IF you know what you want to do with it, and IF you set it up correctly.... you can do amazingly precise work with cheap China tools.

I've known a number of weekend shop guys that wouldn't be seen near a Chinese Machine Tool. Lathes had to be German ... or Better!!!!

I bought the first one of these little horizontal/vertical band saws probably 25 years ago for $200 at TSC Farm Stores. Bought the second one (two main shops) from Harbor Freight, about 5 years ago.

When I stop talking, look at the pics. I am making a small tool I need. I want to mill a narrow groove across this 1" square stock. I cut down to a stop line (with steel in the vise and saw on auto). I watched and stopped it at my line. I then advanced the steel in the vise - manually. I sawed another cut down to the line.

Now that's a nice blade I welded from a pack of endless roll stock. But it's not expensive stuff. I don't buy the best because so much now days is all made on the same machinery. Some factory could have stuck the "FIVE TIMES $" sticker on the same roll under a different catalog number. Costs them too much to make a Cheesy Blade stock making machine so much is alike.

I set the saw up. Take a look as it cut down parallel tracks leaving 18 1/2 thousands of an inch web between. It never migrated into the other track. Didn't wander off or twist. Excellent, now on to the cheap 1982 Rong Fu Milling machine. Sorry .... no Bridgeport... but it does make "BARNES". Hah

Gary

Cool! I think those saws are under so many manufacturer's names. Mine is a "Shopmaster". I have seen the same casting on many brands with very little differences. Harbor Freight and a few other places in USA have them for about $350 usd brand new.

I recently wanted to replace the motor as the 1/2 hp motor was done. King Canada wants $275 for a 110 volt, 1/2 hp motor. Crazy! I found a 1/3 motor, used for $25! Works fine.

Thanks for showing us the accuracy you are achieving. Its not the make/model of the machine. It has much more to do with learning how to use it and what you need the machine to do. Anyone can buy an expensive machine when it comes to a lathe or mill but most times the imports will work just as well and you save half the cost.

"Keep the blade in the stock...."

Pedro

Gary,

All of my tools are second tier. I have a stainless dial caliper that I paid about $10 for from HF 15 years ago, my go-to caliper, and it is SPOT ON to .001. There are a lot of tweaks you can do to get a lot of these tools to perform much better than out-of-box too.

The most important lesson I've learned about machining is, tools don't make a machinist. Good quality tools are great but they won't do the job in inexperienced hands. The inverse is, as you demonstrate, talent and experience can make up for lessor quality tools.

Lon

Thank you Lonster,

I appreciate what you said there.

I'd humbly submit that the shops I've seen, which were operated by talented craftsmen; contained shavings, dust, and controlled clutter. Spotless shops produce very little.

Thanks again,
Gary

Another great feature of the saw is using it as a vertical saw! Comes in very handy. Rather than milling off 1/2" I was able to cut off precisely.

The band saws are great little tools and I never new they stand to vertical for cutting. I have the same saw in a Dayton brand . Something we ALWAYS do on our big band saw at work is season the blades by turning everything down to about 1/2 . Feed and speed . You would be surprised at the life span increasing. I put a sacrificial 1" block as long as I can and just let it run for a couple of minutes. Some blades we've used daily for over a month .

Thanks
Kurt

Interesting. Thanks Kurt.

I put everything thru cycles. I use a piece of tape as a flag on the blade when it's hung up off the saw. Then, as it ages, I rotate the I.D. Tag to a new purpose. So; I get greatly extended life from the technique of changing out blades for the purposes/job. For instance, I'll weld about 6-8 blades at once. So I'll tag them .....

NEW #1-8. Suitable for Wood, Stag, Skeeter

Then when it's lost it's absolute freshness - I mark "Aluminum" on the tag. And I then NEVER cut aluminum with a NEW blade.

Then I'll rotate that thru to STEEL. And NEVER cut STEEL with a marked ALUMINUM blade. This STEEL category is a real treat if I decide to cut out several blade blanks or blades and springs. In theory this should first be a MILD STEEL class, but I don't cut much mold steel

Last, the tag will be altered to read OLD - STEEL. That's the category where I'm just trying to get a bit more work out of it before setting it back as a friction cutting blade. You want to make your teeth stand up and scream - turn the saw to wood speed and friction cut sheet metal up to 1/16".

That's how the Po-Boys do it.

Gary