let's talk saws

[Eric@HorsepowerInc.]

In the market for a new saw as the old do-all can't keep up. For my own reasons I am looking at double column styles, but open to suggestions. Primary cutting aluminum, mainly rounds ranging 2"-18", but also cut 4140, and S.S. What do you guys use/have that cuts FAST! Or current saw is limited between 200-300sfm. Please let me know what we should look at.

[Sticky]

I'd look at Amada, Behringer, Daito etc

 

My trusty old Daito 330W cuts 7" 304 round in 6min flat with a HSS blade. It will hold +/- .002" on length and hold +/- .001" parallelism on that cut, at those feeds. It was made some time in the 90's. It's a 6000lb scissor saw with a 1.5" blade.

[Newbeeee™]

In the market for a new saw as the old do-all can't keep up. For my own reasons I am looking at double column styles, but open to suggestions. Primary cutting aluminum, mainly rounds ranging 2"-18", but also cut 4140, and S.S. What do you guys use/have that cuts FAST! Or current saw is limited between 200-300sfm. Please let me know what we should look at.

We buy all the big stuff/production parts in billeted...

Glad to be of no help

[Matthew Hajicek - Singularity]

I got my saw from Northern Tool for $900!

[MIL-TFP-41]

We have one of these....

 

http://www.cosen.com/product/band-saws/snc%EF%BC%8Fnc--programmable-automatic-mass-production/c-520nc

 

very well built.

[civiceg]

Spartan series from Marvel 

[Roger]

Cosen saws.  This is the one we have here.

 

[Eric@HorsepowerInc.]

Thanks guys. newbeee, we did look at bringing them in sawed, apparently the mill thinks that's a 125hr job. Sticky, good info, glad behringer was on the list, this was the first call as the main hub is 6hrs from us so that's a plus. Also looking at the Hyd-mech H18A, anyone have experience with this brand? Roger, what is that saws capacity and what's the sfm it can run? Looking for something that can run roughly 100-700.

[Sticky]

Hyd-mech is the Haas of the saw world.

 

Cosen is a copy of older Amada saws, which isn't a bad thing, old Amada saws are a good design.

 

Premium brands are Eisele (I think there may have been a merged or something with Behringer now), Kaltenbach, Kasto, Amada, Daito, Dake

 

Mid range Kalamazoo, Scotchman, Do All, Cosen, Hem Saw, Knuth, Marvel, Missler etc

 

Low end Hyd-mech, and most other knockoffs of the above saws.

[Eric@HorsepowerInc.]

Hyd-mech is the Haas of the saw world.

 

Cosen is a copy of older Amada saws, which isn't a bad thing, old Amada saws are a good design.

 

Premium brands are Eisele (I think there may have been a merged or something with Behringer now), Kaltenbach, Kasto, Amada, Daito, Dake

 

Mid range Kalamazoo, Scotchman, Do All, Cosen, Hem Saw, Knuth, Marvel, Missler etc

 

Low end Hyd-mech, and most other knockoffs of the above saws.

. Ha! Enough said about hy-mech then, I'm over anything that compares to a HAAS! ; ) funny thing is, the Hyd-mech and behringer are almost identical cost. Our Rep, which sells hyd now and used to sell behringer, said behringer is no longer made in Germany?

[Sticky]

Hydmech is a popular saw, they are cheap and they've done a good job at getting in at Haas outlets, but the quality is the saw. The difference in blade life on a Hydmech compared to my old Daito is an easy 10:1, not to mention on the Daito, all you hear is the cutting noise, on the hydmech they all have a high pitch squeal sound when cutting stainless.

 

I have no idea if Behringer is still making saws in Germany. It is likely model specific, so I wouldn't be surprised to learn that their cheap commodity saws are made outside of Germany, while their higher end models are still made in Germany. Amada does this as well, their low end models are made in Taiwan, their high end machines are still made in Japan.

 

AS far as I know Daito is still all Japanese built, Kasto and Kaltenbach are still German made.

[betts]

I can speak positively for Amada and Marvel, however most of the work has not been high production.  After 10 years the Marvel was having some parallelism issues but I think there was a period of low/no maintenance so not sure if you can blame the saw.

[ToolMan184]

W F Wells makes a very very nice double column saw.

[crazy^millman]

Here is another maker. A company I was running bought a saw from about 15 years ago.

 

http://www.hemsaw.com/

[#Rekd™]

We have an older Hyd-Mech, when they were built in Canada. It is a decent saw.

 

https://www.google.ca/search?q=hyd+mech+s20+series+ii&biw=1304&bih=697&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwics7_r9Z_LAhWosYMKHZJwDBsQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=QERzTfB23_kdhM%3A

[Mike@Lustre]

every shop I have worked in since I started in the trade( 28yrs fulltime) has had a HydMech , and guess what everyone of them did their job day in day out with no issues .