of your material for somebody to cut it for you.

 

[PILOON]

For some projects I have used a jigsaw with suitable blades with success.
Variable speed helps as the slower the cooler it runs and heat is what kills the blades.

Also today we can use 4 or 5 inch thin discs on right angle grinders.
I cut a 6 ft moldboard for my snow plow blade out of 1/8" sheet and used only 2 blades.
I clamped a board to the stock and used it as a guide for the grinder to follow.

For angle stock, flats and tubing I find my Makita 12" metal cutting saw to be excellent, in fact it is the same unit my local welding shop uses daily.

The big hang up will be stock thicker than 1/4", but then how often will you need to cut that?

I recently discovered that bi-metal hole saws do a great job on plate as well in a drill press.
I bored a neet 2" hole in 1/4" plate that did not need and cleanup and was just right to weld in a 2" length of DOM tubing. In fact the paint on the hole saw was barely marked and no signs of damaged teeth. Amazed me! (slow drilling is necessary)

I have torches but haven't bothered to have the tanks refilled for 2 years now.

 

[Flatheadyoungin]

hahaha......i hear ya!

i was looking at that nice root grapple and thought, "if i just get the pcs. cut, i could make that so easily!"

i have used a pc. of cereal box to make a pattern, take a scribe and scribe it on the steel, cut it close to the line with my torch, then use my angle grinder and flapper wheel to dress it to the line........long process for multiple pcs. and for large pcs......

oh how i want a plasma!

 

[Gary Fowler]

A plasma torch wont make your cuts any more accurate, just possibly less slag to remove. A clean and correctly sized cutting tip and steady hand with an oxyfuel torch can rival any plasma torch for clean up and accuracy on Carbon steel materials. Daily use and steady nerves is what make a good cut whether it is plasma or good ole Victor OFtorch. Most amateurs try to use too big a tip which ends up with lots and lots of slag to remove. For Carbon steel materials up to 1/2" thick, a 00 tip or even a 000 tip is plenty. It may take a little longer to get the preheat up with the small tip, but it will cut just a fast and very delicate and when kept clean, almost no slag to remove. You do have to hold your mouth just right though to make the slag stay on the scrap side rather than the piece you are using.
Plasma torches are great for stainless steels but give me an oxyfuel torch anyday for carbon steel.

 

[amashinga]

Yeah, you dont want to know how much I have cut with an angle grinder with a zipcut.

Still not as bad as my buddy who is my source of scrap metal. He owns a metal recycling business. I kind of envy him, he works hard, but the only stupid decisions he has to deal with are his own . Anyway, he gets a lot of stuff from the shipyards on contract, and one day two propellers came in, full size cargo vessel, that is a LOT of brass. They are a couple of feet thick at the base. He had to reduce them to a standard size to be compliant with his own agreements, and he was faced with trying to figure out how to do this. Eventually he realised that none of his shears, torches, crushers or assortment of metal destroying equipment would do it, and he ended up taking a large bowsaw with a hacksaw blade and a gas powered angle grinder, handing it over to the most junior on his staff at the time and saying get at it. Took the poor kid something like 3 full days.

 

[kthompson]

You can do it and dry. I will use threading oil depending on what is being cut and it works well. You have a much heavier saw than mine and it cuts anything the vice will hold and then some. I just cut it on and walk away to other work. kt

 

[GT2]

I cut curves all the time on my 1/2" band saw. The thicker the metal the harder it is. You have to put quite a twist in the blade, which the blade does not like! Slow but sure

 

[zzvyb6]

I put a metal cutting wheel on my Craftsman table saw and chew up everything up to 1" plate with ease. Takes some time and you use up the wheel, but that's what flea market tools are for. Lots of old saws on craigslist.com.

 

[Mattlt]

Cut at about a 45ｰ angle to the blade. Don't cut at a 90ｰ angle, or flat to the blade. Think about how you would cut something with a hacksaw (or cutting a 2x4 with a hand saw for that matter.)

I seem to remember hearing about a rule of thumb that you should have X number of teeth contacting the metal at a time. Has to do with the TPI of the blade in relation to the thickness of the steel. I'm thinking it was 3, but don't quote me on that.

 

[sandman2234]

Minimum 3 teeth in contact with the material at all times is the general rule. It keeps you from ripping the teeth off the blade.
I recently gave a horizontal saw to a friend, who had none, that needed some parts. I cut out the parts from 2.5" material on my bandsaw and sent them south for finishing on their milling machine.(I wasn't going to do ALL the work!!)
Bandsaws are great, but a Oxygen-Accetylene torch is a great investment when you get the funds!
David from jax

 

[AKwelder]

All though at work I have access to numerous saws, torches and machines of impressive size, All I use at home are a portaband, and a skill saw with a carbide metal cutting blade. For holes I like hole saws and uni-bits. I have a nice OA torch but have not got the bottles, yet.

A portaband costs about 300 dollars and is for sale at home depot. The blades run about 7 bucks each. We cut every thing up to 4 inch with one on remote jobs and in the field. We even use them in the shop for out of position work. If you buy one you might ask around, most people consider Milwuakee the standard, some of the others are poorly thought out. my personal milwuakee is 10 years old and never had a bit of problems. I used it to make every cut on my 6 trailers over the years

For a job with holes in heavy steel i use carbide hole saws, but do not use oil based cutting fluids, you want to cool the bit not stop the friction witch is how it cuts. I use brake clean. it cools the bit fast, is cheap and leaves no residue for paint.

 

[3RRL]

I drill a couple of strategic holes that I know I can make the blade get to.
Just before it starts to make a sharper curve, like on a grapple jaw. Try to hit the tangent point with the saw blade. (The holes should be drilled outside the piece you wan to keep.) Make sure the hole is larger than the blade, at least enough so you can turn the metal to start the blade in the direction of the sharper curve. Sharper curves need more holes point to point. Then use an angle grinder or bench grinder or disc sander to blend in the curves. Also try to use coolant for all metal cutting saws when possible. It is a life saver on blade wear.

 

[Flatheadyoungin]

another tip for cutting sharp turns (with jigsaws, bandsaws, etc.) is cut lot's of relief cuts.....

learned this from my high school shop teacher

 

[keeney]

I routinely cut 1"x2" bar stock and I have even cut 1" x 12" pieces of plate with my Milwaukee Porta-Band. On this small hand-held bandsaw, the problem is never its cutting ability - the small throat (about 5") is the main limitation. Using some cutting oil makes the blade last a lot longer.

I would say your bench-top bandsaw should be able to cut anythingyou can fit through it up to 1/2" thick easily, and up to 1" with some patience. Of course with the bigger, thicker pieces, holding and feeding the heavy peice of metal into the saw becomes an issue.

- Rick

 

[Danno1]

I drill a couple of strategic holes that I know I can make the blade get to.
Just before it starts to make a sharper curve, like on a grapple jaw. Try to hit the tangent point with the saw blade. (The holes should be drilled outside the piece you wan to keep.) Make sure the hole is larger than the blade, at least enough so you can turn the metal to start the blade in the direction of the sharper curve. Sharper curves need more holes point to point. Then use an angle grinder or bench grinder or disc sander to blend in the curves. Also try to use coolant for all metal cutting saws when possible. It is a life saver on blade wear.

.

Exactly what I was gonna type!

.

 

[2manyrocks]

There's also a difference in cutting quality between bandsaw blades. Enco sells some pretty decent ones--sometimes puts them on sale.