Welding Tips and Tricks

Some time ago I read a post by Coldman, who had picked up a horizontal band saw by Aussie outfit Hare & Forbes as an answer to the problems he'd been having with abrasive saws.

I also grabbed one just before Christmas. Wow. What a great change. Accurate, repeatable cutting, quieter, no more abrasive dust, sparks and stank all over my shed.

Great service from H&F too (I have no association with them, I'm just a happy customer).

Thanks for the tip, Coldie!


K

Wait a second... didn’t you already have a band saw? Or two?

Poland308 wrote:Wait a second... didn’t you already have a band saw? Or two?

Um...possibly? You could say it is becoming a habit...

But in all seriousness, I have two uprights, a big 14 inch that I use for al-ooo-min-um, and a little baby Woodfast upright that I use for interfering with dead tree carcasses, as my favourite Canadian YouTuber would say.

Neither does steel, so I had a legitimate excuse to get the new H&F horizontal. Honest!



K

will be interesting to see how that goes. i was looking at the stand version of that one.
what blades do you think are best for it?

Saws are like hammers. Each one is a little different, but just right for a certain job.

Poland308 wrote:Saws are like hammers. Each one is a little different, but just right for a certain job.

and you can always use a bigger hammer!

tweake wrote:will be interesting to see how that goes. i was looking at the stand version of that one.
what blades do you think are best for it?

Early days. I'm using a 14 TPI HSS blade for the moment but I have a bi-metal blade waiting in the wings for cutting stainless. I'll post my thoughts when I have more experience with the saw and various blades.

Going great at the moment though. I am really enjoying the accurate cutting and lack of mess in my shed. The portability is a big plus, too. For cutting long/awkward pieces, I just take the saw out of my (too small) shed and set up in the backyard.



K

How big is the blade? Is it just a regular portaban blade or is it bigger?

Poland308 wrote:How big is the blade? Is it just a regular portaban blade or is it bigger?

You beat me to it. I was going to ask the same thing. Do you mount it on the bench or floor?
Is it bigger than a bread box?

tungstendipper wrote:

Poland308 wrote:How big is the blade? Is it just a regular portaban blade or is it bigger?

You beat me to it. I was going to ask the same thing. Do you mount it on the bench or floor?
Is it bigger than a bread box?

'Longer than a bread box?' Um, I don't know, as I've never owned or seen a bread box!

But seriously, the saw is around 700mm (just over 2 feet long in freedom increments). I haven't mounted it anywhere at the moment as I'm happy for it to stay portable. I put it on the bench or floor as need be depending on the size of the job t hand.

Blad length is 1440mm which I think is just shy of 57 inches. The blade I'm staring at is marked '1440X13X8.5 TPI Bialfa Cobalt M42'.

Cheers,



K

MosquitoMoto wrote:

tungstendipper wrote:

Poland308 wrote:How big is the blade? Is it just a regular portaban blade or is it bigger?

You beat me to it. I was going to ask the same thing. Do you mount it on the bench or floor?
Is it bigger than a bread box?

'Longer than a bread box?' Um, I don't know, as I've never owned or seen a bread box!

But seriously, the saw is around 700mm (just over 2 feet long in freedom increments). I haven't mounted it anywhere at the moment as I'm happy for it to stay portable. I put it on the bench or floor as need be depending on the size of the job t hand.

Blad length is 1440mm which I think is just shy of 57 inches. The blade I'm staring at is marked '1440X13X8.5 TPI Bialfa Cobalt M42'.

Cheers,



K

"Freedom increments." reminds me of some post somewhere. Why do Americans use Fahrenheit? Because f is for freedom and the c in Celsius stands for communism. Obviously not true but funny none the less.

I love me a bit of AVE. Focus you f....

weldin mike 27 wrote:I love me a bit of AVE. Focus you f....

Oh hell yes!

It's at the stage in this household that any time any care needs to be taken with a job, my wife and kids chime in "Carefulling....CARE-full- ing!"




K

Keep your D in a vice?

In his early videos it was keep your stick on the ice. He's regressed a little since then.

Nice one Kym! I have the BS-5S from H&F but I found that it is necessary to set it up properly to make straight cuts. The orientation of material to be cut also seems to have an effect on cut quality.

Flo

weldin mike 27 wrote:In his early videos it was keep your stick on the ice. He's regressed a little since then.

of course "keep your stick on the ice" is the "proper" saying. which ave spins into his own version like all the others. how he manages to remember them all is a feat in itself.
still freakin funny

OzFlo wrote:Nice one Kym! I have the BS-5S from H&F but I found that it is necessary to set it up properly to make straight cuts. The orientation of material to be cut also seems to have an effect on cut quality.

Flo

Hey Flo, how's it going?

Mine is cutting nice and accurately at the moment, haven't spent any time tuning just yet. For what I need it's doing fine. I was doing 'pie cuts' in exhaust tubing today and needed very little finishing to have the bends ready to be welded up. Pretty happy.


K

tweake wrote:

weldin mike 27 wrote:In his early videos it was keep your stick on the ice. He's regressed a little since then.

of course "keep your stick on the ice" is the "proper" saying. which ave spins into his own version like all the others. how he manages to remember them all is a feat in itself.
still freakin funny

I see from today's post that AvE has a new arrival - a son. Now that kid is gonna be brought up right.




K