Bench top Bandsaw or Portable Bandsaw?

DavidJHolmes · 17 Apr 2017

I'm after a small bench top band saw for rough sizing metal sheet, not huge sheets, A4 sized probably, and also the odd sizing of small wood sheets/items. I was straight on Google to have a look to see what bench top machines came up and portable bandsaws came up as well. If I bought one of these it would be the Dewalt version as I have a number of batteries and chargers of the XR18v variety already. My budget is about £200. I can make a table for the portable bandsaw if needed. I also have a couple of 5Ah (IIRC) batteries so battery life should be ok.

Both have their pro's and con's. For my budget and what I want, could anyone advise what would be a better choice? Does anyone have the Dewalt portable saw and can offer any feedback on it?

If I went bench top, what would people advise?

Many thanks

sunnybob · 17 Apr 2017

The most important part of a bandsaw is the blade guides. look for something that you think will hold the blade firmly, especially for metal cutting.
From my experience, avoid FOX like the plague.
You know metal and wood need different blades? and to get a good cut they need different speeds, so look for a 2 speed machine if at all possible.

DavidJHolmes · 17 Apr 2017

sunnybob":lrdpplzi said:
The most important part of a bandsaw is the blade guides. look for something that you think will hold the blade firmly, especially for metal cutting.
From my experience, avoid FOX like the plague.
You know metal and wood need different blades? and to get a good cut they need different speeds, so look for a 2 speed machine if at all possible.

Thanks, I hadn't considered speed. To be fair I didn't know bandsaws had multiple speed settings. The budget I have doesn't give me much scope on brand, and those that are available are probably a variation of each model, if not just re-badged.

I'm leaning towards the protable bandsaw at the moment

Alexam · 17 Apr 2017

Have you seen the one on the For Sale forum?

DavidJHolmes · 17 Apr 2017

Alexam":2nt35l45 said:
Have you seen the one on the For Sale forum?

I hadn't, but it's tempting.

RogerP · 17 Apr 2017

Metal cutting and wood cutting on a band saw needs vastly different speeds, feet per minute (fpm). I use about 80 fpm for metals and 800 fpm for wood. Of course it varies according to the needs of the work but somewhere around those figures. Roughly 10 times faster for wood than metals.