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Port-a-band vs bandsaw

Latech15

Well Known Member
I am just getting started and I found out that my large bandsaw has died on me. I do a bit of metal working so I would rather buy a saw that can handle cutting steel. Is a port-a-band in a swag off-road table enough or are there some cuts that you need a deeper throat/more clearance?

Question is regarding building a -10 btw.
 
Not sure

Not sure about the 10, but for my 9 build I acquired a bandsaw early on but never used it. Curious if other 10 builders think a bandsaw is necessary.
 
No info on a -10. Although not necessary, I used the band saw a ton on a -7A. Could have managed without it, but it was very helpful. Only used for cutting aluminum. The hinge pins were the only thing i can think of that couldn?t go through the band saw. Just used an angle grinder for those.
 
If you want a bandsaw or portaband, you should get one if your budget allows. They are useful tools. But you won't use one much on the -10. If you're cutting aluminum, you can use a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade and do fine on anything over about 0.020 thickness.

If I was gonna get one or the other (portaband vs bandsaw), I'd be torn, but I guess I'd go with a bandsaw. OTOH, plenty of people make fixtures to hold their portabands and set them up so they can be used as bandsaws.
 
In priority of usage (for me), Porta, Band, Hack. They all have their place & I'd be hard pressed to give one of them up.
 
I love my Harbor Freight portable band saw and SWAG off-road stand! However on my RV8, I use my 9 inch ($99) Delta bandsaw with bimetal blade, mostly because it?s quieter.
 
Bandsaw

Mine is 9" and gets used constantly. If it won't fit, I use an angle grinder with a thin kerf cut off wheel.
 
If you want a bandsaw or portaband, you should get one if your budget allows. They are useful tools. But you won't use one much on the -10. If you're cutting aluminum, you can use a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade and do fine on anything over about 0.020 thickness.

If I was gonna get one or the other (portaband vs bandsaw), I'd be torn, but I guess I'd go with a bandsaw. OTOH, plenty of people make fixtures to hold their portabands and set them up so they can be used as bandsaws.

Yes, that?s the swag off-road table that you mount the port-a-band in. It basically gives you a mini bandsaw, but it can easily be removed for port-a-band duties.

I?ve had a 18? grizzly bandsaw for years that was a 1986 model. A part recently broke and is not available anymore. I took it to a machine shop to see if they could remake the part and it was going to cost more to make the broken part than I paid for the saw. I will eventually end up with another big bandsaw but I?m buying in plane building priority at this point.
 
Bandsaw

I'm working on the empennage of my RV-10, and I use the bandsaw all the time. I have a 14 inch woodworking bandsaw (with a metal cutting blade). I could do most of the steps with a different tool, but I'm really glad I have it. I think a smaller saw would be just fine.
 
To answer the OP?s question: I built my QB -10 without access to a bandsaw. Probably (certainly) it took more time.
 
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