Band saw or cold saw?

Hi there,

I've finished the fundamentals and tig courses - now keen to jump into some projects and looking for something to cut metal.

I will be mainly working on motorbikes, so larger diameter tube etc I won't be working with.

I've been trying to compare pros/cons of band saw vs cold saw and I was hoping for some guidance from someone who knows what they're doing :)

Cold saws apparently make a very clean cut but I've read some people complaining about accuracy/ cutting square.

Is it possible to cut smaller pieces of sheetmetal with a bandsaw?

My budget is under $1000 and my workspace is small. So if I could get something that is versatile in terms of functionality without a large footprint (portable would be great) then that would be ideal.

I'm leaning towards a bandsaw, in particular this one - https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/B004

What's everyone's thoughts?

Thank you!

It's going to be your call, but some comments/opinions that will, hopefully, help you choose.

A "cold saw" is normally a type of drop saw, that uses a toothed cutting disc which, IMO, is very much preferred to an abrasive type disc. Correctly set up they can give very accurate cuts and, IMO, that is a weakness of the abrasive as it's blade can wander. They are relatively clean and quick for cuts. Most hardware shops carry replacement blades and there is a lot of interchangability between brands. HOWEVER, there is a drawback in that they can only make straight cuts, even if you've angled the workpiece. There is also a limit to the workpiece size that will depend on the clearance required for the blade's hub/drive, etc.

The band saw type can be either hozontal or vertically oriented - I'll get to that shortly. The main advantage of the horizontal cutt-off saw is they don't have the hub assembly to worry about, but rather have a bridge that generally allows larger workpieces to be cut. The blades can be prone to snapping - the good machines have a welder incorporated into them for repairing blades - the bands can be expensive and changing them for different materials is a much bigger hassle. I don't have that much experience with them from the service side, but you may find it more difficult to find replacement blades, as there doesn't seem to be much standardisation. They need more careful setting up for tension and guides and, even then, they can wander as the section shapes change.

What I would suggest you consider, especially for your application, is the vertical 'band saw', where the blade cuts in the vertical plane - you will lose little as you're not intending to cut larger workpieces, and gain from being able to make curving cuts and to cut small things to shape. CAUTION - because the parts will usually be hand held, you need to take a lot more care, as any saw will take fingers, thumbs even, in some unfortunate cases, hands off without even slowing down - they're used a lot in meat processing partly because of that.

Hmmm, while looking for examples for you, I came across this, which is a conversion that you may find interesting, as you can still use it as designed for the times you need it - https://www.instructables.com/id/Portable-Bandsaw-Metal-Stand/?utm_content=bufferc23d2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_campaign=buffer There seem to be quite a lot of variations on the theme - https://www.google.com/search?q=cut+off+bandsaw+for+metal&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjLuIGO3L3rAhU-C7cAHVd4AzMQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=cut+off+bandsaw+for+metal&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoICAAQCBAHEB5Q1LxMWKrQTGDq0kxoAHAAeACAAfYBiAGXC5IBBTAuNy4xmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=YeBIX4uEAb6W3LUP1_CNmAM&bih=1288&biw=2400&client=firefox-b-d#imgrc=JINMbX354Eb0UM&imgdii=O50GRYT8Wy_jCM

Hey Gord,

Thank you very much for the detailed reply!

While looking into those vertical band saw tables I found this cheaper machine from the same site I linked to earlier

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/B002

It's a cheaper machine but includes a vertical table. The motor is less powerful and has smaller cutting dimensions but based on what I would use it for I think this could work

Should work fine, I was thinking about cutting out gussets, brackets, etc, out of plate as well as simple pipe/tube cuts. However you can always do those with other tools.

Hey mate I went through this only a month ago. I ended up getting this

https://sydneytools.com.au/product/trademaster-s14-1750w-350mm-1334-metal-cutting-tct-drop-saw

works really well! I probably will end up getting a vertical bandsaw as well But I got this on a good deal from my local United tools. Wayyy better than the old dropsaw.