New horizontal bandsaw recommendations needed... Budget max $5k-$6k

[sirAIG]

I run a small mainly prototyping business out of my home shop. Have a few newer Haas machines and a plethora of manual equipment. Currently my only legitimate stock cutting option is an early 90's Scotchman cold saw. GREAT saw for certain applications, but due to how hard it got used by my father, it has a lot of slop throughout and is not suited well for munching through thicker (1" and up) stainless bar. The slop results in uncontrollable "chatter" that I believe to be killing blades WAY too soon. I will be getting a job here soon where I will either need to make 1000 cuts in 2" x 1" 316ss bar OR pay someone else to cut it (There are also around 3000 other cuts in 316ss, but much smaller bar). I attempted to get a proper blade for the scotchman and after roughly 10 cuts the blade was already hurt and required a lot of leaning on the handle to make some unhappy cuts.

My father has an Ellis 1600 at his current day job which he speaks highly of - my issue mainly is that I want to be able to run this thing with flood coolant and surely I can make up a pan and hook up a pump, but from a bit of research I've done, the Ellis saws are "not meant to be run wet" - unsure exactly why - if it is due to issues with the saw itself, or due to the fact Ellis does not make or sell even add-ons for flood coolant.

I would like to stay US made, MIGHT consider taiwanese depending on reputaion and parts/long term support. I'm sure I could get more for my money finding something used, but considering I will be relying on this thing from day one to meet a pretty tight deadline on this job, I am pushing that thought aside in lew of having "reliable, problem free" operation out of the box.

I realize I will need to be tending the saw for days on end to cut all the stainless I need, but that is a non-issue for me at the moment. I rarely ever see quantities over 20pcs - I can position the saw directly beside the machines I need to tend and keep everything running efficiently.


I have been looking around a bit and stumbled across the Do-All DS-280m.

DS-280M Band Saw | Manual Bandsaw, Horizontal Metal Band Saw | StructurALL

The page features the DS-280M manual, dual miter, metal cutting band saw by DoALL. Learn More.

www.doallsaws.com

Does anyone have experience with this saw, know someone who does, and/or have experience with similar, "new" saws from Do-All to have an opinion on if this is worth the ~$5500 dollar tag I have seen it listed at?

What other saws should I be looking into?

I appreciate any help or guidance that anyone can provide! If there is a section on the forum that would yield better results, please let me know and I will move it.

 

[jamscal]

That Do-all looks like a nice saw, but if you have a thousand cuts for one job you should consider sending it out to someone with an autosaw.

A few years ago I thought I wanted a new Ellis but the lead time was months...you may find similar sourcing problems with anything new now. (I thought the Ellis had rubber tires...I may be wrong about that...which precluded the use of coolant).

We have a Do-all c916-m which miters. It also has the pneumatic vise and head-up...this really speeds cuts...cranking that vise won't be fun.

We also have an Amada HA-250w automatic which is what you need for this job....I bought it well used over a year ago and it's paid for itself 3 times now...more if you consider it's like an employee.

 

[kb0thn]

I have a Do-All S-320CNC auto saw. From talking with my dealer and the Do-All people, their "low-end" saws are all made in eastern Europe. I believe mine was made in Turkey. Build quality of my saw is good. Performance of saw is reasonable. The pictures of your proposed saw have similar hardware and is probably made at the same place.

FWIW

 

[john.k]

I have an old Taiwanese saw,Possibly a Parkanson,for 30 years.....12x12 rating,flood coolant ,the old thing is magic ...will cut washers from hollow bar ,more accurate than a part off washer from a lathe........Flood coolant is essential ,or the swarf will damage the teeth,not to mention heat buildup.....heat buildup is also important,because the blade expands and come s loose on the wheels ......so ,flood coolant ,preferably from two nozzles ,fore and aft is essential ,as is a power feed.

 

[memphisjed]

Keep an eye out for a used vertical saw. Verticals are just better in every way except footprint. Hyd mech v-18 (not the 18 w series) is the one I would look for. Hem second.

 

[Mtndew]

There is Kalamazoo Saws made in Michigan.
No clue on their pricing but they're pretty good quality from what I hear.
https://www.kalamazoosaws.com/horizontal_manual_bandsaws.php

 

[Karl_T]

Consider a roll-in bandsaw. I can not live without one.

Roll-In Saw EF1459 Bandsaw

Roll-In Saw EF1459 Bandsaw Metalworking Bandsaws

www.southern-tool.com

 

[projectnut]

Ellis saws are quite popular around this are. There are several shops that have used the model1600 on a daily basis for many years. The ones I've seen don't have rubber tires and use either a 1" or 1 1/4" blade depending on the model. If you've got a lot of material to cut, I would suggest bundling and using a model 3000. It can be purchased with either a 2 hp 220 volt single phase motor, or a 3 hp 220/440-460-480/575 volt 3 phase motor. The model 3000 is in the $5,000.00 range while the model 1600 is in the $3,500.00 range

 

[Peroni]

I'd look at a Wellsaw. Made in USA for 96 yrs.

 

[winger]

I wrote up my experience in this forum with a new Kalamazzo. (about 8K so I didn't expect junk) I would not recommend it. They imported it and didn't seem to care about the design and lineup problems.
MSC had some one out for 2 days trying to get it cut straight and not through the blade.

Dave

 

[climb-101]

i have an ellis 1600. i love the saw. i like that the head pivots instead of having to pivot it the material. i originally wanted a saw with coolant but have never had any issues with cutting dry plus there is way less mess and cleanup with no coolant. it’s also easy to set up a stop on for repetitive cuts.

 

[sirAIG]

I wrote up my experience in this forum with a new Kalamazzo. (about 8K so I didn't expect junk) I would not recommend it. They imported it and didn't seem to care about the design and lineup problems.
MSC had some one out for 2 days trying to get it cut straight and not through the blade.

Dave

I came across your thread last night as I was researching. I am actually highly considering the model KC1016W.

Kalamazoo Saws

Call 800-575-2843 Kalamazoo Saws Kalamazoo Horizontal Manual Metal Cutting Bandsaws

www.kalamazoosaws.com

The MAIN reason is availability. After talking with various distributors about various saws in my price range, there is practically nothing available for MINIMUM 1-2 months, with most being longer. Ellis, Do-All, Wellsaw, Baileigh, etc.

Your thread made me nervous, I will not lie. But I am not sure I have any other options if I am not willing to consider fixing/debugging a used machine, and want to invest the 3k+ I will pay to have someone else cut the material into a new saw AND stay on track to meet my tight deadline. I can drive the 6hrs to pick up this saw from Kalamzoo themselves and have it hooked up 7 hours later...

Are you satisfied with the saws performance AFTER all the issues were solved and it was cutting effectively?

 

[BT Fabrication]

anything worth getting is starting at 10K usually. Hydmech is up at the top for saws. Import saws work but have little flaws with them. There are cosen saws also. but even a basic one starts about 7K around here and are hard to find.

 

[Pete Deal]

I bought a well used wellsaw. It seems cut off saws are always the most neglected machine in the shop. Mine was no exception. I bought some replacement parts from wellsaw. Very helpful people to deal with. I replaced all the controls with various Allen Bradley stuff I got on ebay. Bought a roller conveyor from hgr. This has been a very good operating saw. An automatic saw to replace it is on the list because i do a fair amount of cutting in quantities that justify it. But generally I would recommend this route.

 

[winger]

I retired about 3 months after, As far as I know it is running.
The manual did not clearly show how to adjust the blade tracking. Only one adjustment was shown. When it came off it jammed between the wheel and the frame, after a couple times the blade was getting trashed.
About an extra 1/8" clearance would have helped. I don't know if it is possible to space the wheels up to accomplish this.
The old Wells saw it replaced had a screw adjuster to square up the guides vertically. This one just had slotted holes to adjust height and angle.
The Kalamazoo was a good size saw and the power lift was nice, just they didn't execute it too well.

Dave

 

[john.k]

One issue Ive noticed with power lifts is you need to be careful not to leave the saw frame lifted ,but lower it onto the stop....the lift cylinder will leak back ,and after say a couple of days,the saw frame can come crashing down ,usually kinking the blade and wrecking it......with no blade ,wouldnt be surprised if the frame busted....lotta weight there.