After purchasing a lift a while back I thought my Tool Arsenal was complete. WRONG! This little Puppy has me wondering why I waited so long to get one. So far I've cut up to 3/8" steel with it and it amazes me how clean and straight it makes a cut. Some cuts look like they're polished. No more chop saw, saw-zall or hack saw cuts.

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That's a miter from another tool. It wasn't wide enough for anything wider than 8" so my first project was to make a 2 rail 90' push tool that would handle longer widths as they tend to drag on the heavier side when feeding the material.

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That 2-rail push tool is awesome!

76-914 -

Now now - as a true WRENCH you know better than to ever say you have enough tools. We NEVER have enough tools! There is ALWAYS that tool that just makes life wrenching/fixing/creating/building things that much easier!

And yup! nothing like a steel-cutting band saw! I have a Delta 24" commercial band saw, but it's wood-cutting - and I'm wondering if I can get a steel-cutting blade for it....

Good on you! Enjoy!

GN

Hey Kent -

You never know how handy a band saw might be.

In the early 1960's when I was a kid of 11-12 & helping my Uncle Merrill in building his `32 Ford Rumble Seat Roadster Hot Rod, he had rigged up an arm on the upper bandsaw "wheel" to push-pull a hacksaw in order to cut down a too long Corvette or other Chevy solid drive shaft for re-welding it back shorter.

My job was to add some oil to the hacksaw blade & other joints of his "contraption" every 10-15 minutes - in addition the handing tools, holding stuff, & the other usual kid helping the adult "wrenching" on a car!

Enjoy it, & maybe you'll too find some out-of-the-box uses for it!

Cheers!
Tom
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DON'T use a wood-cutting bandsaw for metal, it goes way too fast! Ask me how I know! I melted the plastic throat insert on my 10" bandsaw and destroyed a fine tooth metal cutting blade.

Instead get what the OP did and get a Swag Off-Road stand for a portable metal-cutting bandsaw. The blade goes much slower. This is way safer and makes a better cut. They are about $125-130. I also got a foot switch. Mine came un-painted. I bought a Makita bandsaw on CL and painted the legs Makita blue and the top gray.

Thanks bro - I wasn't going to do it until I researched it thoroughly anyway.

Makes sense.

I have many years of using metal-cutting bandsaws.......

GN

Thx jt. I wasn't going to pay for their $75 oversized miter. Exactly Jedi, They do make the metal cutting blade for my 12" Craftsman but I don't know why. If it isn't aluminum it will dull in 20 seconds. I'm convinced they are only good for wood and plastic. You made another good point; safer! MUCH. Especially if you've fought with some of the other methods.

Boy that looks nice. That is one tool I wish I had!!!

Congrats on the toolvestment!

@Fukes
Looks like you'll be a fine member!

+1 on the band saw.

I took a picture of mine. I painted it to match the bandsaw:

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Let me introduce you to the the two other tools that you'll never believe you were able to live without.

Lathe - can be small. Mine is 9x19 and is incredibly useful for modifying or making parts.

Vertical Mill -- Mine is an old 1950's South Bend with an odd MT30 spindle that no one likes (R8 is the standard) so I got it dirt cheap.

What? Are you reading my mind? I've been on the prowl for both of those units for the last few months. I'll get both will probably use the mill 10X more often. There are several old South Bends V Mills for less than $1200 but I'd need a forklift to load and unload those. That I I don't have anymore room so I'll be going Mini size on those. I need to get rid of a Craftsman table saw and a Craftsman 12" Band Saw to clear up some space. Any wood workers here looking for a deal?

For whatever reason, I have always found that woodworking and metal working are joined at the hip. I have an enco lathe and more recently a vertical mill, but the heart of my shop has always been my heavily modified Taiwanese table saw and bandsaw.
Tools have supplied many of my dreams.

Since we devolved into dream tools - mine is a new set of SNAP-ON everything. with a nice lock on the cabinet.

I know there are all sort of tool religions out there - Craftsman are doing the job for me - but tools are Guy-Jewelry. I want diamonds!

CTC911CTC

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Machine tools can be disassembled into manageable components and moved without a forklift. Just more time and effort. Also you would be amazed what can be done with a hand winch, a lever arm, and pipe rollers.

They didn’t have no stinking Forklifts when they built the pyramids!

Sorry to encourage you even more

But I'd roll a lathe on pipes vs. disassemble. They suck to get back into alignment.

Now a mill is another store. Two people can pretty quickly pull the heavy parts off a vertical mill with just a few hand tools and an engine hoist.

What? Are you reading my mind? I've been on the prowl for both of those units for the last few months. I'll get both will probably use the mill 10X more often. There are several old South Bends V Mills for less than $1200 but I'd need a forklift to load and unload those. That I I don't have anymore room so I'll be going Mini size on those. I need to get rid of a Craftsman table saw and a Craftsman 12" Band Saw to clear up some space. Any wood workers here looking for a deal?

Kent, PM me some pictures. I might be interested in your table saw and bandsaw. Although, you might want to keep them; I use mine all the time.

I have an old Atlas/Craftsman 12x24 lathe. Parts are relatively inexpensive and available. It's not big. I took the motor off so two people could move it. I also have an engine hoist I used to lift it on the small bench I mounted it on. It weighs about 300 lbs.

I have a small mill as well. Little Machine Shop in Pasadena has them, I got mine on CL. It's an LMS 3990. Small enough to fit on a small tool chest. It weighs about 140 lbs.

The next size up mills weigh significantly more, like 800 lbs. Rent the right equipment to move that.

If you're going to the WCR, find me and I'll talk your ear off about mills and lathes.

I don't have enough room in my 2 car garage for anything large or I'd be all over some of those Sexy old South Bend set ups. Geez those things do have curb appeal!

You'll need to pm me your email addy. We can't attach pic's to pm's. I'll definitely hit you up @WCR for any knowledge that I need and that you have.