Jet 414458 HVBS-56M 5-by-6-Inch 1/2 HP Horizontal/Vertical Bandsaw

Comment: I've used the saw on one real project so far. When I got it I did some test cuts on scrap metal and it worked well after I got it set up. The one real project I've done since then was with light gauge square steel tubing. I was welding the pieces together of course. Square cuts and inside dimensions were critical and the saw did very well. It made the job easy.
Putting the saw together can be a might aggravating. For one thing there wasn't enough of the bolts to put the legs on. I had the right sized bolts in my shop so I was able to carry on but it was aggravating. And I agree with other reviews by the way. The legs really are of too light a gauge metal. I don't think I will have to reinforce them but they are a bit light. Back to assembly. The instructions aren't great. When they put the motor on the saw they let a hinge like motor/belt tension piece flop to the inside rather than the outside and it began to look like I was going to have to do some significant disassembly to get the thing freed up. I finally managed to get it out and finished putting it together. I found I had to do some creative bending and springing to get the automatic cut off piece to reliably shut off the switch at the end of a cut with out it interferring with the saw coming all the way down. The cutting table for the vertical is light gauge metal and oh yeah a couple of those screws were missing too. I haven't put the vertical cutting table on and I probably will not. That's not what I bought the saw for. I believe some reviewers reported holes not lining up, that sort of thing. I did not have that problem with my saw.
So, in summary, I would say be prepared for some serious aggravation when putting the thing together and then once you've got it together and set up you'll have a good saw.

Comment: I've owned this saw for about 3 years now. At the time I was looking at buying a metal cutting chop saw, but I didn't like the "shower of sparks" thing, so I got this saw instead. I don't regret buying it at all.

The Pros:

- Good Value for the price (I paid $248 locally).
- Plenty of power
- Cuts are quiet enough so that I don't wake the neighbors when cutting steel in my garage at 2am.
- Good finish.
- Auto stop feature works great.
- Throw on a Lenox blade and it just keeps cutting, and cutting, and cutting, and...

The Cons:

- The vertical cutting table is flimsy garbage, which is actually where mine ended up. I use it strictly for horizontal cutting.
- I don't like the handle to wheel it around. It should be solid to the frame, not loose. The back wheels are not back far enough, so when wheeling it around, the saw will topple over backwards if you're tall and are not careful.
- Once you get it tuned, it cuts reasonably square, but the adjustments are crude and it takes a lot of fiddling to get it right. If you want to, say, rotate the back blade guide just a little bit clockwise, you have to loosen a bolt, which loosens the whole assembly, and messes up up your alignment. If I still own this saw when I buy a mill, I will make a custom set of blade guide adjustments for it.
- I wish you could move the moving blade guide closer to the fixed one when cutting small pieces.
- You'll need to rig up a support table (saw horse, etc.) to support anything longer than about 2 feet.
- Why oh why did they put a stupid plastic vice handle on the thing? It flexes and deforms to get the amount of clamping pressure you need to hold your piece solid.

Overall, it's a decent saw for the money and is so handy for it's role of cutting up stock for my welding hobby. I would definitely recommend it to a hobbyist that doesn't mind tinkering, but not to someone making a living off the saw.

Comment: A real bummer! When I received the bandsaw a couple of small parts were missing and the blade guard and blade tension knob were badly damaged in shipping. Rather then going thru the hassle of returning it, I opted to contact the manufacturer and ask that the parts be replaced. The small missing parts were sent to me right away but the larger more important parts that had been damaged are still on backorder and I cannot use the saw util I get replacements. The guard could be jury rigged to work but, the blade tension knob makes the saw completely useless until it is replaced. The last time I contacted the manufacturer, they said they had a date of Mar 24, 2010 for them to receive the parts. After they receive them, who knows how long it will take for me to get them? I was further disgusted by the lack of any way to contact Amazon directly to discuss the problem with them. I think Amazon should make an effort to set up some sort of customer service contact, email or phone.

Comment: For what it does and the price it is a good value. Important to keep it maintained with periodic lubrication or it will seize and the blades is likely to break. Good idea to get at least one extra blade as they break without warning and long before the teeth are worn down. The cut-off switch works well so you can start it cutting and walk away to do something else.

For almost any length of stock you will need a separate support for it. Unfortunately the height of the cutting bed is lower than any roller stand I have found so I ended up putting the bandsaw on a couple pieces of OSB to raise it a couple of inches.

The stand is barely able to support the weight of the cast iron saw and is the real weak point of the bandsaw. A stronger and taller stand would be nice and it will be one my next projects. The stand that comes with the bandsaw is barely strong enough to support the wheels as the bandsaw is wheeled into position.

Comment: Jet 414458 HVBS-56M 5-by-6-Inch 1/2 HP Horizontal/Vertical Bandsaw

First off, let me say Amazon handled the sale the best!! They know how!

THE JET BANDSAW. Went together easy. EVERYTHING FIT, right on.

IT WORKS LIKE A CHARM, PERFECT. I recommend it!