Clarke band saw, any good?

[gav0994]

Looking at purchasing a metal cutting band saw. budget is £300 max. Have looked at the Clarke one that machine mart do

http://http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cbs45md-41-2in-x-6in-metal-cutting-ban#reviews

not planning on cutting any heavy solid round bar etc, mainly going to use it for box section and angle.

I'm sure i've seen a few people on here say they have this model or similar, so hoping it should be ok for my needs...

 

[cumbriasteve]

Have got a Clarke bandsaw and very pleased with it, use it for box to 50mm, round bar to 16mm and flat to 50mm x 8mm, all cut with no problem at all.

I always brush a little drop of cutting oil along the cut line, makes an easier and cleaner cut and the blades last for ages.

Some of the guys have got some VAT free vouchers going for MM on the forum at the moment so maybe worth grabbing one and saving a few £

 

[striker]

I have a clarke one. The stand is rubbish. I made a new one from 40mm box. Also I fitted a bimetal blade that was a huge improvement too..so once fettled they can be very good.
Paul.

 

[nodeward]

yeh i got mine second hand and it has been great, get a decent bi metal balde on it makes a hell of a difference, also take the time to set it up so it runs square as it wont out of the box but pretty simple to adjust.

 

[gav0994]

thanks for the replies guys! seems it is the one to go for...

@ striker, i plan on making a stand for it that will have some form of extra support for longer lengths of material.

Thanks again guys, always glad to get advice and thoughts on stuff from this forum!

 

[striker]

For stands I use my steel workshop trestles. I made the saw stand so that the finished bed height of saw was same height as the trestles I already had, great for cutting stock from 6 or 7 metre lengths.
I bought my saw second hand too. I paid £70 off ebay. They come up quite often as collection only which limits the bidder's somewhat...so if your patient you can get them for under £100. A new decent quality blade and a change of gearbox oil and your away. Also as already mentioned, take some time to set blade square.
Hope this helps, Paul

 

[T0rnado69]

hi gav.
your link doesnt work, got two many http:// in the link.

i have one of these bandsaws. got it new a long time ago.
as stricker has said, the stand is rubbish.
made from too thin plate.
i found my one used to bend up where the wheel mounting bracket was fixed.
so i remade my stand out of 3mm plate and put the rear wheels inside and swivel wheels to the front.
also made it a bit higher then the standard stand, so i could use my roller stand to support long lengths of metal.
also added a suds tray and coolant system to it.
started of with a magnetic stainless steel flexy pipe, but found it wouldnt stay where you wanted it too.
IE over the top of the blade.
so i change it to a fixed mount design with better pipe that stays where you put it.
think the largest i have cut in it so far, was 100mm solid bar,

 

[CompoSimmonite]

I bought mine new - probably 20 years ago.
Base is rubbish but to be fair I've not got around to replacing it - yet ! Loads of improvements you can do - Google "4x6 bandsaw".

Paul H

 

[nodeward]

yeh the guy i bought mine off (actually thinking about it i got it from a guy on here!) made a base around the origional with angle and wheels on the bottom, the origional sits into it if that makes sense, works really well and i means you dont have to make a whole new stand

 

[Paul.]

I have the naerok (korean) version, they are all much the same with different branding, mine gets used mainly for cutting aluminium sections, but does deal with the smaller steel sections easily enough, as others have said the first project to use it on is to make a decent base for it.

 

[hareng]

Cheaper here all same machines and used to be £170.

http://www.warco.co.uk/metal-bandsaws-metalworking-saws/53-4-12-universal-bandsaw.html

Have cut 5" aluminium round with similar and same as Sealey
http://www.chestermachinetools.com/h110-bandsaw-4099-p.asp
No need to make a stand, these used to be twice as dear as the Machine Mart basic type.

 

[gav0994]

Cheaper here all same machines and used to be £170.

http://www.warco.co.uk/metal-bandsaws-metalworking-saws/53-4-12-universal-bandsaw.html

cheers for the link. Going to pop up to Machine Mart in Glasgow tomorrow and get a good look at the Clarke one before i purchase. For less than £30 more in price I can have the Clarke version up and running before lunchtime tomorrow after a 40min drive up the M77.

 

[Shox Dr]

I rescued one from the skip. So long as you understand it's limitations, look after it and square everything up. I think they are worthy bits of kit.

I just left it to munch it's way through this err piece

 

[gav0994]

Well, i took the plunge and drove up to Machine Mart in Glasgow this morning...not the best location for a large tool superstore as its on Great Western Road (A82) in the middle of Glasgow with next to no parking

Anyway, after eventually finding a parking space I made my way into the shop and had to ignore everything else on display as I would easily have bankrupted myself

Got the saw and 2 packs of spare blades, one of 24tpi and 14tpi. Handily I discovered I had a VAT free voucher after trawling through my emails and discovering that I had deleted it by mistake - thankfully the trash folder hadnt been emptied! I got the whole package for £295, which i a great saving over the full catalogue price.

Once home I got it all built up and tried it out. After a couple of minor adjustments I had it cutting nice and square - tried it out on several different thicknesses of material including 35mm solid round bar, which it handled no problem.

Only thing I'm not too impressed with is the stand. Its very flimsy and seems to have been made for a small child height wise First thing to do will make up a decent stand incorporating a suds tray and pump system.

On the whole I am happy with the saw and I would definately recommend it to other users! Many thanks to all who contributed to this thread and helped me make my choice

 

[whm_fab]

Sorry chaps I know this is an old thread, but why make a new one! Can you guys post details of your cooling setups and recovery systems? Be interesting to see !

 

[T0rnado69]

hi whm_fab

i got my coolant tank/pump from northern tools. but i dont think they do them anymore.
as for the suds tray, i got a piece of 2 or 3 mm sheet cut to size on a guillotine.
then the edges got bent on a press brake.
then just welded up the corners.

 

[whm_fab]

thanks for the reply stuart, i was thinking of using something like a small low flow rate submersible aquarium pump, how much lpm do you know very roughly does your pump flow? does it totally flood the blade piece or is it kind of a trickle motion?

thanks!

 

[julianthegypsy]

On a related topic, I have the axminster version of the same saw, can someone point me at the right replacement blade for cutting aluminium please? The blade I have is too fine for cutting solid aluminium sections and I can't remember what size its supposed to be. I know I could measure it, but I'm laid up with sciatica so I'm shopping for things I'll need when I can get back to work again!

 

[wyn]

I'm sure they are 64 1/2" X 1/2"

 

[mfletch]

There good saws but need fettling to get them right

Here is some mods I've done on mine

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/6x4-bandsaw-mod.45312/

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/6x4-bandsaw-mod-2.45408/