Add a Comment

In Memoriam Comment by D ale on December 20, 2016 at 15:40

Michael

!!! .. Agreed .. !!!

.

Will result in an organized database on the different shop tools.

Can even upload manuals & such.

.

Cool

Comment by Michael Squier on December 20, 2016 at 14:54

I have a suggestion, before we get to many great ideas on the thread here, why not start a few topics above for each tool separatly so the ideas are in one place easy to refer back to. Ie: bandsaw discusion,  Belt sander discusion, etc. 

KnifeMaker Comment by Carl Rechsteiner on December 19, 2016 at 9:47

Appreciate your interest. I have found the portaband to be an extremely useful tool and with the right blades can do most anything (sawing that is) you need inside the shop with a very small footprint. Made mine portable and it just clamps into my big bench vice in the shop or post vice out at the forge. Stows out of the way on the wall or under the bench.

With a fresh/sharp blade the slow speed makes it quite easy to split handle blanks with a slow steady feed. Very little "true-up" sanding is needed to flatten cuts.

I will get some pics up soon as I get back in town. Family funeral has me pretty busy and in/out of town for now.

ps - have to agree, a good angle grinder is a workhorse in it's own right. Can do an awful lot of bulking work with one quite fast.

Comment by Michael Squier on December 19, 2016 at 8:44

Carl, im intersetd to see pics or your portabands, I just think of them as cutting tubing. Tools are meant to be modified. 

Comment by allanm on December 18, 2016 at 20:55

So there's on I had never even heard of before! A common angle grinder I knew of course. maybe I've seen the right angle die, just don't remember seeing one, and definitely never heard the name.

Comment by Jan Carter on December 18, 2016 at 20:49

Donnie has one and it is usually what he uses to cut the round stock off with before he starts forging

Featured Comment by Jeremy B. Buchanan on December 18, 2016 at 16:46

I use a right angle die grinder quite often in my shop. It is a very handy tool. I mostly use it with a quick change sanding disk set up. Anyone else use one?

In Memoriam Comment by D ale on December 18, 2016 at 12:07

Thank you, Carl . your comment from experience speaks volumes !!!

.

As Carl pointed out .. a saw designed for wood will have limited use for metal

whereas

a saw designed more robustly for metal

could .. do both .. wood & metal.

.

Further .. the portaband could be configured in a fixed vertical position.

With the addition of some fairly simple jigs / fixtures

and an ample amount of patience

could

cut scale material .. liner material .. blade blanks ..etc

.

!!! .. versatile .. !!!

.

A key attribute when shop space is a premium.

KnifeMaker Comment by Carl Rechsteiner on December 18, 2016 at 11:31

Metal band saw (portaband posted below) and wood band saws are made very different because they do different things. The wood saw will not hold up to the duties of a metal saw. However you can set up your portaband to split handle material quite easily and do a fairly decent job of it. I will take a few pics of my mods on a portaband to make it more shop versatile. Couldn't live without either of my portabands - genuine workhorses.

Featured Comment by Jeremy B. Buchanan on December 15, 2016 at 19:32

I have never heard of them before and I have been a machinist for almost 30 years. Looks like they have some neat stuff. 

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• Next ›
• Page