Welding Tips and Tricks

Any good? How do they compare to some of the larger names like JET?

Are you talking about the 4 1/2" by 6". I believe the saws made by Northern, Harbor Freight, Jet and Grizzly maybe some others are made in the same factory but have different specs. But some have a huge difference in price, if you are going to mail order the saw i would order a Grizzly, I've had one for 10 years and abuse it a lot.

Blue Diver wrote:Any good? How do they compare to some of the larger names like JET?

I have the samll Northern (4.5x6 with 1/2" x 64.5" blade) saw at home in my lil shop. You get what you pay for. That lil saw has cut a lot of material but the castings and machined surfaces are not as true and nice as higher end saws. My saw eats blades if the blade is tensioned very much, but then it won't track very true and wander off if you don't tension the blade...catch22
If I had a do-over, I would have saved up a few more pennies and got the next size up with the 3/4" blade.

Try this for 4x6 bandsaws
be prepared for all day, but it works to cut straight and save blades
It is the difference between a $300 and $2000+ saw

https://wiki.artisansasylum.com/images/ ... _rev-1.pdf

I've got the 4 and 1/2 by 6 and it's been great. Got it after I wore out their handheld model. I got more than my 80 bucks out of that one. You have to realize that the motors in all of this HF etc. stuff may not, and usually aren't thermally protected. Being smart about what you really need, knowing how and how not to abuse it and being realistic about your demand vs. time input is key. (motors take time to cool off) that said, I beat hell out of that handheld before it gave up and even then, the motor wasn't what failed.

There are tons of videos on Youtube about how to fine tune all the adjustments on the 4.5 by 6 to get maximum blade life and increase the precision of the cuts. I lucked out and mine came out of the factory with a variance of less than a 16th top to bottom on a two by two cut. Close enough for me not to geek out adjusting it. As with all this HF etc. stuff, your QC inspector may or may not have cared that day

As has been said, if you look around and study the pics you'll see that many companies sell the same unit(s) using different badges and colors and names, and the overall quality of castings and tolerances is as you would expect given what you pay. I went HF because the price was lowest, there's one close-ish to me and they've never bothered me about returns / warranty gripes.

I have the HF version, and it cuts great.
A friend of mine threw it out for all of the listed above problems.
I googled the fix's, invested a 1/2 day of labo,r and it cuts 1/16 cuts arrow straight

First thing, buy a quality (Starrett) bi-metal blade