I just picked up this on sale for 145$. I used it twice and broke the blade right were they weld it. any one have this happen. I'm gonna get another blade, see how that goes, I'll be a little more gentle. It's not like I was forceing metal through it though.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93762

 

A lot of people have it, just get a good blade.

 

I've had three of those now, on the second two I went ahead and tossed the blade that came with it straight into the recycle pile. Get a decent bimetal blade and you will be set for a bit. But don't expect it to last forever.

 

I use Starett or Morse Bi metal 10-14 or sometimes 14-18 tpi with a variable rake.

 

I have the same band saw. I use a lennox blade (I think its the diemaster series but not sure) and i also rigged up a coolant setup for it.

 

so whats your overall review of the hf bandsaw.

 

underpowered, and needs some modiying but well worth it. the grizzly unit with the 3x more powerful motor is the better way to go.
if you broke a blade it's because you had a side force on it or the wrong tension/tracking. guys when you're cutting keep the tension very high, until you can't turn it BY HAND anymore, that's about the bottom range of good tension. ALWAYS remove the tension after you're done. ALWAYS. do not store the bandsaw with a tensioned blade on it.



I use lenox spools too. Tig weld them together (you can braze them) but they MUST BE annealed afterwards. otherwise they'll snap again.


i tig weld afew .055 * 1 1/2 blade together for a great uncle of mine after it snapped in a log. (Woodmizer LT-70 BIG mother ------- portable sawmill). tried out anneling it with my tig torch instead of oxy/fuel & peening it. yeah... tested fine when i bent it around and put some tension on it. put it on the machine. couple thousand psi later it snapped like a twig.

after that i went back to just anneling them with a normal torch. blah!

 

i have had the same HF bandsaw for 5 years with no problems. i get the blade as tight as i can by hand and i use blades from homedepot and they last me a pretty good while. i usually get 2-3 months out of them and i use it every weekend cutting steel. i might try loosening the blade during the week though. i have never broken a blade but it seems like a good idea.

 

The finer the teeth the better. 24tpi or bust.

 

i think thats what i use. this blade has lasted the longest. i havent bought one in like 6 months, i cant remember for sure what it is. i also cut some aluminum, but not much