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An un Packard question I would like to throw out to the forum.

I am thinking of upgrading an old and marginally better than a Harbor Freight quality horizontal bandsaw. Have watched some videos and narrowed it down to a few in the size I want but of course, this being Fresno and the saws do not bolt on a tractor, no one sells anything locally to check them out in real time.

Has anyone ever used or seen a Baileigh producthttp://www.baileigh.com/metalworking/saws/band-saws/manual-band-saws or a HemSaw?http://www.hemsaw.com/?page_id=1813&sid=7

I find only a few independent reviews for Baileigh. Of course, the reviews on their website are glowing and with one notable exception from a single reviewer, they seem to get decent writeups at the few other sites where I found a review.

The Hemsaw gets glowing reviews from several places but for comparable capacity saws, their products are over twice the price of the Baileigh. I am wondering if the Hemsaw quality is really that much better to be worth the extra or is the large price differential more because one is from Taiwan and the other from Italy.

Having had experience with Italian made medical equipment and of course, Fiat with their bottom of the list reviews, I would wonder if the mechanical design could be that much better than the Taiwan product. Just wondering if anyone is familiar with either product.

It's a sorry situation. I looked into getting a metal saw several times and there just isn't a good option. So I've postponed this purchase.
If I had to buy one, like if my abrasive saw dies, I'd probably go/opt for a cold saw.
After dealing with all the junk tools over the last decades, sometimes I feel, they don't want us to have good tools anymore. I'd cruise the tool related auctions, and see if you can find a good old one but that's hit or miss for timing.

Some of the Baleigh stuff appears to be good, I looked at a shear brake but it was $$$ - weighed too much for me to install myself. I think it was made in Asia. Hemsaw is pricey for what they sell. You can buy 5 of those harbor freights for one.
If anyone else knows of a good option, speak up. I need a new bench grinder too.

WEll, just exactly what do plan to cut with the band saw????
If u plan to cut things such as round or oval shaped brackets or cut flat steel or Al to something that mite reseemble a pistol grip then i doubt that a horizontal band saw of ANY type will work. Altho i 've never used a horizontal, only used verticles.that require the metal to be hand fed into the blade.

If all u want to do is cut tubing or bar stock then maybe just buy a "Sawz-All" (hand held reciprocating saw ) and some blades and use that to to make just streight or angled cuts.

Keith, I cut a lot of stuff. This morning I used my old horizontal bandsaw to cut a 1/2 in thick x 6" wide aluminum plate. Yesterday it was steel stock in various sizes. My current saw is on its last legs and making strange noises. It was a relatively inexpensive Taiwan made saw I bought 40+ years ago. It has been decent and have got my money's worth but looking to move on. The current HF version of the one I have is junk so wanting to do better. Aside from needing a decent capacity I also would like it to be able to be used vertically with an aux table like the one I have. That part is what limits the choices and makes it hard to find a good one at a price I want to pay.

"Strange noises"

Probably the bearings in the end wheels that the blade band travels on. Might be cheaper and faster to just replace bearings. Maybe bearings in the motor.

I don't know. But determine the noise problem and repair.

I've had several pieces of equipment around here (mower decks for sure and countless other tools and equipment where the bearings go bad. Order bearings off of eBay dirt cheap. Put them in. Maybe have to replace again in 5 or 6 years.

Bottom Line: Repair the saw unless it requires special parts peculiar to only that saw.

BTW. if it is sealed bearings gone bad then buy a grease NEEDLE that inserts into your grease gun. Drill a tiny hole in seal and put grease needle inside of bearing and pump grease into it. Dab a little of your favorite sealer type glue over the hole.
I've done that many times even on timing belt tensioners like the one on my 88 2.0 Ranger's.

Since your current saw does what you need, I would second the suggestion to find the source of your "strange noise" and attempt to repair the problem. However, I would skip the cheapies found on eBay and get quality replacements (Timken, NGK, etc.) Most standard size bearings aren't that expensive so why settle for a five-year fix when a few (literally) extra dollars will put the saw back in operation for another 30 years?

If you decide to look into replacing the bearings, check out Accurate Bearing Co. in Addison, Illinois (http://www.accuratebearing.com/). They've helped me with putting some of my vintage tools back in service and the guys over at the Old Wood Working Machines forum (owwm.org) rave about them.

Good luck,

Scott G.

Thanks for the comments. I may go ahead and fix what I have just to be able to have a saw with a wide material capacity. That aside, being old it lacks some of the B&Ws I was looking for in a new one so that is a consideration too. The ability to miter without having to unscrew and fiddle around to precisely set a vise angle and then not needing to fiddle again to return it to square is a nice feature. Controlled hydraulic lowering and using a stock size readily available blade is also nice.

The annoying part of the search is saws I have found that will also go vertical and have the head that swivels only handle narrower materials -- not that I do that much wide stuff but nice to have something capable for the occasional piece. The saws that will handle the 7" width my current one does are all a bit pricy for my needs. I guess the width capacity is the sacrifice for the swivel head.

Unless I stumble on something in the next day or so that looks better or has a killer feature, I have almost decided on the Baileigh BS128M. Summit and a couple of others stock them so with freight and liftgate delivery it should come in around $1200 which is about all I really want to spend for something not used all the time. The Hemsaw is nice and can quickly cut dime thick rounds but at about 3K for less capacity than I have, no vertical capability and a non standard blade I can't justify that one.

If your current saw is satisfactory for your needs then i would seriously look at repairing the saw u have now.

U mentioned something about a "nonstandard blade". Meaning what??? That it is expensive or difficult to find or what????

NOTE that there is a Butt Welder used for making band saw blades. They are rather small welding units special for butt weldding band saw blaades. THEN an annealer for the butt welded area of the blade. Probably not real expensive so u can make your own blades if necessary.

If it is bearings that are baad then it is most likely because the bearings are too small (or just barley large enuf) for the application load. This is typical of "cheap equipment". So even if buying a "quality brand name" bearing at a higher price mite not work much better than just a cheap bearing. I guess i depends on the price differeential between the brand name bearing and el-cheapo made in chinaa-rica bearing.

It's a band saw that sets in the garage. Not a car that could leave u stranded in the middle of the mojave desert 300 miles from home.

So 'cutting corners' on cost is often worth the strategy for equipment of non-critical operation.

Quote:
The Hemsaw blade is a length that MSC or McMaster doesn't list in the 1/2" width either of the saws I was looking at calls for. That particular size blade seems to be available only at their dealers or website. As you said, it could be custom made but I just don't want to go to that trouble. The Baileigh uses a standard length and width carried at several places.