Is Production Being Lost?
Is this your shop? Are you making do with just one band saw when a second (or even third) machine could be utilized almost daily?
What’s the “burden rate” in your shop? Can you afford to have employees standing around waiting to use a simple band saw when used metal band saws are so inexpensive?
How long would it take to pay off a $3,000 or $4,000 band saw when suddenly no one in the shop has to wait for an opportunity to cut a piece of material?
Bud’s Machine Tools has just the saws for you — check out what we have to offer!
What's More Flexible than a Used Horizontal Band Saw?
Back in the early days of machine tool evolution (circa early 19th century), the horizontal band saw was one of the first machine tools that took on the look of the current modern machine. Yes, folks, the much maligned band saw was one of the first machine tools to emerge from the bronze age of machine tool development. At Bud's Machine Tools we have a bit of a soft spot in our hearts for the production band saw machine (new or used, for that matter), as we have been selling them for years. The versatile band saw is a must for every shop, and a used horizontal band saw is a good way to fit any budget. In this section we are featuring used horizontal band saws only, but we can find any other type of saw you might need as well, such as cold saws, abrasive saws, and powered hack saws — not to mention vertical band saws, too!
Most Band Saws Lay Down — What if you Need One That Stands Up?
Down through all the years, from the “heyday” of the peak of American metalworking production. We recall many of the “industry standard” vertical band saws that virtually wrote the book on what a quality band saw machine was going to be, for oh, say the next 45-50 years: the DoAll’s, Marvels, Grobs, and Wells saws (and later on Hyd-Mech machines, not to purposely leave anybody out). They wrote the book all right, with massive single piece cast iron bases and upper structures. Huge ultra-heavy blade guide arm with oversize carbide blade guides provided the steadiest of steady. Even though the large single piece cast iron wheels would have considerable weight they would be balanced to run as fast as 2000 feet per minute and not give off the slightest vibration. Of course, part of that reason would be because the wheels were mounted on huge solid steel shafts sporting oversize bearings. These vertical band saws would produce accurate production cutting for 10-12 hours a day for 20 years. Rebuildable, these verticals could be perpetuated for years and years with parts availability not an issue.
It Contours, It Miters — Behold the Versatile Vertical Band Saw
You know, it might be easier if we discuss what you can’t do if you do not have a vertical band saw machine in your shop. No contouring, either metal or wood. Can’t stand up a tall piece part and cut it up to 24 inches. Be it a casting or a solid, your cutting capacity is what you can get in the main shop saw which is probably from 10-13-inch capability. Since the current design vertical band saw has a table that tilts 45 degrees either way on the blade center-line. Now you can cut that large tube to a miter of either 45 degrees right all the way over to the 45 degrees to the left. When it comes to running the proper band speed for the material being cut, vertical band saws typically have a much broader band speed than their horizontal cousins. Going all the way back to the oldest machines that might still be in the market, you will typically find their blade drives able to produce somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 feet per minute on the high side down to around 60 foot per minute at the slowest speed. Having said that, you could come across some of these vertical saws running as fast as 1000 feet per minute. Why all that speed on the top end? There a number of materials the when properly cut on a band saw will call for some fairly high band saw blade speeds. Aluminum calls for blade speeds frequently in the 600-700 feet per minute range. The “yellow metals” like pure copper, brass, and some bronzes will require higher speeds to get the kind of cut quality that is required in today’s market place. The vertical band saws are also superior for cutting things like fiberglass, most composites and corrugated metals that don’t have a smooth side.
Beyond Band Saws
If your requirement lends itself more towards a cold saw, we usually have quite a few in stock for you to choose from. In our cold saw selection we often have a fully automatic saw with a large capacity both at 90 degrees and 45 degrees. We recently also had a semi-automatic cold saw in stock with an air-operated material vice, but it didn't hang around too long. These types of machines are ideal for small bar or tube cutting and small enough to place them almost anywhere. The circular blades are easily resharpened and can last years. By the way, does your maintenance crew have a cutoff machine at their disposal for quick jobs? If not, we can definitely help you out.
Can You Afford to Do Without the Convenience?
Whether it is a small cold saw sitting next to a production station, or a power hacksaw in the maintenance department, used metal-cutting saws can be an affordable addition to increase productivity in your shop. Bud's Machine Tools usually has a wide and varied array of used cutoff machines of almost every design imaginable. If your shipping department could use a boost, Bud's can find you a used radial arm saw, if we don't already have one in stock. Most of the saws in this section take up very little floor space and could be “shoe-horned” into a strategically assigned location, and be able to produce cut parts right at the point of need.
Who Wants a Frustrated Worker?
Small used cutoff machines, whatever they are — be they band saws, cold saws or power hacksaws — are generally fairly inexpensive and easy to get setup and put into production. If you have the occasion that your worker is waiting to use a machine to move his project forward, and he has nothing available to cut off his last piece, valuable productivity is being lost. In some respects, cold saws can do certain things better than a band saw or power hack saw machines. First, cold saws are small in size and can be placed in very convenient places. Blades for cold saws can be ordered to cut a specific type or shape of material and do it very competitively over a long period of time. Bud's Machine Tools is a top source for technical expertise in the application of circular blades and we welcome any and all inquiries concerning the application for cold saw blades. Circular cold saw blades can be resharpened many times depending on the material that’s being cut in the shop at that time. Over the length of the cold saw blade’s life, more square inches of material have been cut than a band saw blade cutting the same material.
Don't See It Here? We Can Get It!
Bud's Machine Tools, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, has made a name for itself in providing solutions for our customers, whether they need a press brake, plate roll or a band saw. By the way, we sell tooling! We sell tooling for press brakes; we engineer and then provide from a partner factory special rolls for the plate rolling machines we carry; we sell optional rolls for profile benders (sometimes referred to as "angle rolls"); we apply the right blade for the specific application for the saws we sell, and then deliver them promptly. Yeah, Bud's Machine Tools is known for providing our customers with the kind of support they can’t find anywhere else. Speaking of support, Bud's has the finest factory trained service engineers at our disposal of any company anywhere. Our service team has experience installing everything from large fiber lasers to a small band saw machine and everything in between — we do it all!
