Axminster Bandsaw

[Wallace]

Can we have some photos please?

 

[Richard.]

I did, it was top of the list for ages. But i decided with this axminster in the end.

Tried it on some Cast stainless tubing earlier, 3mm wall. took a 2mm slither off the end true and square (as it could be). Im happy with it. Although it did take about 5 minutes to cut through it...

What tpi is the blade. It shouldn’t take any where near 5mins to get through 3mm wall tube.

 

[Hood]

If you are just using a standard carbon steel blade then you may have dulled it already by trying to cut the stainless hence the long time to cut.
Stainless really needs M42 blades.

 

[Gizmo.Y]

I have been playing with it, must of done 10 cuts on stainless before i went home (Mostly 1.6mm thin wall).

I find if the blade drops too quick it snaggs easily.

But i will be using this mainly for stainless, so recommendations on an appropriate blade would be appreciated

 

[Hood]

TuffSaws is where I get my blades, decent price and good blades and quick service.

 

[Richard.]

TuffSaws is where I get my blades, decent price and good blades and quick service.

Yep tuffsaw is where I get mine too. Exactly as hood said get a m42 bi metal blade. If your cutting thin walled tube you want a fine tooth pitch. I’d say 18-20 tpi
(3 teeth in contact with the job minimum is ideal.)

 

[Hood]

Vari pitch is also good for reducing vibration and on a small saw it can help with snatching.

 

[Gizmo.Y]

Have ordered a blade from there.

Richard, i remember seeing a thread of you building a coolant system for your bandsaw?

 

[Richard.]

Easy enough to do Giz.
But you will need to remove the saw from the stand and pop it in a tray then refit it to the stand.
That looks a good saw for a coolant system
I’m guessing there is space In that stand which would be quite nice to chuck a tank in.
Let me know if you want any info on mine but there really isn’t anything difficult about it at all.

 

[Gizmo.Y]

The top section secures to the base with 4 bolts. So my plan is to make a drip try and sandwich it in between the saw and the stand. From what i can see, there is no door on the stand, so ill more than likely cut one side open to store the coolant system aswell as spare blades.

 

[Richard.]

I find if the blade drops too quick it snaggs easily

Wrong tpi for your tube. That’s why it’s grabbing mate. You should just be able to let it go and cut itself. What tpi blade did you order? You need a fine pitch. Also it’s best with the speed on minimum for thin wall tube really.
Does your saw have a way of controlling down feed speed?

 

[Richard.]

The top section secures to the base with 4 bolts. So my plan is to make a drip try and sandwich it in between the saw and the stand. From what i can see, there is no door on the stand, so ill more than likely cut one side open to store the coolant system aswell as spare blades.

This sounds a neat idea.

 

[Gizmo.Y]

Honestly, no idea on what blade is in it, it came pre-installed ready to use out the box. They did send me a 14tpi blade with it aswell, then the Tuffsaw blade i ordered last night was 18tpi i believe .

 

[Richard.]

Honestly, no idea on what blade is in it, it came pre-installed ready to use out the box. They did send me a 14tpi blade with it aswell, then the Tuffsaw blade i ordered last night was 18tpi i believe .

You’ll find the 18 tpi much nicer for your stainless tube. It’s not always possible to get 3 teeth in contact but by going as fine as you can it makes snatching less likely. Those bi metal blades are more Brittle than the carbon steel ones so you don’t get many chances with them if they grab.
A controlled down feed might be a good mod for your work too

 

[Gizmo.Y]

It has hydraulic cylinder which controls the rate of down feed, but as i read on here, its more of an on-off switch than a up/down slope. I will play with fluids when i get chance.

 

[Richard.]

It has hydraulic cylinder which controls the rate of down feed, but as i read on here, its more of an on-off switch than a up/down slope. I will play with fluids when i get chance.

Nice. If it has a hydraulic cylinder on it I’d assume you can set the variable speed. For thin tube you want it to trickle down slowly through the job. 5 mins is a tad on the cautious side though. I’d be going through 3 mm wall 50mm od tube in around 30 seconds.

 

[Richard.]

You got a lot of saw there for the brass

 

[Gizmo.Y]

assembeled the base this morning, bit of a waste of space really. easily incorporate a draw or two, plenty of room to stick a coolant system in there.

 

[Richard.]

assembeled the base this morning, bit of a waste of space really. easily incorporate a draw or two, plenty of room to stick a coolant system in there.

That’s great. The perfect place to hide a suds tank. You could wire your pump into the On/off switch so that it comes on with the saw and fit another switch in the feed line for the pump so that you can turn the pump off for dry cutting applications.

 

[Gizmo.Y]

that was the idea. I have noticed this morning, the down feed cylinder isnt smooth, it sort of notches down in steps which may be a cause to why its snagging.