Small contour saw

Looking for advice on a bandsaw (contour)

Hi folks,
I have a question which I know people here can offer me much appreciated and valuable insight.

I have a small business which is involved in small volume manufacturing and repair of coustomer components. We have specialists companies produce our individual parts but we still modify and machine some parts here in our shop with a Bridgeport s1 and a 15” lathe, belt sander and tig welder. We also end up making special tools and jigs.

I would really like to add a well made vertical contour saw for cutting odd items which are difficult or even not possible on our small horizontal bandsaw. I don’t have a ton of experience with this equipment so I may not have a realistic view of my way forward. I have used bigger machines like the ones made by DoALL and would love one. I could afford a used one and would be willing to fix one up some and all that. I do not have the physical floor space for such a machine. I can’t afford a new building. My good friend who makes most of our parts for us has a decent sized shop and long ago bought a Powermatic 143 (I’m guessing it was in 1977...). I have used it and lusted after such a machine since. I have never come across one in the wild. Right now, I want to make a move on a machine of some type and am not willing to wait months or years tohappen upon one. I’d like to be able to run a blade down to 1/4” and maybe up to 1/2”. It is unlikely that I would need to cut steel more than 1” thick. I tend to use steel like 4140ph for tools since it is quite machinable for me and the end product is durable. There could also be occasion where larger aluminum stock could be cut but productivity wise, setting up the vertical saw for thinner sections and smaller things (tubing is something we cut a good bit) so that the horizontal saw could be left setup with a 6-8 tpi blade for general purpose cutting of stock.

What should I be looking at? I’d like to keep my investment proportional to our company size and need and at the same time use a minimum amount of floor space. Is a rubber tire type saw OK? How slow should the minimum speed be? How much power should I need? I also use my shop as a hobby shop on weekends and evenings, as needed. Nothing sophisticated, you know, no steam engines or anything like that. I’d like the machine to last and I believe I would use it most every day but pretty lightly. I recently purchased new USA made vises and a new arbor press from Dake. I’m a big supporter of US made products and compete with “world produced” products every day. I’ll pay a premium for made in the USA!

Thank you for considering my questions.
Rick

....What should I be looking at? I’d like to keep my investment proportional to our company size and need and at the same time use a minimum amount of floor space. Is a rubber tire type saw OK? How slow should the minimum speed be? How much power should I need?....

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Rubber/urethane tire is standard in good verticals. Only cheap horizontals with vertical option combos do without, and they're a poor substitute. Any name brand saw identified as metalcutting will run slow enough to cut 4140. 1hp is adequate, 1-1/2hp overkill for a 14", IMO.

There are used 143's available. A couple on eBay now, though just one, really. (The other belongs to Mike Kandu, and prob will for a long time.)

There are a few US made small verticals. Delta also, Grob too (rare). I believe DoAll's smallest was 16". If you were willing to use a bit more floor space, Grob 18" and larger DoAlls become an option. Larger throat is very handy and larger saws generally steadier and more rugged.

A budget number would be helpful, too.

I've got a Grob 4v-18 with a blade welder & power feed that will be available soon, it has a bad varidrive that will be set up with a fixed pulley and VFD and run on single phase (still using the 4 speed gearbox). I'm in driving distance from Ashville. I don't know what your budget is but it will probably be in the $3500 range. The Powermatic 143 would be a great choice if something like the Grob or a similar Doall is too big; the Powermatics go for $1500-1900 around here.
Tom

might look at roll-in-saw ... there a vertical cut off saw with gravity feed or you can lock the blade forward and use as a standard vertical saw . Made in USA and vary handy for a small shop.

And I think Jet makes something similar to the Roll in, or at least they used to...

General, before becoming just an importer, made a nice small vertical bandsaw with a reduction gearbox slow enough to cut alloy steel. From memory, I think 16" throat? A bunch of schools in Canada bought em and are probably leaking onto used market now. Personally though, if space available, I'd get a DoAll.

Lucky7

A 16" DoAll doesn't use much floor space and are tough to beat. They come up for sale around here often. There's one on CL now with welder and power feed for $1000..........Bob

The older Grob saws were bulletproof but took up a lot of space. I owned a couple over the years and was pretty satisfied. Their guide system is simple and robust. Just a slotted block, either bronze or carbide. As I got older I hated to get on my knees to change belts. Other than that, great saws.

Thank you for the insight! I’m sorry I have been slow to respond, something went weird with my posting where it didn’t show up right away.

There is an un-named but good saw at a place my son worked (now out of business) and we called a day late as it just went under contract to an auction house. Will get the listing.

I’ll spend up to about $2000-2500. I really am overloaded with projects so I’m not enthusiastic about working on an old machine at the moment. The smaller Grob or DoAll sound great. I don’t like the ergonomics of the Roll-In but I would have bought the one I came across had I known 1/4” wide blades could be used. For my business, one-off special tools are the most common use. We end up needing them “now” so sending out for wire, laser or water jet isn’t a reasonable option. I like to be self-sufficient. So far a corn cob cutter in the Bridgeport has been doing much of the duties along with holes, clamps and jigs in my 4x6 cutoff saw.

This site has been such a valuable resource to me over the years. You folks are great! Thank you again.

I just put the saw up for sale that I mentioned earlier: GROB 18" Vertical Band Saw 4v-18 single phase AC drive variable speed - tools - by owner - sale